One day to go to submit 2026 Acorn Award nominations

With just 24 hours left to nominate your rising star for The Caterer’s 2026 Acorn Awards, time is ticking to get your entries in now.

Organised by The Caterer, and in partnership with CH&Co, the prestigious awards are now in their 40th year – an extra-special milestone celebrating the brightest young talent shaping hospitality at an early stage in their careers.

The awards provide winners with the acknowledgement of which they are so deserving – it is not just about exceptional performance at work, but a combination of qualities that demonstrate a winner’s ability to create meaningful impact beyond their own success.

For 2025 Acorn Award winner Ellie Olds, company nutritionist at Holroyd Howe, feedback from students, teachers and parents on her advocacy for nutrition education was the real win, and that making healthy eating as “accessible to as many people as possible is amazing”.

Enter the 2026 Acorn Awards now

Get your Acorn Award nomination in now

There are so many reasons to enter the Acorn Awards, with recent winners saying the experience was “uplifting”, “game-changer” and, in one case, “Oscar-winning”. 

So, if you’re thinking about entering yourself or nominating a colleague, there are only three criteria for nominees: they must work in the hospitality industry; be under the age of 30 on 8 June 2026; and be available for the winners’ weekend which will take place at Swinton Estate in North Yorkshire on Sunday 7 and Monday 8 June 2026.