Welcome to Competitions

The Craft Guild of Chefs is proud to celebrate with them.

Here you will find everything you need to know about the various culinary competitions that take place throughout the year - everything from the flagship National Chef of the Year contest through to the specialist Tilda Chef of the Year Competition.

This section will reveal where each is taking place, how you can get involved and those all important winners and runners up.

Current competitions:

Previous competitions:

Latest Competition News

03rd Nov 2025

Nestlé Professional’s Toque d’Or competition opens registrations for 2026

By: Edward Waddell

This year’s theme is cultural fusion, diversity and innovation. It reflects the dynamic and ever-evolving world of hospitality, encouraging students to embrace new flavours, ideas and perspectives

31st Oct 2025

Ardy Ferguson wins S.Pellegrino Young Chef Academy competition

By: Edward Waddell

The S.Pellegrino Young Chef Academy competition aims to empower talented young chefs through unparalleled connections with renowned culinary figures, education, mentorship and further networking

31st Oct 2025

Compass Group names Lee Redman as Senior Chef of the Year winner

By: Edward Waddell

The contest, which this year took place at The School of Culinary Arts & Food Technology in Technological University Dublin, showcases the company’s best-in-class culinary talent with an opportunity

30th Oct 2025

RAF chef Stefan Sewell wins Kraft Heinz culinary competition

By: Edward Waddell

The competition, in partnership with chef James Cochran and the Craft Guild of Chefs, saw five finalists battle it out for the coveted top spot. Finalists received one-on-one mentorship from Cochran

More Competitions News

24th Mar 2022

Country Range Student Chef Challenge announces 2022 champions

The trio of chefs, under the guidance of lecturer Jeff Mason, triumphed under the watchful eyes of the Craft Guild of Chefs...

21st Mar 2022

Six colleges advance to finals of Zest Quest Asia 2022

Moving forward to the final round are student chefs from Colchester Institute, Loughborough College, North Hertfordshire...

18th Mar 2022

Springboard FutureChef crowns Phoebe Lawson as best young cook

The competition, which has seen almost 200,000 young people aged 12-16 take part since it began in 1999, is backed by Clare...

18th Mar 2022

Competition hots up as Toque d’Or announces finalists for the Heats

Whittled down from more than 400 entrants from across the UK, competitors have already completed rigorous selection and...

11th Mar 2022

The search is on for the UK Seafood Chef of the Year 2022

This year’s competition promises competitors the best line up of judges to date, with Rick Stein, Mitch Tonks, Mark Hix and...

09th Mar 2022

Sodexo announces Chef of the Year 2022 finalists

The 90-minute live cook-off will take place at the HRC Show on 21 March 2022 at London ExCeL. With a strong emphasis on plant...

08th Mar 2022

FutureChef competition announces record number of female finalists

Hosted by UK hospitality charity Springboard, the competition is supported by chefs including Clare Smyth and Tom Kerridge...

01st Mar 2022

Craft Guild of Chefs celebrates 20 years of the Graduate Awards

Known for accelerating the careers of ambitious and talented young chefs, the Graduate Awards have seen its alumni going on...

28th Feb 2022

North Wales Chef ‘over the moon’ to win Junior Chef of Wales cook-off

Weir, head chef at Watson’s Bistro in Conwy, won the Dragon trophy as well as a trip to the Worldchefs Congress 2022 in Abu...

25th Feb 2022

British Turkey & Duck Young Chef Challenge opens for entry

The competition is open to student and apprentice chefs aged 23-years-old or under as of 12 April 2022, with the final taking...