Ruth Hansom crowned National Chef of the Year

Following months of preparation, practising and an exhilarating final, the Craft Guild of Chefs has revealed Ruth Hansom, chef owner at Hansom Restaurant, as its newly crowned UK National Chef of the Year.  She becomes the first woman to win both Young National Chef of the Year (she became the first woman to ever gain the title in 2018) and National Chef of the Year.

Women in the Food Industry have been long time supporters of Ruth and have followed her journey from reaching the finals  at the Roux Scholarship, and Bocuse D’Or UK though to representing the North East on Great British Menu.  Our co-founder Mex Ibrahim was delighted to be there when the announcement was made by Will Torrent in front of leading figures from across hospitality at an exclusive VIP celebration at The Orangery TCR, a restaurant by the Good Eating Company, following the final on 6th October 2026 at the prestigious Le Cordon Bleu London.

Ruth told The Caterer the morning after the awards: “It felt amazing. I think it’s important for people to see it as something they can achieve. I think women are a lot more conscious about putting themselves forward, so hopefully we can encourage more women to enter. That would be great.”  She added: “There’s since been two other women who have won YNCOTY (Mae Dionio, 2023 and Keira Carolan, 2026) so hopefully we’ll see the same in the senior competition.”

Widely regarded as one of the most sought-after accolades in the culinary profession, National Chef of the Year has celebrated the UK’s finest culinary talent for more than five decades. Taking the title places Ruth among an exceptional line-up of past winners and marks a career-defining moment for her.

After reaching the National Chef of the Year finals for the last two years, it was obviously a personal and emotional triumph for Ruth to take home the title. She had the highest scoring main course and dessert.  On winning she said “Finally. It’s absolutely fantastic“.  Her advice to all chefs entering awards “Keep going, just keep going“.

It was an incredibly exciting contest, with Scott John-Hodgson, executive head chef, Solstice & House of Tides by Kenny Atkinson named runner-up. Tom Heywood, head chef/restaurant owner, Pignut & The Hare secured third place.

As Chair of the Judges, Mark Birchall, chef patron of Moor Hall, said: “This was an exceptional final and the standard across the kitchen was incredibly high. Ruth stood out with a menu that showed confidence and skill. Every dish delivered on flavour and the execution was consistently strong from start to finish. Winning National Chef of the Year requires time and dedication throughout the year and then the ability to perform when the pressure is at its highest. Ruth thoroughly deserves this title and I’m excited to see what comes next for her.

Ruth will be invited to launch her very own Dishpatch meal kit, sold alongside the likes of Michel Roux, Rick Stein and previous NCOTY Chair of Judges Paul Ainsworth. Their National Chef of the Year winning dishes will feature on the menu, bringing their creations to food lovers across the country to enjoy at home.

She also picks up a range of prizes from National Chef of the Year headline partners Essential Cuisine and Angus Pure, supported by Aussie Beef & Lamb, as well as Allan Reeder, Chef Works & Bragard UK, Churchill, Hallgarten & Novum Wines, St Ewe, Valrhona, Flying Fish, Evolve Hospitality Recruitment and the Worshipful Company of Cooks.

You may like to read our interview with Ruth Hansom on representing the North East in Great British Menu, and reaching the finals of the Roux Scholarship in 2022.