Held during Food, Drink & Hospitality Week, the event is a highlight of the three-day Hotel, Restaurant & Catering (HRC) show at ExCeL London. With a total of 63 awards, Compass chefs achieved eight Best in Class awards, five Gold, 15 Silver, 23 Bronze and 12 certificates of merit.

Eighteen year-old Phoebe Lawson, commis chef at ESS Energy, won 'best in show' for her restaurant plate. She also won gold and best in class for her main course plates, two silvers, a best in class for her dessert plates and bronze for afternoon tea.

Commenting on her success, Lawson said: “This has been a really great opportunity to compete, learn and develop my skills. I loved taking part and it was a brilliant environment attending the competition with everyone. I am really proud to come home with these medals and look forward to continuing to learn from other chefs within ESS and Compass.”

The 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.

Nick Vadis, culinary director at Compass Group UK & Ireland, added: “International Salon Culinaire is one of our favourite events of the year. It offers a fantastic experience for our chefs to try a new challenge and develop their skills, while showcasing our industry to others.

“The standard of the entries was extremely high, as always, and it’s excellent to see talent from all levels represented – from our junior apprentice chefs to our more senior chefs – and some new faces in the team this year. This is a brilliant result. Well done to all the competitors for their hard work.”

Best in Class awards were honoured to:

• Phoebe Lawson, ESS Energy - Dessert Plates (Junior Section)
• Phoebe Lawson, ESS Energy – Main Course Plates (Junior Section)
• Maria Conn, Chartwells - Decorated Plant Arrangement
• Max Faulkner, Chartwells – Duck Culinary Showdown
• Nicola Harper-Bennet, ESS Defence – Plant Based Live Class
• Simon Barton, ESS Defence – Alaskan Seafood Masters
• Simon Coulter, ESS Defence - Main Course Restaurant Plates
• Terrie McBride, Eurest - Raised Pie Class