Entries for Annual Awards of Excellence 2016 now open

Young chefs and waiters are being encouraged to enter the The Royal Academy of Art's Annual Awards of Excellence 2016 (AAE). 

The competition is open to applicants aged between 20 and 26 who are currently working full-time in the UK as a Chef, Pastry Chef or Waiter. All entrants will receive a certificate and bottle of Laurent-Perrier Champagne, with the highest scoring candidate in each section being named the Royal Academy of Culinary Arts Young Chef, Young Pastry Chef and Young Waiter of the Year 2016.

The winner from each category will also go home with a handful of prizes worth up to £2, 000 including MAC knives, Meyer cookware, engraved trophy, and a bursary from the Savoy Educational Trust.

The AAE is the most prestigious award available to young professionals in the hospitality industry today, recognising and encouraging the most talented ambitious Chefs, Pastry Chefs and Waiters.  Since it began in 1983 over 500 young professionals have achieved the award, setting them off on highly successful career paths.

Finalists will be selected based on written entries who will compete in the regional semi-finals in March with the finals held in May/June 2016. The overall winners will also be invited to a special Gala dinner in July to receive their prizes.

Judges include; Heston Blumenthal OBE, Chef Patron, The Fat Duck, John Williams MBE, Executive Chef, The Ritz, Martyn Nail, Executive Chef, Claridge’s and Adam Byatt, Chef Patron, Trinity, Yolande Stanley MCA, ecturer in Patisserie, Westminster Kingsway College and Sarah Hartnett, Head Pastry Chef and joint chairman of service Sergio Rebecchi, Director, Serenata Hospitality and John Cousins, Director, The Food and Beverage Company

Entry forms can be obtained from Ilisha Waring at the Royal Academy of Culinary Arts Tel: 020 8673 6300 / E-mail: ilishawaring@raoca.org.uk or can be downloaded from the website www.royalacademyofculinaryarts.org.uk

>>> Read about last year's winners here