Craft Guild of Chefs announces 2011 award nominees

Lisa Allen of Northcote Manor, Anirudh Arora of Moti Mahal and Sudha Shankar Saha of Saffron are amongst 40 chefs nominated in the shortlist for the 2011 Craft Guild of Chefs Awards.

The annual awards, held this year at Westminster Park Plaza Hotel on 2 June, seek to recognise the greatest culinary talent across all sectors of the hospitality industry.

Along with awards for New Restaurant, Restaurant Chef, Pub Restaurant Chef and Ethnic Chef, the Craft Guild will also present two additional accolades – The Special Award, chosen by the Craft Guild committee for a person who has made “an enormous contribution” to the industry, and the People’s Choice Award, introduced this year to recognise those demonstrating “real commitment to their job”.

Voting for the awards opened on 19 April online, and will continue until 13 May.

The nominees for the 2011 Craft Guild of Chefs Awards are:

Apprentice Chef Award

Rebecca Marshman, Hilton Park Lane

Lyndsay Michie, Le Gavroche

Tom Puttock, Northcote Manor

Banqueting Chef Award

Tom Allen, O2 Arena

Brian Canale, Heritage Portfolio

David Summerell, Royal College of Physicians

Competition Chef Award

Hayden Groves, Elior UK

Mathew Shropshall, University College Birmingham

Nicholas Smith, Vacherin

Contract Catering Chef Award

Robert Brown, Compass Group

Mark Cheetam, Sodexo

Mark Wetherill, Sodexo

Cost Sector Chef Award

Alan Baker-Green, Compass Group

Robin Turner, Sodexo

Andrew Wood, University of York

Development Chef Award

Peter Joyner, Elior

Sanjay Sighat, Authentic Food Company

Andrew Twells, Compass Group

Education Chef Award

Ian Jaundoo, Liverpool Community College

Patricia Paskins, Thames Valley University

John Gray, Defence Food Services School

Ethnic Chef Award

Anirudh Arora, Moti Mahal

Karunesh Khanna, Amaya

Sudha Shankar Saha, Saffron

New Restaurant Award

Bistrot Bruno Loubet, London

Pea Porridge, Bury St Edmunds

Viajante, London

Pastry Chef Award

Andrew Ditchfield, House of Commons

Cherish Finden, The Langham Hotel

Tal Hausen, The Lanesborough Hotel

Mark Perkins, The Marriott Chancery Court Hotel

Pub Restaurant Chef Award

Tim Bilton, The Butchers Arms, Holmfirth

Daniel Turner, The White Hart, Maulden

Graham White, The Plough Inn, Hungerford

Restaurant Chef Award

Lisa Allen, Northcote Manor

Ed Wilson, Terroirs

Abdul Yaseen, Cinnamon Kitchen

Young Chef Award

Alistair Birt, William Curley

Chris Munroe, The Royal Garden Hotel

Tom Parker, Northcote Manor

People’s Choice Award

David Brown, Stable Family Home Trust

David Cavalier, CH & Co

David Croft, former chef/volunteer fundraiser

Vicky Lord, Staffordshire County Council

Trevor Nelson, retired executive chef, Compass Group

John Retallick, chairman of the Craft Guild of Chefs Vice Presidents’ Council

David Sharland, The Seafood Restaurant, Padstow