Stars of the industry raise over £80,000 for the future of hospitality

The Academy of Food & Wine Service, the Royal Academy of Culinary Arts and the Restaurant Association joined forces at The Dorchester last night for the 27^th National Restaurateurs’ Dinner (NRD) to celebrate the year’s successes and raise vital funds for the future of training and education in the hospitality sector.

This year, the NRD has raised over £80,000 which will be used to help maintain the profile of the industry, both front and back of house, through training and educational programmes. Over the years, the NRD has supported programmes such as the RACA Annual Awards of Excellence, Apprenticeships and Master of Culinary Arts, AFWS UK Sommelier of the Year and UK Restaurant Manager of the Year, BHA Young Chef Young Waiter and the Big Hospitality Conversation.

This year guests of the NRD were treated to a menu demonstrating the supreme talents of our chefs’ dream team, winners of the Master of Culinary Arts 2013: Steve Love MCA (Chef Proprietor, Loves Restaurant); Jeff Galvin MCA (Chef Patron, Galvin Restaurants); Jeremy Ford MCA (Chef Director, Restaurant Associates); and William Curley MCA (Pâtissier-Chocolatier, William Curley).

Similarly, they were reminded of the significance of the dinner with a film put together by Coolcucumber.tv, showcasing elements from AFWS UK Sommelier of the Year, UK Restaurant Manager of the Year, RACA Annual Awards of Excellence and Master of Culinary Arts and Michel Roux’s Service BBC TV programme. The film reflects the extent of the fantastic work that the three organisations produce every year, reminding everyone what an amazing industry we work in. This year a number of past winners of the various awards and competitions were present at the dinner and congratulated by all present.

See our Facebook album for images from the night here.