Compass Group UK & Ireland chefs celebrated an impressive haul of awards at this year’s International Salon Culinaire competition, which took place as part of the three-day HRC at ExCeL London during Food, Drink and Hospitality Week.

Compass chefs secured six Best in Class awards, plus one Gold, 12 Silver, 19 Bronze alongside 10 Diplomas.

Talented chefs from across the Compass UK business took part in the event with representation across its sectors, including: Chartwells, Eurest, ESS, Restaurant Associates and Levy UK + Ireland.

Salon Culinaire provides an opportunity for chefs to test their skills and creativity in a competition environment, set across 120 live and static challenges over a three-day event.

In total, the team competed in 29 different competitions across the three elements:

• Salon Live – live cooking competitions
• Salon Display – static exhibits
• Skills Theatre – live kitchen and service skills competitions for students

A Gold award was honoured to:

• Husan Alaqel from Chartwells Independents in the restaurant fish course

Best in Class awards were honoured to:

• Max Faulkner, Chartwells – Beef and beyond Australian culinary challenge
• Brett Seagrave and Gareth Williams, ESS – Tilda Chef Team of the Year
• Terry McBride, Eurest – Raised Pie
• Charlotte Harris, Chartwells Schools - Main Course Plates
• Nicola Harper, ESS (Craft Guild Entry) – Main Course Plates

Nick Vadis, Culinary Director at Compass Group UK & Ireland, said: “Events like these are a great experience to challenge our chefs and for them to learn. It’s also a great opportunity to showcase the industry and encourage others to join. Our awards have gone to a wide variety of our talent from our junior apprentices to our more senior Exec chefs – demonstrating the importance of investing in our chef talent at all levels and the programmes created for them to progress and develop. With lots of new competitors this year, it is an incredible result. Well done to everyone involved.”

The HRC event also saw the launch of the Healthcare Chef’s Knowledge – a book led by the NHS and Prue Leith, designed to highlight the importance of food and nutrition in hospitals. The book includes Nick Vadis, UK Culinary Director for Foodbuy Culinary Solutions and NHS Supply Chain, Compass Group UK and Ireland - Healthcare Culinary Director, Bruce Toon and One Retail, Business Development Director, Haley-mae Downer.

Russell Blake, Managing Director of Healthcare at Compass Group UK & Ireland - “Food and nutrition are so important across the NHS – for staff, visitors and of course to support the health outcomes of patients. This book emphasises the critical role of good quality food within healthcare and it is fantastic to see the collaboration from experts across the sector. The book has extended our longstanding partnership with the NHS and I am glad we could support to help bring the idea to life.”

Gemma Evans-Hurley, Head of Culinary, Dine Contract Catering joined the “Contract Catering in 2024 and Beyond” panel to discuss menu design amidst a challenging economic landscape whilst continuing to meet the needs of clients and ensuring our operations positively impact the planet.

Compass Group UK & Ireland is headline sponsor of Salon Culinaire at HRC and has supported the event for more than 25 years.