Celebrate Hospitality, Powered by You

Launched in 2020, The Staff Canteen Awards are the only hospitality awards entirely nominated and voted for by our audience, with no judging panels and no sponsor influence. Born in the middle of the pandemic, that first year drew over 30,000 votes, giving an industry in lockdown a much-needed moment of recognition and, as founder Mark Morris put it, "a great distraction from all the doom and gloom."

What began as a virtual celebration has grown into hospitality's biggest people's choice event. The ceremony found its first live home at The Compound Studio in Birmingham from 2021 to 2023, before moving to Scotland House in London for 2024 and 2025, when votes climbed past 52,000, our biggest response yet.

Along the way, categories have expanded from six to eight, growing beyond Chef of the Year to celebrate Front of House teams, Kitchen Porters, sustainability, social media influence and Gastro Pubs, because hospitality is powered by every role, not just the ones in the spotlight.

In 2026, the awards move to a new home: 83 Rivington Street in Shoreditch, London, ready to celebrate another year of the people who make our industry what it is.