Brian Turner wins Restaurant Association award for services to hospitality

Chef Brian Turner was awarded the Restaurant Association Award for services to hospitality at a star-studded industry event last night.

The Restaurant Association Gala Dinner, held at the Savoy hotel in London, was jointly hosted by UKHospitality and the Nth Degree Global.

Receiving his award from celebrity chef James Martin, Turner said: “It has just been such an exciting night and what a privilege to hold this award.

"I hold this award for lots of people, it is all about the hospitality industry and looking after people with food and drink. I’ve had such a good time in the industry, and I can’t tell you how lucky I’ve been. Thank you to everyone at the Restaurant Association for the award for services to hospitality and to my friend James for coming to present it.”

He collected a custom-made Fabergé egg designed by Sarah Fabergé (pictured, second from left) and made by Joey Richardson (second from right). It was decorated with symbols and illustrations that referenced key moments in his life, including his father’s café, his presidency of the Royal Academy of Culinary Arts, a Michelin star and his charitable interests, including the Anthony Nolan Trust.

Martin commended him and said: “As a young nine-year-old chef, keen as mustard, with a brand-new starch jacket on, that’s when I walked into a professional kitchen for the very first time. He’s taught me a lot about life ever since then and he deserves this award for Services to Hospitality big time.”

Turner later hosted an auction, which together with a silent auction and head or tails competition, raised £25,000 for industry charity Hospitality Action.

Guests included chefs Tom Aikens, Ainsley Harriott, Claude Bosi, Chris Galvin, Sabrina Ghayour and Atul Kochhar and celebrities including supermodel Jodie Kidd and television personality Lisa Snowdon.

On the night Robert Walton, president of the Restaurant Association and founder of the Nth Degree Global, announced that a new partnership with the Department for International Trade would see the Young Chef Young Waiter 2020 final held in Dubai.

Walton said: “This is a huge step for the future of the hospitality industry and is the perfect opportunity to showcase British creativity and talent, plus expose the semi-finalists to a world stage. We can’t wait for entries to open in April and meet the next round of contestants.”

Judges will include chef Theo Randall and Simon King, group operations director at JKS Restaurant Group, as well as 2019 Young Chef Young Waiter winners Richard Henderson from Restaurant Hywel Jones, Lucknam Park and Alessandro Calzavacca from Jean-Georges at the Connaught.

The final will be held at Expo 2020 Dubai in the UAE in November.