Submissions open for Royal Academy of Culinary Arts’ Annual Awards of Excellence 2025

The Royal Academy of Culinary Arts (RACA) has opened entries for the Annual Awards of Excellence (AAE) 2025.

 

The AAE accepts applications from those aged under 26 working full time in the hospitality industry across kitchen, pastry and service.

 

Successful recipients of the AAE will meet the industry standard benchmark score of 70%, rather than competing against their peers over the course of the exam.

 

The highest-scoring candidate in each category will be named the RACA Young Chef, Young Pastry Chef, or Young Waiter of the Year 2025.

 

The RACA Chef of the Year will also be given automatic entry to the final of the Craft Guild of Chefs, Young Chef of the Year.

 

They will also receive a £2,000 bursary from the Savoy Educational Trust, which will go towards an educational culinary trip, and the opportunity to undertake work experience at the Fat Duck, courtesy of Heston Blumenthal.

 

AAE alumni include the likes of Luke Selby, executive head chef at Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons; Will Torrent, senior brand development chef at Waitrose & Partners; and John Hollywood, head of learning and development at Iconic Luxury Hotels.

 

Philip Howard, chef patron of the Michelin-starred Elystan Street in London’s Chelsea, will continue his tenure as honorary president of the AAE for a second year.

 

AAE 2025 will also see the addition of two new chairs: Alistair Birt, senior head chef at Harrods and Simon Girling, director of food & beverage at the Ritz London.

 

As chair of pastry, Birt will work alongside deputy chair Torrent to judge the pastry category.

 

Meanwhile, Girling will chair and judge the service element of the awards alongside vice chairman Didier Garnier, proprietor at Le Colombier in London’s Chelsea, and director of service John Cousins, director at the Food and Beverage Training Company.

 

Martyn Nail, executive chef at Claridge’s in London, and Hywel Jones, executive chef at Lucknam Park in Wiltshire, will continue as co-chairs of the kitchen element.

 

Pastry entries will close on Monday 6 January 2025, while the closing date for kitchen and service entries is Friday 31 January 2025.

 

Further details of the 2025 AAE can be found here.