19.06.26 - Lizzie Barnett
Three wins at the Craft Guild of Chefs Awards
A fantastic night at the Craft Guild of Chefs Awards
Earlier this month, we celebrated the exceptional achievements of our talented culinary teams and the dedication they have brought to their craft over the past year. We were incredibly proud to see their hard work recognised, with Restaurant Associates Group taking home three awards at the Craft Guild of Chef Awards.
A huge congratulations to Nikoletta Theofylaktidou on winning Apprentice Chef, Miles Greenaway for winning Event & Banqueting Chef, and Tom Brassington for being recognised for the Young Chef Award.
It was also a brilliant night for Compass Group UK&I with wins including the Culinary Hero Award, while Eurest UK were honoured with the Sustainability Excellence Award and Contract Catering Chef Award.
Congratulations to all the winners and finalists.
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.
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.
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.
