The Staff Canteen Awards 2025: Winners announced

We are proud to announce the winners of The Staff Canteen Awards 2025, celebrated today at our annual ceremony held at Scotland House in London.

Now in its sixth year, the awards continue to shine a spotlight on every corner of the hospitality industry - from chefs and kitchen porters, to front-of-house professionals and industry champions working behind the scenes.

This year saw over 300 nominations across eight categories and more than 52,000 votes cast by The Staff Canteen’s members and social media followers - our biggest response yet.

Final shortlists of four were drawn up for: Chef of the Year, One to Watch, Front of House Team of the Year, Sustainable Business, KP of the Year, Social Media Influencer, Member of the Year and Hospitality Hero.

We can now reveal the winners (sponsors in brackets):

Chef of the Year (Chef Works): Tim Dela Cruz, head chef, Smiths of Smithfield
One to Watch (ASMI): Craig Nelson, head chef, Ox and Finch, Glasgow
Front of House Team of the Year (Square): Tom Ford and the FOH team, Manifest, Liverpool
Sustainable Business: The Cottage in the Wood, Keswick (Beth and Jack Bond)
Kitchen Porter of the Year (Chef+): Emily Eeles, The Gaff, Abergavenny
Social Media Influencer (Austrade): Danilo Cortellini, chef and content creator
Member of the Year (Major): Kieran Irvin, head chef, The Angel of Corbridge, Northumberland
Hospitality Hero (The Bread Factory): Mecca Ibrahim, co-founder, Women in the Food Industry

Word from the winners

Tim Dela Cruz, head chef at Smiths of Smithfield, was crowned Chef of the Year after beating an exceptional shortlist of Tom Aikens (Muse), James Sommerin (Home at Penarth) and Josh Angus (HIDE).

Since joining the Farringdon restaurant in late 2023, Tim has shaped a menu that celebrates sustainable British produce, wood-fire cooking and bold, flavour-driven dishes, earning an AA rosette along the way.

His past career experience includes roles at Caravan, Bonnie Gull and The Social Company, as well as leading the kitchen at Pig & Palm in the Philippines.

Reflecting on his win, Tim said: "I cannot believe it. Tom Aikens is one of my idols, Josh Angus as well.

"I'm up against Michelin-starred chefs and I wouldn't have actually thought I would be nominated in the first place, let alone to be shortlisted and then win, it's amazing.

"It's kind of like a validation for what I've been doing in my career. I've been in the game for a long time and it's like the icing on the cake."

Reflecting on the year, Tim said: "This year, 2025, has been amazing. I had my first daughter, after waiting for 10 years. She is my biggest star.

"Work-wise, we are anticipating we are going to be very busy for Christmas and come 2026, hopefully I get another AA rosette."

Craig Nelson, who has risen to head chef at Ox and Finch, took home the One to Watch award.

"It's massive, especially for my first year being head chef, it's big for me," said Craig.

"Thank you so much for everyone who voted for me - family, friends and the team, it wouldn't be possible without them all."

Liverpool’s Manifest was voted Front of House Team of the Year, with Tom Ford and his team recognised for their exceptional hospitality and the warm, engaging service that defines the restaurant’s atmosphere.

Tom said: "I think this is testament to the fact that we have got the best front of house team. Not only do we get on incredibly well while we're at work, one might say we get on a little bit too well out of work as well!

"We're very lucky. We've got a fantastic relationship. What (chef owner) Paul (Durand) has done as well, in terms of the philosophy of what hospitality is in a restaurant, encompassing kitchen and front of house, what you like to call 'total hospitality', it definitely works.

"We thrive on it. It's a fabulous place to work. I think it's unique because it's got a personality, it's got character and it's got an identity."

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The Sustainable Business award went to husband-and-wife team Beth and Jack Bond of Michelin-starred The Cottage in the Wood, Keswick.

"To win the sustainability award is unbelievable," said Jack, our 2024 Member of the Year.

"It's something that the restaurant really strives for, not only through produce, but through the staff that we have, making sure that we nurture everything. It's a fantastic reward for what we really strive to achieve, so I'm really proud to win this one."

Restaurant manager Joel Pennington added: "Being surrounded by the woods, diving into the nature, foraging and sourcing local ingredients and working with local suppliers, some of the guys I grew up and went to school with, working with their produce is amazing. "

The Kitchen Porter of the Year award went to Emily Eeles of The Gaff in Abergavenny.

"This is the third year I've been nominated for this award," said Emily.

"It's always been a bit of fun, but secretly, I've always wanted to win it. Now it's become a big thing in my life.

"I feel great right now, I feel fantastic. It's wonderful to be seen."

Asked why she loves working as a kitchen porter at The Gaff, Emily added: "It was only supposed to be a temporary job, but I've had so much fun doing it.

"When people leave a restaurant, the KP doesn't get thanked. It's brilliant to get some appreciation."

The Staff Canteen Member of the Year award went to Kieran Irvin, head chef at The Angel of Corbridge in Northumberland. Kieran was one of the first names to be in the running for this competition, having won the Member of the Month award in October 2024.

"It feels amazing," said Kieran.

"Just being from a little pub in Northumberland, seeing all your peers here, it was breathtaking.

"There is nowhere like The Staff Canteen community."

The Hospitality Hero award was presented to Mecca Ibrahim, co-founder of Women in the Food Industry, for her continued advocacy of diversity, inclusion and equal opportunity across hospitality.

"It was absolutely amazing to win this award," said Mecca.

"I give it to all the other women in the food industry. Without them, we would not be here as a community.

"I set up Women in the Food Industry to try to shine a spotlight on what the women are doing in our amazing industry. We are in the minority in senior positions, but there are a huge amount of women who are doing incredible things in the industry."

​Italian-born chef and content creator Danilo Cortellini was named Social Media Influencer of the Year, having built up an Instagram following of over 650,000.

He said: "I've been working in the industry for 25 years and I only got into content creation recently, about five years ago. But still to be recognised by my peers is amazing.

"Growing a following on social was not straightforward for me. My need for posting recipe videos was just to communicate with people during the pandemic and then the following came along, which is a great plus.

"My main goal with posting recipe videos is to inspire people to cook more. What I am looking to do is get more people cooking at home."

Event sponsors

The ceremony was hosted by Mark Morris, founder of The Staff Canteen.

Guests enjoyed food and drink from Petrossian Caviar, Seafood Scotland, BeWtr, World Beers Ltd, Nyetimber and one of our category sponsors The Bread Factory, while Sparkle Lighting transformed the venue with a stunning setup worthy of the industry’s brightest stars.

Many thanks to our other category sponsors - Chef Works, ASMI, Square, Major and Austrade.

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