Nine talented and ambitious young chefs have made the grade in the Graduate Awards 2023. This successful year has taken the overall number of chefs who have passed the award to 102. The results were revealed at a VIP Awards evening at Fortnum & Mason in front of examiners, sponsors, the media and industry friends.
The 2023 cohort of Kitchen Graduate Awards Achievers is Jake Mills from Studio Frantzen, Nathan Cooper who works at Goldman Sachs, BaxterStorey, Chloe Williamson from Prestwold Hall and Georgia Hackett who is based at The Arts School. Nathan Cooper was awarded the Highest Achiever and his mentor, Simon Webb, received the mentorship award for all his support during the process. Achieving this prestigious award opens doors to competitions such as the Young National Chef of the Year and offers the chance to enjoy culinary experiences.
Ben Murphy, chef patron at Launceston Place said: “This awards ceremony brings an end to my first year as Chair of examiners and I’ve loved the whole experience. It’s important to me to share my knowledge, skills and ideas with the next generation and this provides me with lots of opportunities to do so. The four chefs who achieved the award will benefit so much from having this on their CV and I really hope those who didn’t achieve the award come back next year. You learn so much from the whole process that will help you in your day-to-day work and future careers.”
The Graduate Awards Achievers receive a range of prizes to celebrate their success. NOWAH has donated a prize for the pastry chefs with four days in Italy. They will have two days of one-on-one instruction from Pastry World Cup Champion, Massimo Pica, at his renowned Pica Pastry School in Milan. In the evening, the chefs will have the chance to enjoy the sights of Milan and drinks overlooking the Piazza del Duomo. They will also enjoy a visit to the KMP factory, followed by a hands-on session in the preparation of various doughs followed by a full day of relaxation and sightseeing in the city of Venice.
