Acorn Awards 2024: Chris Davis, 28, head chef, Company of Cooks

Age 28

Position Head chef, Company of Cooks

Nominator Ciaran Hogg, operations director, Company of Cooks

It’s hard to know where to start with Chris Davis’s achievements. Having been made head chef at the Royal Opera House in 2022, he opened up its Piazza restaurant to the general public rather than just ticket-holders for the first time, earning it recognition in the Michelin Guide Great Britain & Ireland 2023.

His duties as head chef mean he is responsible for a team of 60 and a significant budget, which he has delivered on after attracting 77,000 extra covers since it opened to the public.

To support the company’s sustainability strategy, he works with organisations such as Waste Knot, which has reduced food waste by 50% in six months, as well as championing local supplier Larder London to reduce food miles.

Chef development is a priority for him, and he arranges quarterly team visits to suppliers and helps train apprentices. He also gives cookery demonstrations and talks at Westminster Kingsway College and judges internal competitions, giving feedback to students.

In 2023, Davis took a course on management and liaison to enhance the work atmosphere and ran a course for the team on equality, diversity and inclusion. Staff retention rate has remained steady at 80% in the two-and-a-half years since he joined.

Davis’s ambition is to become food director and to attain this, he is undertaking a level four apprenticeship to progress to executive chef, as well as voluntarily supporting mobilisations at other sites, training brigades and developing menus.

Who has been your biggest champion?

"At Marcus, chef Marcus and head chef Mark really supported me through my time there. Within Company of Cooks, Jeremy Ford and Ciaran Hogg have always championed my career and pushed me forward to do better."

How do you get the best out of your team?

"I make sure that all our chefs have a work-life balance – that is pivotal. It’s important that we work in a happy, healthy environment and I focus on keeping staff morale high even in the toughest of days, spending time with the team outside work to create a team bond and also memories. Finally, to remember our core values: craft, creativity and community."

What excites you most about your role?

"I’m excited to face all challenges head on. My next goal is to be an executive chef before I’m 30. The industry keeps changing and this keeps me motivated to keep pushing on."