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The Young National Chef of the Year (YNCOTY) awards were announced on Tuesday 8th October at a lively ceremony at London’s Hippodrome Casino in Leicester Square. Taking the runner-up spot was Rosie Welch from L’Enclume with Keira Carolan from Simon Rogan’s Henrock taking the third place spot. The  VIP Awards evening took place in front of some of the industry’s biggest names.

There are two female chefs competing in Young National Chef of the Year (YNCOTY) finals and both are new to The Craft Guild of Chefs’ competition. Keira Carolan and Rosie Welch both work in restaurants by Simon Rogan in the Lake District.  They were part of twelve talented young chefs who received a special delivery on July 31st 2024. The exclusive YNCOTY chef’s jacket from Continental Chef Supplies (CCS) confirmed the chefs had done enough to impress the judges and earn one of the much sought-after spots in the final which takes place on Tuesday 8th October.

The Roux Family is delighted to announce that acclaimed Basque chef Elena Arzak will lead the panel of judges for the Roux Scholarship final 2025 as Honorary President of Judges.

The Craft Guild of Chefs Graduate Awards 2024 concluded on 9th August with a ceremony at Fortnum & Mason.  Nine talented young chefs were celebrated for reaching and important milestone in their careers. Following a challenging five-hour Graduate Awards final exam at the University of West London, those chefs who achieved the all-important pass mark. Our co-founder Mex Ibrahim celebrated with the women who reached the finals and the examiners involved.

Women in the Food Industry are bringing you a fascinating panel event, along with snacks, & award-winning drinks looking at the realities of reality TV and how women are portrayed on competitive cooking shows. Being on national TV is the dream of many in the hospitality world. It can boost your career and change your life overnight. We speak to leading cooks, chefs, restaurateurs and an award winning food TV producer to discuss how you can get on TV, what to consider before applying, how to deal with the cameras, how to deal with social media, what success is like and how to make the most of your time in the public eye.

The Black Bull, Sedbergh, is gearing up to host its first ever spring chef dinner series, with top female chefs set to take to the Black Bull’s stoves to create three one-off small plates tasting menus alongside chef-owner Nina Matsunaga who was recently seen on Great British Menu.

Adejoké Bakare’s Michelin Star is an achievement that has made history. In a glittering awards ceremony on 5th February 2024, she became the first black woman in the UK to win a star and the second black woman in the world to win one.  Chishuru winning its first star marks Adejoké’s  journey from running a north London supper club to her West End restaurant which has helped bring West African cooking into the mainstream.

Women in The Food Industry member and award-winning chef, Amber Francis, hailed as one to watch on Great British Menu, is taking on a new challenge – cooking incredible food in a school as she joins Chefs In Schools. The pioneering non profit, Chefs in Schools recently won a BBC Food and Farming Award – the Derek Cooper Award for Outstanding Achievement. 

We are enormously proud and humbled to have Irini Tzortzoglou 2019 Masterchef Champion as one of our Ambassadors. She is a very busy woman but she took the time to share with us some of our latest news.

Hundreds of votes from gastropub chefs, food writers, pub-guide editors, top pub industry suppliers and critics were counted to reveal the country’s best gastropubs across the country. This year’s Estrella Damm List of Top 50 Gastropubs shows a number of inspiring women running award-winning pub kitchens including the pub which reached the number two spot – The Parkers Arms.

Following the fantastic news that Core by Clare Smyth secured a third Michelin star this week, Bocuse d’Or UK is delighted to announce that she has accepted the role of Global Chef Ambassador for the Bocuse d’Or UK.

We recently caught up with inspiring young chef Amber Francis, Senior Sous Chef at Bermondsey Larder (previously known as The Dairy Bermondsey), to discover more about the resilience of working in the restaurant world during lockdown. Plus as Youth Ambassador for The Craft Guild of Chefs, discover her thoughts on importance of training, development, women in the industry and her clear love for the hospitality world.