Keira Carolan wins Young National Chef of the Year 2026

The YNCOTY Award Winners for Young National Chef of the Year were announced on Tuesday 7th October at a lively ceremony at London’s Hippodrome Casino in Leicester Square. Keira Carolan from Henrock wowed the judges and claimed the prestigious title of the Craft Guild of Chefs’ Young National Chef of the Year, after serving up three exceptional plates at the University of West London. Women In The Food Industry co-founder Mex Ibrahim went along to see who would take the prestigious awards.

The awards are run by The Craft Guild of Chefs – largest UK chefs’ association with members worldwide in foodservice and hospitality, from students and trainees to top management working everywhere from Michelin starred restaurants to school catering divisions.

As well as being crowned Young National Chef of the Year, Keira will enjoy a range of culinary trips and experiences courtesy of Bonemasters Global, IMS of Smithfield, Allan Reeder Ltd, Sodiaal and Les Vergers Boiron.

Bonemasters will take her and a guest on a trip to Amsterdam, including Eurostar or flights; two nights at The Okura Hotel; a Chef’s Table experience at the two-Michelin-starred Ciel Bleu with a behind-the-scenes tour; a visit to the Bonemasters Global Production facility and a personalised engraved copper sauté pan.

Churchill will be giving Keira her framed winners plate as well as an additional prize voucher of £500.

Taking the runner-up spot was Oliver Redgewell-Welch from Entier Ltd, with Mitchell Collins from L’Enclume securing third place.

The judging panel included chefs Roberta Hall-McCarron, Sarah Frankland, Graham Hornigold, Daniel Galmiche, Ben Murphy, Adam Smith, Paul Askew, Denis Drame, Orry Shand, Paul Mannering and Hayden Groves.

Keira who took 3rd place in last year’s awards was delighted her win and said on Instagram. “This is the best achievement I have had in my whole career so far. I did it last year and put in so much work, but this year  I just really really wanted it. I really wanted to win and bring it back The Lakes and bring it back to Ireland. It means so much to me, to my family and to the people I work with. It’s an amazing award and an amazing competition. The people I have competed against are some of the best young chefs in the country. And to even be against them and to be friends with them is a real prize in itself.  Paul Burgalières has been such an inspiration to everyone who works under him. So to have this coming back to the Lakes, I feel very honoured.”

With a focus on sustainability, food waste and technical skills, a special award sponsored by HIT Training was presented to Annabelle Hughes for demonstrating excellence throughout the menu planning and cooking process. She wins a lunch or dinner for two at Silo London, Silo: The Zero Waste Blueprint Recipe book and a place on HIT Training’s Chef Academy Net Zero Workshop.

Keira Carolan, is demi chef de partie, at Henrock by Simon Rogan, set within Linthwaite House, Windermere in the heart of The Lake District.

Keira Carolan has already worked in some of the best kitchens in the country. From Donegal on the west coast of Ireland, she wanted to be a chef from an early age. Working in local restaurants in Ireland she moved to England to join the Simon Rogan Academy where her passion, skills and knowledge have really taken flight.

During her apprenticeship, she spent seven months in the kitchen at Simon Rogan’s Michelin star casual dining venue Rogan & Co in Cartmel before moving to Henrock.

The Simon Rogan Culinary Academy was launched in July 2021 in response to the ongoing staffing issues faced by the hospitality sector. The Academy set out with a mission to reignite passion for the industry and to provide the highest standard of training and guidance.

Russell Bateman, culinary development chef for TheTasteLab at Classic Fine Foods UK said: “Being Chair of Judges for Young National Chef of the Year has been one of the highlights of my career so far. Mentoring the future talent in hospitality is so important to me and over the last two years I’ve been blown away by the ideas and level of cooking I’ve seen from young chefs. Congratulations to Keira who absolutely smashed it. She was consistent across all three courses delivering three delicious plates of food whilst being technically brilliant.”

David Mulcahy, competition director, added: “We always ensure this competition pushes young chefs to go outside their comfort zones whilst giving them the opportunity to cook for some of the most respected names in the industry. It’s the toughest culinary challenge in the UK for this age group, but every single finalist has risen to it and created dishes they should be proud of. We’ve got an incredible winner in Keira, and the Craft Guild of Chefs will be following her career and supporting every step of the way.”

Young National Chef of the Year is sponsored by Bonemasters, IMS of Smithfield Ltd, Allan Reeder, Churchill, HIT Training, Les Vergers Boiron, Seafood Scotland, Sodiaal UK, CCS, Evolve Hospitality and Worshipful Company of Cooks.

You can see the full list of Young National Chef of the Year Winners for 2026 on The Craft Guild of Chefs website. Plus the National Chef of the Year Winners for 2026 were announced at the same awards ceremony.

Danny Young from The Torridon in the Scottish Highlands became this  year’s UK National Chef of the Year winner. In this hotly contested final, Katie Morgan from Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons was named runner-up, while Ruth Hansom-Rigby of Hansom Restaurant secured third place.

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