Last Thursday, 650 people packed into the London Hilton Metropole to celebrate the best in public sector catering. Nineteen awards. One brilliant evening.

Public sector catering doesn’t get the credit it deserves. Schools serving 160,000 meals a day. Hospital kitchens running round the clock. Care home teams who treat every meal as an act of kindness. The PSC Awards exist to change that, and they do it well.

Andrew Archer, owner of Dewberry Redpoint, hosted the evening and was joined by comedian Miles Jupp who kept the audience in stitches with his wry take on public sector catering. The meal was excellent, as was the company, but the core business of the evening was of course the awards themselves…

Andy Kemp MBE: a career that changed things

A highlight of the evening was the Lifetime Achievement Award, sponsored by Unilever Food Solutions. This year it went to Andy Kemp MBE, and nobody in the room was surprised.

Over four decades in foodservice, including more than 20 years as executive director at Bidfood, Andy has campaigned on holiday hunger, universal infant free school meals and nutritional standards in education. Real issues. Real outcomes. He also co-founded the One and All Foundation, supports FutureChef and the Michael Caines Academy, and has been a tireless advocate for Springboard and Hospitality Action, not to mention chairing Arena numerous times.

A career spent improving the sector from within, made Andy Kemp a truly deserving winner.

Industry Recognition: Jayne Jones and Beverley Baker

Two special accolades went to women who have shaped the sector.

Beverley Baker co-founded LACA (now the School Food People), chaired it twice and has sat on its board for over 35 years. That’s not a career in school food. That’s a defining chapter of it.

Jayne Jones led the Public Sector Catering Alliance before stepping up as chief executive of the Scottish Food Commission earlier this year. Recognition that felt timely.

Standout wins across the board

Compass Group had a strong night, picking up three awards: Chef of the Year for Michael King from Chartwells Universities, Contract Caterer of the Year for ESS, and the University Catering Award jointly for Chartwells Universities and the University of Sussex.

SSgt Daniel Butler from the Army won Armed Forces Caterer of the Year for culinary excellence across camp, ceremonial and field environments. Scott Graham from Education Authority Catering took the Education Catering Award, running an operation that feeds around 160,000 children every day. Andrew Knight from the Ministry of Justice picked up the Special Contribution Award for shaping food contracts across every prison facility in England and Wales.

Three councils also took home awards: Cardiff Council won the Innovation Award, Bury Council’s Andrew Cowan took Sustainability, and NYES Catering from North Yorkshire Council were named Team of the Year. Given the financial pressures local government catering operates under, those wins meant something.

You can view the full list of winners here: https://pscawards.co.uk/6/2026-winners

One night. A lot of recognition. All of it earned.

Nobody in public sector catering does it for the applause. They do it because someone has to feed the nation, and they take that seriously. The PSC Awards are a reminder that the industry sees them.

Congratulations to every winner, every nominee and every sponsor that makes this great event possible. And to Hospitality Action, thank you for everything you do. The £5,800 raised on the night will make a real difference.

If you work with food and drink brands looking to reach public sector caterers, we’d love to talk. Get in touch with the jellybean team here: https://www.jellybeancreative.co.uk/foodservice-agency-contact-us/

Susan Wickes
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