Chefs from Compass Group UK & Ireland are celebrating a haul of awards at this year’s International Salon Culinaire competition which took place as part of the three-day Hotel, Restaurant & Catering show (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 and 10 diplomas.
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. Chefs from across the Compass UK business took part in the event, with representation from Chartwells, Eurest, ESS, Restaurant Associates and Levy UK and Ireland.
In total, the team competed in 29 different competitions across the three elements:
- Salon Live
- Salon Display
- Skills Theatre
A gold award was honoured to:
- Husan Alaqel from Chartwells Independents in the restaurant fish course
Best in Class awards were presented to:
- Nick Vadis, Culinary Director at Compass Group UK & Ireland
- 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 (pictured below), 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 executive chefs, demonstrating the importance of investing in our talent and the programmes created for them to progress. With lots of new competitors this year, it is an incredible result.’
Meanwhile, HRC also saw the launch of the Healthcare Chef’s Knowledge, a book led by the NHS and Prue Leith that was designed to highlight the importance of food and nutrition in hospitals. Russell Blake, Managing Director of Healthcare at Compass Group UK & Ireland, said: ‘Food and nutrition are so important for staff, visitors and to support the health outcomes of patients across the NHS. This book emphasises the critical role of good quality food within healthcare and it has has extended our longstanding partnership with the NHS.’
Compass Group UK and Ireland is headline sponsor of Salon Culinaire at HRC and has supported the event for more than 25 years.