The Young National Chef of the Year (YNCOTY) awards were announced on Tuesday 8th October at a lively ceremony at London’s Hippodrome Casino in Leicester Square. Taking the runner-up spot was Rosie Welch from L’Enclume with Keira Carolan from Simon Rogan’s Henrock taking the third place spot. The  VIP Awards evening took place in front of some of the industry’s biggest names.

Our latest newsletter from Women in The Food Industry is packed with discounted Early Bird offers for our October events, FREE tickets for Restaurant & Takeaway Innovation Expo, free networking events at The Conduit for the food industry. Plus get an exclusive discount to a new event for Chocolate Week on 21st October.

If you’re interested in food, and love movies, film and cinema you must go to The Barbican’s new Eat The Screen season before it closes on August 24 2023.  A hand-picked selection of short films, features and documentaries curated by Tamara Anderson, it is a fascinating season looking at important conversations around food sovereignty, meat consumption, farming, food waste, and the power of supermarkets.

The new Alcohol Tax came into force on 1st August 2023. We spoke to women in the drinks industry about the tax and what it means for their businesses, consumers and the industry as a whole.

Our friend and long time supporter, Sabrina Gidda’s debut coookbook Modern South Asian Kitchen was published by Quadrille Books in March 2023.

In the book, we see the merging of Sabrina’s professional career in modern European kitchens unite with her Punjabi heritage, culminating in 90 unique and stunning recipes that are comforting, playful and big on flavour.  She offers snacks and small plates for entertaining, quick and light dishes for midweek meals and stunning recipes for feasting with friends – encouraging readers to not be fearful of their spice cupboards. In her words, she is “creating new traditions as well as honouring old”.

We would like to send a huge congratulations to Agnieszka Swiecka who on 17th July 2023 was crowned Taittinger UK Sommelier of the Year 2023 at the London Hilton Park Lane in “one of the closest” finals in the competition’s history.

CEO Lucy Vincent is a firm believer in the power of food to change lives in prison.   Ambassador of Women In the Food Industry, Antonia Lloyd, finds out more about how Lucy came to found Food Behind Bars, the UK’s only registered charity dedicated to transforming the food served in British prisons, and why she is on a mission.

This summer, Todelli, the sustainable food & drink marketplace, and passionate advocate of sustainable living, is thrilled to announce the opening of the Ethical Pop-Up Deli in Notting Hill. Join them for a series of engaging chef cooking demos, tastings and exclusive cookbook announcements. You’ll discover some of the most innovative, ethical, and sustainable food and drink brands that are making a positive impact today.

Hospitality is a huge industry with over 2.4 million employees, which suggests that there is room for all to pursue a career within it. However, evidence like the gender pay gap and the lack of women running restaurants, bars, hotels, and other hospitality environments tells a different story. Here, catering equipment and supplies providers Mitchell & Cooper share some insight into the problem and speak to women who work in the industry to get their perspectives.

We wanted to share a story from one of our community members which was published in our free online Winter magazine. Discover how Pauline Acheron-Pintureau founded her business in 2021 and partners with social enterprise, catering and cargo delivery companies to help achieve her mission.

The first UK edition of Casa Brasil, a fortnight long festival will launch in London’s Covent Garden from 25th August 2022. Luciana Berry, has curated the food and drink for the event and we attended a press night to find out more. 

There’s an all female final of amateur bakers for the competition to find The Queen’s Jubilee Pudding to mark the Queen’s 70 years on the throne. Five bakes were selected from over 5,000 entries from across the country in a contest run by Fortnum & Mason and the Big Jubilee Lunch.