Chartwells' chefs sweep victory at Compass Chef of the Year competition

Two chefs from Chartwells, the education arm of Compass Group UK & Ireland, were crowned winners of the annual Compass Chef of the Year competition.

Sophie White was named Compass Senior Chef of the Year, while Charles Winter won Compass Young Chef of the Year.

The competition was held at Christ’s Hospital School in Horsham, marking the culmination of six months of regional heats involving over 40 chefs from across the business.

Competitors for Senior Chef of the Year were asked to prepare three dishes in two hours, while those battling out for the Young Chef of the Year title were required to prepare two dishes in the same amount of time.

All finalists also had to create one plant-based dish, in line with Compass Group UK & Ireland’s commitment to sustainability, seasonality and achieving net zero by 2030.

These were presented to judges Matt Owens, chairman of the Craft Guild of Chefs; Simon Stocker, chef consultant and past senior lecturer of Culinary Arts, Westminster College; and Robert Brown, menu and recipe manager of Compass Group.

White impressed the judges with her tempura shiitake mushroom starter, her stuffed pork fillet main and her sticky toffee pudding with macerated blackberries.

She is the first female chef to win this prize and is a member of Compass’ Women In Food Community.

She said: “It’s a huge honour to win this award, which was made all the sweeter winning at my home kitchen at Christ’s Hospital. I’m incredibly proud of my job, and passionate about serving fantastic food that isn’t just great in a school setting, but that stands up on its own against the best from across the business.” White was followed by former Young Chef of the Year winner Faye De Souza, from Restaurant Associates, who secured silver, and Bruce Morrison from ESS Energy, who received bronze.

Winter from Chartwells Independent was crowned winner of the Young Chef of the Year competition with his main of compressed mushroom.

Rachel Michie from ESS was awarded silver and Nathan Brown from Chartwells Independent received the bronze.

Commenting on the wins, Nick Vadis, culinary director of Compass Group UK & Ireland and recipient of the Outstanding Contribution Award at this year’s Foodservice Cateys, said: “This is our 25th Compass Chef of the Year and every year I continue to be impressed by the creativity and skills our chefs show. They always rise to the challenge. Competitions are a great way to truly test what you have learnt and what you are capable of.

"The competition generates so much excitement within our culinary community and I would like to congratulate everyone who took part. They should all be really proud.”