I was inspired to see the great support at the 15th Annual Craft Guild of Chefs Awards, which took place at the Royal Courts of Justice recently and was proud that the "Check On" Chef Division of Focus Management was sponsoring the Development Chef category. It is truly inspirational to see so much support and pride for the industry's craft skills. It goes to show that cooking is certainly not just a job; it's a genuine passion that takes tremendous commitment and dedication and I applaud the Craft Guild of Chefs as it encourages this from entry level to senior management.
This year's winner was Tony Murphy from UK catering and support company Eurest and as head of our Check On division, which specialises in finding development chefs, I would like to send him my personal congratulations.
The Craft Guild of Chefs Awards are the chefs' 'Oscars', designed to recognise and reward the leading talent working in kitchens all across the UK.
The role of the development chef is one of the most dynamic and exciting in the whole food sector. Chefs we have placed are developing hundreds of new recipes each year for manufacturers who supply own label products for the major retailers like Tesco and Marks & Spencer.
The Craft Guild of Chefs Awards have become a major industry event with over 500 culinary professionals in attendance under one roof for a glittering ceremony which is a fixture of the food sector calendar. The nominees need not be a member of the Craft Guild, just exceptional professionals, excelling in their chosen field.
It was indeed a great night and a real joy to see the pride on the faces of the winners who would otherwise get little recognition, such as the lady chef who won the cost sector award for her work at a Derbyshire Junior School and the apprentice chefs who obviously work very hard to master their chosen art. The larger than life character who won the chef/owner award and his community birthday party for his dog (with 13 St Bernards on the guest list) was pure genius. Well done to you all.
Chefs who obviously work very hard to master their profession would be very happy by this