A record number of outstanding entries for the 2013 Craft Guild of Chefs Awards have been scrutinised by the team of expert judges to reveal shortlisted nominees across 15 categories. The winners will be announced on Monday 10 June at London’s Grosvenor House Hotel.
Craft Guild of Chefs vice president and awards organiser Steve Munkley said this year had been the hardest year he had ever experienced in terms of shortlisting nominees:
“The quality of entrants in probably 60 percent of the categories far exceeded any other year. In fact, discussions round the table were quite heated at times, with judges emphatically fighting different people’s corners.
“Why such a high calibre this year? The answer is I don’t know, but it’s safe to say more and more people want one of these awards on their CV. We’d like to congratulate all our nominees and look forward to seeing them at what has become a truly outstanding event.”
There are 16 awards in total in what are widely considered the ‘industry Oscars’, 14 open to nominations, and two in the hands of a special team of Craft Guild of Chefs member judges.
The Special Award, sponsored by Sodexo, is chosen by the committee of the Craft Guild of Chefs and is presented to the person who has made an outstanding contribution to the industry. The Craft Guild’s committee also judges the New Restaurant of the Year Award.
For the People’s Choice Award, which is in its third year, an online voting forum has been set up to find an overall winner. While voting is not exclusive to the Craft Guild of Chefs’ 1,500 members, it is an invaluable way for its membership to become more interactive.
The Craft Guild of Chefs awards aim to reward leading lights from across the industry, whether they work in a village pub, fine dining restaurant, city university, a military unit or in contract catering. They might even be development chefs for national retailers.
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The shortlisted nominees for 2013 are:
Apprentice Chef Award
Stephen Dempster, Landmark Hotel
Ruth Hansom, Boundary Restaurant
Philip Pagels, The Royal Household
Louise Roberts, Lexington Catering
Armed Services Chef Award
Karl Bartlett, Fuel & Food Services Team
Cpl Alun Davies, Catering Team RAF Squadron
Shaun Rowcroft, Royal Marines
Darren Rushforth, Royal Navy
Banqueting & Event Chef Award
Michael Bullard, West Bromwich Albion FC
Darren Deadman, Levy Restaurants
Tom Parry, Sodexo Prestige
Chef Lecturer Award
Vince Cottam, Westminster Kingsway College
Patricia Paskins, University of West London
Jamie Webb-Fryer, RLC, Ministry of Defence
Competition Chef Award
Clark Crawley, Deloitte London
Ben Ford, River Island
Javier Mercado, Le Cordon Bleu
Contract Catering Chef Award
Jeremy Ford, Restaurant Associates
Danny Leung, Lexington Group
Darren Thompson, Sodexo
Cost Sector Catering Chef Award
Rob Bean, University of Leicester
Ivan Hopkins, Nottingham Trent University
Preston Walker, Oak House Residential Home
Development Chef Award
Keith Burton, Sodexo Prestige
Sanjay Sighat, The Authentic Food Company
Andy Twells, Eurest Instore
Ethnic Chef Award
Giorgio Locatelli, Locanda Locatelli
Lorenzo Richards, Caribbean Express
Alun Sperring, The Chilli Pickle
New Restaurant of the Year Award
HKK
Lima
Restaurant Mark Greenaway
Pastry Chef Award
Andrew Ditchfield, House of Commons
Martin Powell, RAC Club
Phill Skinazi, BaxterStorey
People’s Choice Award
Darryl Arnold, Birmingham City Council
Simon Boyle, Brigade/Beyond Food Foundation
Murray Chapman, First Contact Chefs/A Passion to Inspire
Gareth Johns, Wynnstay Hotel, Machynlleth
David Sharland, The Seafood Restaurant, Padstow
Dawn Stanley, Wathwood Hospital
Pub Restaurant Chef Award
Jean-Phillippe Bidart, Millbrook Inn
Stosie Madi, Parkers Arms
Chris Norfolk, The Elm Tree
Restaurant Chef Award
Pascal Aussignac, Gascon Connection
Paul Kitching, 21212
Mark Poynton, Restaurant Alimentum
Young Chef Award
Craig Bateman, Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst
Kristian Curtis, Simpsons Restaurant
April Partridge, The Ivy Restaurant