Compass Group UK & Ireland is celebrating its impressive six award wins, from the prestigious Craft Guild of Chefs Awards 2026 - held in London on 10th June.
Organised by the UK’s leading professional chef association, the Craft Guild of Chefs Awards celebrates excellence in culinary achievement, showcasing exceptional talent across the UK’s chef industry and recognising individuals at every stage of their careers.
The Compass winners were:
Apprentice Chef Award: Nikoletta Theofylaktidou – Restaurant Associates Group
Since joining Restaurant Associates Group in 2023 Nikoletta has demonstrated exceptional drive and ambition, progressing from sous chef to senior sous chef. Her journey reflects her natural talent and her strong commitment to continuous development. She has been a finalist in the Roux Scholarship 2025 and recently won an Acorn Award. Nikoletta is a Burnt Chef Ambassador, supported Westminster Kingsway College (Capital City College) during the relaunch of its training restaurant facility, is committed to mentoring and is working towards becoming a Springboard Ambassador to inspire future talent. This is the third year running that a Compass colleague has taken this award.
Banqueting & Event Chef: Miles Greenaway – Rocket Food
Miles is culinary director at Rocket Food – making an extraordinary impact within just six months of joining the business in April 2025. He leads from the front delivering high profile events, strengthening culinary partnerships and reshaping key areas of the business. One of his standout achievements has been overseeing events at Royal Academy of Arts summer Exhibition and delivering a staggering 119 events in six months. In addition to his day job, he supports the charity Ace of Clubs, leading a team of chefs during a fundraising dinner.
Contract Catering Chef Award: Darren Passmore – Eurest UK
As culinary lead at Eurest, Darren was acknowledged for delivering excellence across large scale catering operations, while inspiring those around him. Throughout 2025, Darren led a series of major culinary mobilisations, consistently achieving strong results and delivering increased footfall. A strong advocate of sustainability he champions a plant-forward approach and seasonal British ingredients. Outside of work he supports Learn and Thrive - a charity working with people with additional needs, to make food and the catering environment inclusive to all.
Culinary Hero Award: Robert Kennedy – Chartwells Schools
Over two decades Rob has consistently used his culinary expertise, time and energy to support a wide range of charitable causes across the UK. His approach to charity is driven by a genuine belief on the power of food to make a positive impact. This dedication is brought to life by his work with the Ups and Downs charity – he initially raised £2,000 for them by being an auction prize and offering to cook dinner for the winning bidder. He then went onto to raise over £50,000 through years of dinners and events and has now increased his fundraising target to a massive £100,000. Alongside this he has supported other charities such as Cancer Research, Help for Heroes and KidsOut, to name just a few.
Sustainability Excellence Award – Large Operator: Eurest UK
Eurest was recognised for its sector-leading innovation in tackling food waste by combining data-led insight with chef creativity, to get results. Using detailed dashboard analytics, the business identified its most wasted ingredients and empowered chefs, nutritionists and innovation teams to develop recipes that reimagine leftovers into something that customers love. Key innovations include bacon tortillas and brioche-style buns created from leftover chips.
Young Chef Award: Tom Brassington – Restaurant Associates Group
Over the past two years as a student, Tom has demonstrated exceptional technical ability, professionalism and personal drive. He has achieved remarkable competitive success, including winning Nestlé Toque d’Or Professional 2025, being part of the winning Loughborough College team at Quest Asia 2025, and reaching the final of the Young Restaurant Team of the Year 2025. He is dedicated to continuous improvement – supporting the Junior Chef Academy to help others, he has also embarked on education trips to Italy and Japan and has gained fine dining experience alongside respected chefs.
Rob Kennedy said: “This award is really special, because it’s voted for and to know that my peers have nominated and then voted for me is an amazing achievement. I absolutely love being able to use my experience and skills to support charities, it’s so rewarding and I believe food and events bring people together. Thank you to everyone who voted, I am feeling extremely humbled today.”
Nick Vadis, Culinary Director, Compass Group UK & Ireland said: “This is such a fantastic achievement, and a real testament to the skill, passion and dedication across our teams. We’re so proud of all these winners - who have shown exceptional talent, leadership and creativity, as well as a commitment to excellence that makes them stand out in their field. The Craft Guild of Chef Awards are sought after accolades and it was wonderful to see our chefs rightly recognised. A huge congratulations to all of our winners and finalists.”
Mark Reynolds, Craft Guild of Chefs National Chairman and Levy Regional Executive Chef: “The night was a celebration of excellence, resilience and creativity and the people who continue to shape the future of our industry. It was truly wonderful to see so many talented people gathered in one room to celebrate. Congratulations to all the winners.”
Compass’ other shortlisted nominations were -
• Competition Chef Award: Simon Coulter – ESS
• Development Chef Award: Leanne Turk – Foodbuy Group and Steve Groves - Restaurant Associates Venues
• Public Sector Chef Award: Darren Neal – White Oaks
• Sustainability Excellence Award – Large Operator: ESS