Nigel Barden was the host of the Craft Guild of Chefs Awards night, which was attended by over 600 people from the hospitality industry. The evening included a raffle to raise funds for the Craft Guild of Chef’s joint initiative with UK Curry Connect, ‘Chefs Support Ukraine’. Over £6,000 was raised thanks to the generosity of the guests who attended the awards night.
Matt Owens, chair of the Craft Guild of Chefs, said: “Tonight’s winners are a credit to themselves and our industry! This is one of the culinary world’s highest accolades and showcases the amazing talent we have in our industry. Congratulations to you all.”
Public Sector Chef Award- Jake Barwood, Totteridge Academy
Prior to the Chefs in Schools partnership, and the subsequent hiring of Jake as head chef, the food at the school was weighted towards bought-in, frozen products and ‘beige’ food. Not only has Jake ‘transformed’ school food at Totteridge Academy, he has also gone above and beyond throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, to carry on the mission of transforming school food, and providing healthy delicious food for those who need it most.
He commented: "What an unbelievable honour to have been awarded Public Sector Chef of the Year from the prestigious Craft Guild of Chefs. Thanks to Chefs in Schools for the support, Totteridge Academy for taking the risk on me and We Are Grow and most importantly to my kitchen team."
Armed Forces Chef Award- WO Jonathan Smith, RAF
Jonathan’s love and passion for the trade is reflected on a daily basis, but is most prevalent when mentoring and encouraging all abilities to compete for the first time. Be it in a training environment or out in the work place, he is a great ambassador for the Royal Air Force catering trade and wider defence community. His focus has always been on delivering the very best quality food to members of the Royal Air Force despite the often-austere conditions.
Chef Lecturer Award- Jose Souto, Westminster Kingsway College
Jose has managed to author two cook books as well as supporting a vast number of exhibitions, food festivals and colleges where he embeds the right attitude as well as techniques and food provenance. In the first and second lockdown of the pandemic he started work on a set of ‘how to’ videos for students to view at home as part of their theory coverage.
Culinary Hero Award- NHS Chefs Academy
Throughout 2019 and 2020, the NHS Supply chain culinary team engaged with stakeholders in the industry to better understand the needs of NHS catering teams. During these sessions they first tabled the idea of a ‘Chef Academy’ which they brought to life during 2020. The recipes taught at each event were developed specifically for the NHS, by Nick Vadis and Stephen England. The food programs reflect different food trends and cuisines, with over 200 recipes at their disposal to use.