Compass Group UK & Ireland is celebrating after winning two silver awards, in the Regional Team Buffet and the Community Catering live kitchen events at the 2022 Culinary World Cup, held in Luxembourg.

The Culinary World Cup EXPOGAST is a five-day event that brings together chefs from around the globe. Over 1,500 professional chefs competed in Luxembourg at the event, which is staged every four years in a different location.

The event saw Compass Group UK & Ireland placed sixth­ overall and being named best Regional Team for their cold buffet entry on their competing day, alongside the silver award, plus the Community Catering team also gaining silver status.

Stacey Harris from Restaurant Associates, Head Chef in Canary Wharf, received gold and silver medals as part of the English National team. In addition, Compass also had Wayne Corbett, Executive Chef, 14forty and Rick Owens, Sous Chef, from Levy UK+I, taking part within the Craft Guild of Chefs team - they achieved a silver award.

The Compass Group UK & Ireland chefs were mentored by Nick Vadis, Compass’ Culinary Director and Chef Ambassador to the NHS supply chain, as well as Graham Singer, Culinary Director for ESS Energy and Compass Scotland.

The Community Catering line-up created a four-course lunch, amongst the four chefs and three support chefs. The Regional Cold Buffet team was made up of five chefs and four support chefs – they created a mouth-watering cold buffet display, including petit fours and a chocolate centre piece.

Entries were judged by an esteemed panel of chefs from the World Association of Chefs Society (WACS), before being opened up to the public audience to enjoy.

Nick Vadis, Culinary Director at Compass Group UK & Ireland, said: “I am a great believer in our chefs taking part in culinary competitions and the World Cup is particularly special. Our chefs showing off their outstanding talent on the world stage and succeeding, is a poignant moment for us all. Our chefs are the lifeblood of the Compass business, their creativity, dedication and skill is second to none and I love working with them all. A huge well done and thank you to everyone involved.”

Robert Kennedy, Culinary Director for Chartwells Independent, said: “This has been a unique and fantastic experience. We have all learnt so much during the months of preparation. The feedback from the World Association of Chefs Jury was excellent and they complimented us highly towards our sustainable food and excellent organisation. As team Captain, I am thrilled for our team and I would like to thank our chefs for all their hard work and dedication.”

Graham Singer, Culinary Director for ESS Energy and Compass Scotland, said: “The success of the Compass culinary team came from the passion, drive and commitment of each and every team member. Amazing results were achieved - a fantastic showcase of teamwork and a rewarding experience for the team as whole - I was humbled to be the mentor and manager of such a great team. Having the opportunity to show on the world stage the skills our chefs have honed, alongside the innovation and sustainability of our food was an honour. A heartfelt congratulations to the team and everyone else involved in the organisation and delivery of the event. The team were so proud to represent Compass UK and Ireland.”

The full teams were:

Regional Cold Buffet: -

• Team Captain: David Auchie, ESS
• Chef: Robert Kennedy, Chartwells Independent
• Chef: Christopher Macleod, ESS
• Chef: Gordon McKenzie, ESS
• Pastry Chef: Barry Fleming, ESS

Support chefs

• Simon Coulter, ESS
• Kevin Rocks, ESS
• Shona Sutherland, ESS
• James Larkins, Chartwells Independent

Community Catering:

• Team Captain: Robert Kennedy, Chartwells Independent
• Chef: Dennis Mwakulua, Chartwells Independent
• Chef: Gordon McKenzie, ESS
• Pastry Chef: Barry Fleming, ESS

Support chefs

• Izabela Ginter, ESS
• Christopher Macleod, ESS
• Tony Murphy, ESS

Rick Owens and Wayne Corbett were part of the Craft Guild of Chefs team.

Stacey Harris was part of the England National team.

Interested in chef competitions? Why not head to internationalsalonculinaire.co.uk and learn more about the over 100 live and static competitions taking place at ExCeL London on 20-22 March 2023.