Awarded an MBE in 2004 for her contribution to and promotion of the catering industry, she died on September 23. Her funeral will be held on October 1 in Kingston, Surrey and industry colleagues and peers are welcome to attend.
Full details are available by e-mailing the administration office of the Association for Catering Excellence (ACE) for whom she was a council member: admin@acegb.org.
Jeni Edwards, chair of ACE paid a tribute to Mitchell last night at the organisation’s annual Ready Steady Cook event. She said: “Sheila was a part of the association for more than 50 years and her contribution was significant during that time.
“We pay tribute to Sheila and salute her achievements. She would be so pleased to know that we have all had this opportunity to remember her and bid her farewell.
“She would also want us to continue on and enjoy this evening as we do every time. She would certainly want us to keep challenging each other, competing against each other and chatting to each other, which is what this spirit of ACE is all about.”
Mitchell joined what was then called the ICA (Industrial Catering Association) in 1961 and held the position of national chair from 1974-1977.
In 1976, along with Mair Davison and Marc Verstringhe, she organised a competition called Catermind, which ran until 1992. This involved 205 catering colleges, 2,000 students, 14 heats and a final at The Barbican Concert Hall.
In 1986, Sheila was awarded the Caterer and Hotelkeeper ‘Catey Award’ for Industrial Caterer of the Year
In 1990 she became vice president of the European Catering Association (GB) representing GB on the International Board of the ECA.
In 1996 she was given a Lifetime Achievement award presented by Cost Sector Catering magazine.
She was also awarded Freeman of the City of London in 1996 and in 1997 became president of the ECA (GB).
In 2004 Sheila was awarded an MBE for her achievements in catering.
She did a great deal of voluntary work and was involved for more than 20 twenty working with colleges to encourage the young to progress into careers in the catering industry.