More than £100k raised at the Springboard Awards for Excellence as Champions of the UK’s Hospitality Industry crowned

More than £100,000 was raised at the Springboard Awards for Excellence 2022, in partnership with Smart Group, this week as the hospitality charity crowned its hospitality heroes of the past 12 months.

The awards ceremony highlighted the great lengths our hospitality businesses have been to in order to attract talent and look after, develop and retain their workforce, through being innovative, inclusive and collaborative.

The evening was a spectacular event with the backdrop of stunning city views from the 4th and 5th floors of The Science Museum in the exclusive ‘Illuminate’ venue.

Julia Sibley, chief executive of the Savoy Educational Trust, collected the Chris Beaumont Outstanding Contribution award, while Mitchells & Butlers and Bartlett Mitchell each picked up two awards and Rare Restaurants, Luxury Family Hotels and Sodexo were also among the winners.

Hosted by TV Presenter and Paralympian champion Ade Adepitan, who shared a personal and evocative story with the room, giving appreciation of charities like Springboard, who support those in a disadvantaged position to reach their potential. The great and the good of the hospitality industry dug deep to raise more than 100k for the charity across donations, sponsorship and ticket sales.

Springboard CEO, Chris Gamm, kicked off the ceremony by commending those nominated and shortlisted for doing an outstanding job, championing the industry and aligning with Springboard’s mission to futureproof the talent pipeline for hospitality.

The awards fell on the same week that Springboard hit the milestone of supporting 5,000 young, unemployed people into work as part of its ‘Springboard to 2022’ initiative.

Chris also gave a mention to Springboard FutureChef’s recent winner, Phoebe Lawson, who took the crown at the national final last month.

The full list of the Springboard Awards for Excellence winners:

• Ambassador of the Year, sponsored by BaxterStorey - Catrina Pengelley, Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group

• Best Kickstart Employer, sponsored by Harri - Sodexo

• Best Apprenticeship Strategy, sponsored by Hit Training – Mitchells & Butlers

• Best Education and Industry Partnership Award, sponsored by Sodexo – The Grand, Brighton

• Disability Confident Award – Hotel Brooklyn

• Career Development Initiative, sponsored by Diageo – Philema Hospitality Management

• Best Employer, sponsored by American Express – Luxury Family Hotels

• Best Practice Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Integration – Rare Restaurants

• Best Recruitment Initiative, sponsored by Handpicked Hotels – Mitchells & Butlers

• Diversity, Equality and Inclusion Award, sponsored by CH&Co – Bartlett Mitchell

• Best Talent Onboarding, sponsored by Mapal – Royal Lancaster London

• Employee Health and Wellbeing Award, sponsored by Pladis – Bartlett Mitchell

• Business Innovation – Balmer Lawn Hotel

• Community Engagement Award – Sea Containers, London

• Fiona Colley Trainee of the Year Award – Kevin McGowan

• Chris Beaumont Outstanding Contribution Award, sponsored by Bidfood – Julia Sibley, Savoy Educational Trust

In these challenging times…

The Staff Canteen team are taking a different approach to keeping our website independent and delivering content free from commercial influence. Our Editorial team have a critical role to play in informing and supporting our audience in a balanced way. We would never put up a paywall and restrict access – The Staff Canteen is open to all and we want to keep bringing you the content you want; more from younger chefs, more on mental health, more tips and industry knowledge, more recipes and more videos. We need your support right now, more than ever, to keep The Staff Canteen active. Without your financial contributions this would not be possible.

Over the last 12 years, The Staff Canteen has built what has become the go-to platform for chefs and hospitality professionals. As members and visitors, your daily support has made The Staff Canteen what it is today. Our features and videos from the world’s biggest name chefs are something we are proud of. We have over 500,000 followers across Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and other social channels, each connecting with chefs across the world. Our editorial and social media team are creating and delivering engaging content every day, to support you and the whole sector - we want to do more for you.

A single coffee is more than £2, a beer is £4.50 and a large glass of wine can be £6 or more.

Support The Staff Canteen from as little as £1 today. Thank you.