Adam Byatt voted AA Chefs' Chef of the Year 2026
Adam Byatt has been voted AA Chefs' Chef of the Year 2026.
The chef patron of Trinity in Clapham was named at the AA Hospitality Awards at the JW Marriott Grosvenor House on Park Lane, London, on Monday, September 21, 2026, in front of close to 1,000 guests.
Only chefs whose restaurants hold AA rosettes are eligible to vote, which makes it peer recognition rather than an inspector's verdict, and it is the reason the award carries the weight it does.
Adam said: "Winning this award is a huge honour. I'm incredibly proud and grateful to have been chosen as this year's AA Chefs' Chef of the Year out of such an esteemed group."
He came out on top of a shortlist of 12 that read like a roll call of the country's best known kitchens: Kenny Atkinson at Solstice by Kenny Atkinson in Newcastle, Hélène Darroze at Hélène Darroze at The Connaught, Hrishikesh Desai at Cedar Tree by Hrishikesh Desai in Cumbria, Mark Donald at The Glenturret Lalique Restaurant in Perthshire, Brett Graham at The Ledbury, Roberta Hall-McCarron at The Little Chartroom in Edinburgh, Adam Handling at Frog by Adam Handling, Angela Hartnett at Murano, Lorna McNee at Cail Bruich in Glasgow, Spencer Metzger at Row on 5 and Clare Smyth at Core by Clare Smyth.
The AA said Adam had become known for classically rooted seasonal cooking with a focus on bold, honest flavours, and that at Trinity this translated into an imaginative and distinctive style that reflected the very best of who he is.
A Clapham restaurant and a 20 year climb
Adam trained at college in Bournemouth before joining Claridge's at 16 on an Academy of Culinary Arts apprenticeship, working under John Williams. From there he moved to The Berkeley in Knightsbridge and then to The Square in Mayfair under Phil Howard, where he was promoted to sous chef as the restaurant took its second Michelin star.
He opened his first restaurant, Thyme, in Clapham in 2001, taking Time Out restaurant of the year in 2003 and best newcomer at the Tatler Restaurant Awards before it closed in 2005. Trinity followed in Clapham Old Town in 2006, and it is the restaurant his name has been attached to ever since. It won its first Michelin star in 2016.
Bistro Union arrived in 2011, and Upstairs at Trinity, the sharing plates room above the main dining room, has held a Bib Gourmand. Since 2019 he has also been chef director at Brown's Hotel in Mayfair, where he launched Charlie's, and he is chairman of the Royal Academy of Culinary Arts.
His most recent opening came this summer. Rosina, on Bellevue Road by Wandsworth Common, opened on Monday, June 29, 2026, on the former Brinkley's Kitchen site, and is his first Italian restaurant. It is named after his daughter Rosie, seats 50 inside with another 25 on the terrace, and is run day to day by head chef Will Bee, who came from Lita and, before that, Paul Ainsworth at No6. Brasserie Constance in Fulham came the year before it.
The through line in all of it has been the same: British produce treated simply, staff who stay, and a dining room full of people who came last month and will come again next month. The pig's trotter has been on the menu at Trinity since the beginning.
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The award
The AA Chefs' Chef of the Year has been presented since 1996 and is the most coveted award of the AA Hospitality Awards because the ballot is restricted to chefs at AA rosette holding restaurants.
Raymond Blanc, Heston Blumenthal, Tom Kerridge, Nathan Outlaw, Daniel Clifford and Jason Atherton have all taken it. Recent winners are:
- 2025: Gareth Ward, Ynyshir
- 2024: Tom Aikens, Muse
- 2023: Paul Ainsworth, Paul Ainsworth at No6
- 2022: Mark Birchall, Moor Hall
Simon Numphud, managing director of AA Hotel and Hospitality Services, said: "The AA Hospitality Awards exist to recognise the passion, dedication and high standards that go into delivering exceptional hospitality, and this year's winners are a wonderful example of that."
This year's ceremony marked 70 years of the AA rosette award, and every restaurant winner and new rosette holder features in the AA Restaurant Guide 2027.
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