The Graduate Awards are currently open for entries and the Craft Guild of Chefs is looking for chefs and pastry chefs aged under 25 years old to get involved. The initial stage is an online application with two regional heats in June and the final in September.

To help young chefs who are new to the Graduate Awards, the Craft Guild of Chefs been asking the Graduate Champions to share one piece of advice from their own experience of the event. Here is what they said:

Tara Pasotti

“Pushing yourself out of your comfort zone can create wonderful things but make sure to have fun with your dishes because you must enjoy what you create. Don't fight with the thought of winning because passing the competition is a great achievement in itself and you should be proud of whatever you achieve on the day.”

Alessio Sneider

“Keep practising your skills. Even when you think you’ve mastered them, push yourself further and keep improving!”

Lilian Savage

“Do your research about the dishes you are making. It's so important to understand the reasoning behind why you are being set the tasks, the skills the judges are looking for and what they are trying to help you to develop. This will give you a better understanding of what you are doing in the kitchen and helps with your confidence in the dishes you are making.

“The more you understand about your food products the more you can experiment and push yourself to try new ideas. Lean on your peers and mentors around you; ask them questions, get them to taste your dishes when you are first trialling them, and ask them to give you feedback.

“Once you are comfortable just keep practising and doing full timed run throughs in preparation for the day! Remember everyone around you is there to support you and wants to see you succeed!”

Ieuan Davies

“It’s a marathon not a race, enjoy the whole experience and learn from all aspects of the competition not just winning and losing.”

Ben Champkin

“The Graduate Awards will give you a better understanding of what you are doing in the kitchen and helps with your confidence in the dishes you are making.”

Jonny Smith

“Take the time to read through the brief over and over, use your mentor to help and support you and practise, practise, practise.”

Aaron Middleton

“Taste, Taste, Taste. Impressive technique and plating are important but sometimes we forget to focus on the taste. Taste first with attentive seasoning and thoughtful flavour pairing and then work backwards.”

Enter the 2025 Graduate Awards here.