Nine young chefs receive Craft Guild’s 2024 Graduate Awards

The Craft Guild of Chefs has revealed the names of nine young chefs who have won the Graduate Awards.

 

All finalists had to take part in a five-hour exam at the University of West London last week, while the winners were announced during a ceremony at Fortnum & Mason in London’s Mayfair yesterday (9 September).

 

Those who passed the Kitchen and Pastry exams have all secured a spot to compete in next year’s semi-finals of the Young National Chef of the Year.

 

This takes the overall number of chefs who have passed the Graduate Awards to 111.

 

Alessio Sneider from Soho House, 76 Dean Street, received the highest mark in the Kitchen Graduate Award exam, meaning he will be seeded straight to the final of Young National Chef of the Year, while Irene Magro from Rosewood London came top of the Pastry Graduate Award exam.

 

Matt Jones, head chef at the House of Commons, took home the Mentor Award for his support of Kitchen finalist Callum O’Grady, while Mark Perkins from Rosewood London received the Mentor Award for guiding Magro.

 

Examiners for this year included the likes of Sally Abé, Gary Jones, Andrew Ditchfield, Mark Reynolds, Roger Pizey and Leyre Pedrazuela Otero.

 

Ben Murphy, former winner of National Chef of the Year, said: “One of the things that struck me as the chair of examiners was the teamwork and support amongst the finalists. That’s the beauty of the Graduate Awards as it’s an exam not a competition so any number of chefs can achieve it. It’s such an important event for young chefs in the way it develops skills, confidence and connections, whether you achieve the award or not.”

 

The Kitchen Graduate Award achievers are listed below:

 

Angelo Vinci, Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons

Paolo Marinosci, Mauro Colagreco at Raffles London at the OWO

Nick Grant, Launceston Place

Callum O’Grady, House of Commons

Alessio Sneider, Soho House, 76 Dean Street

 

The Pastry Graduate Award achievers are listed below:

 

Irene Magro, Rosewood London

Catherine Ens, Launceston Place

Jessica McKechnie, Mar Hall

Ridhima Mhaiskar, the Dorchester hotel

 

The Craft Guild of Chefs is the largest UK chefs’ association, with membership spanning the globe across foodservice and hospitality.