Gold Service Scholarship defers 2021 competition schedule

The Gold Service Scholarship is delaying its 2021 competition schedule until September due to ongoing coronavirus restrictions.

The awards would normally be presented in February, but it will not be possible this year as the normal judging process cannot go ahead.

Instead, the 2022 competition will launch in September, marking the 10th anniversary of the contest, ahead of a planned awards ceremony in February next year.

Trustee and chairman of the Judges Edward Griffiths said: “While this news is disappointing, we are committed to ensuring that our 2020 winning Finalists and Scholar are able to take up their educational prizes, when it is safe to do so, during the late spring and summer of 2021. We will then launch our 2022 as usual, in September 2021.”

Chairman of the Trustees Alastair Storey added: “The hospitality industry is under huge stress due to closures and restrictions, and we feel that a period of recovery will be needed before we can start the next competition. We want to continue to encourage young people to consider a professional career in hospitality, and to nurture those who are doing great work in these challenging times. We are optimistic that 2021 will emerge stronger than ever, and that there will be many opportunities for young talent to shine, and the Gold Service Scholarship is ready to meet them as soon as it is possible to do so.”

The winner of the 2020 scholarship was Elizabeth Forkuoh, junior assistant manager at the Strathearn restaurant at Gleneagles in Auchterarder, Perthshire.

She won a range of prizes, including work placements overseas and in the UK, as well as a stage at either Buckingham Palace or Windsor Castle for a state visit, and a tailored educational course on hotel and restaurant management at the Lausanne Hotel School in Switzerland.

The Gold Service Scholarship was founded in 2012 to promote front of house careers. Its patron is the Queen, who attended the event to present the awards in 2016.