Seven hundred chefs, operators and industry names gathered at The Westminster Park Plaza last Wednesday evening for the Craft Guild of Chefs Awards 2026. I was lucky enough to attend with my colleague Jess Clare, as guests of Dewberry Redpoint.

What I’ve always liked about this particular event is that it doesn’t just celebrate the glamorous end of the culinary spectrum. Yes, there are Michelin-starred restaurants in the mix, but there’s also contract catering, pub restaurants, the military, college kitchens, street food, apprentices and more! That breadth matters. It’s an honest reflection of the industry, and it ensures every part of the profession gets its moment.

Why do the Craft Guild of Chefs Awards matter to foodservice marketers?

The Craft Guild of Chefs Awards are the UK’s most inclusive culinary awards, recognising talent across every sector of the profession from fine dining to public sector, college lecturers to development chefs. For marketers with chefs in their target audience, they showcase the movers and shakers in this industry, gathering together chefs with a purchasing power of millions in one room.

If chefs are your target audience, understanding what they care about matters as much as knowing where to find them. These awards offer a gateway into the world of chefs, where you can network and build relationships, as well as showcase your brand via sponsorship and product placement. For any food or drink brand trying to build genuine credibility with professional chefs, here you will find the crème de la crème of the industry.

Simon Rimmer, VAT and the case for hospitality

Simon Rimmer hosted the evening and didn’t shy away from the big issues. He called on the Government to cut VAT in line with the UKHospitality campaign ‘VATs the problem’, which argues that a reduced rate would unlock investment, protect jobs and help operators weather the cost pressures squeezing margins across the sector right now.

He made the point well: what other industry lets you start as a pot washer and, with enough passion and graft, work your way up to running a multi-million-pound restaurant business? Hospitality offers real futures to young people. It just needs the Government to give it a fighting chance. Then and only then can it help address the issue we are seeing with rising youth unemployment.

For anyone selling into this space, it’s a useful reminder that the chefs you’re trying to reach aren’t only thinking about the next menu. They’re thinking about their teams, their margins and the wider environment their business operates in. Marketing that ignores that context tends to show.

Lisa Goodwin-Allen: a deserving Special Award winner

The standout moment of the night was the Special Award going to Lisa Goodwin-Allen of Northcote Manor, a friend of jellybean. She has been running her Michelin-starred kitchen since the age of 23 and became chef patron-director in 2025. When her name was announced, the reaction from the room said everything.

Her speech was short, honest and quietly moving. She talked about the privilege of the room, the Craft Guild’s role in nurturing the next generation and the sense of community this industry carries. No fanfare. Just someone who clearly means it. She joins past recipients including Clare Smyth MBE, Angela Hartnett MBE, Raymond Blanc OBE and Marco Pierre White. Impressive company.

Other standout winners on the night

Beyond the headline award there was plenty to celebrate. Scott John-Hodgson from Solstice by Kenny Atkinson took the Restaurant Chef Award. Sam Leatherby of the London Hilton on Park Lane won the Pastry Chef Award. Joro Restaurant was named New Restaurant of the Year. Five Special Recognition Awards were also presented, including long-overdue honours for Craft Guild vice presidents Steve Munkley MBE and David Mulcahy.

Every category had a genuine story behind it. That’s what these awards do well: they make you look across the whole profession rather than just the part that gets column inches. It’s a reminder of quite how much talent there is out there, at every level.

What this means if you’re marketing to chefs in the UK

jellybean has been in foodservice and hospitality marketing since 1987. It’s not a sector we happen to work in, it’s where it all started, and nights like Wednesday remind us why. The talent in that room, the passion, the commitment to craft at every level of the industry: it’s what makes this such a rewarding space to work in.

For brands and suppliers trying to cut through with chefs, events like this are a masterclass in what the profession values. Recognition. Community. Craft. Mentorship. If your marketing doesn’t speak to those things, you’re missing the point.

Thank you again to Dewberry Redpoint for a great evening. Jess and I came away inspired and full of awe at the industry we work in.

If chefs are a key focus sector for your business, you can request a FREE Reading Chefs’ Minds report highlights here.

 

Susan Wickes
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