Venues of Excellence (VOE) in partnership with Wilson Vale, were delighted to see the 23rd Cook and Serve Challenge take place on Saturday 5th April 2025.
This year’s theme, ‘Inspiring Creativity through Conscious Choices,’ challenged VOE member venues to craft culinary masterpieces and deliver exceptional service to invited guests. The competition honoured the top individual courses and services in both junior and senior categories, along with the prestigious Champion Chef, Food Service Champion, and Chairman’s Best Team Awards.
Teams were tasked with preparing and serving a three-course menu that reflected their personality and venue. This year’s theme emphasised the importance of root-to-branch cooking, using local seasonal produce, and minimising food waste.
Riccardo Corbinzolu, Operations Director, Wilson Vale who organised the competition, commenting on this year’s competitors said: “What an incredible competition we had this year! From start to finish, the atmosphere was buzzing with energy, talent, and a genuine sense of camaraderie. I’m so proud of how everything came together – it was a true celebration of skill, passion, and dedication.
One of the biggest highlights for me was seeing a record number of junior competitors taking part. It was inspiring to see so many young people stepping up and showcasing their abilities with such confidence and creativity. It’s clear the future of our industry is in very capable hands!
As we look ahead to 2026, the bar has been well and truly raised – and I couldn’t be more excited. We’re already working behind the scenes to build on this year’s success, and one of our main goals is to push for an even bigger and more diverse set of entries, across all categories. We want to give more people the opportunity to get involved and shine on this platform.
The Save the Date will be landing soon and trust me – you’ll want to mark your calendars early! We’ve got something really special in the works for the Competition Principle next year – something bold, meaningful, and a little bit different, which we hope will leave a lasting impression on everyone involved.
Thank you once again to every competitor, judge, sponsor, and supporter who helped make this year so special. Your time, energy and belief in what we’re doing truly mean the world. Let’s keep that momentum going – 2026 is already shaping up to be something very exciting!”
This year’s Awards Ceremony was held at Unique Venues Birmingham (UVB), when guests enjoyed a drinks reception in the Book Rotunda before heading to The Studio for the main event. Suzanna Reid Barreiro da Silva, Managing Director of UVB around hosting the event commented: “We were delighted to be selected by VOE to host this year’s Cook and Serve Celebratory Awards Dinner and welcomed our industry colleagues to our venue. With such great talent in the room from the competition during the day, we stepped away from a traditional dinner menu to showcase a bespoke seasonal 6 course tasting menu to serve to our esteemed guests by our hospitality team. The awards were announced throughout the evening by the judges, giving the event that extra sparkle and glitter and at the end of the evening guests were able to celebrate and take to the dance floor to continue the celebrations.”
Zoltan Gothard, Rhodes House was names Champion Chef, with UVB’s very own Vera Neves being awarded Food Service Champion. The Chairman’s Team Award went to Hannah Marston and Enya Smith of Weston Park.
To deliver the Cook and Serve Challenge 2025, VOE partnered with Leicester College to host the competition, and aspects of the event were sponsored by: Wilson Vale, The Non-Alcoholic Drinks Company, Matthew Algie, Steelite International, Imago Venues, Nottingham Venues, Weston Park, United Coffee and View It 360.
Mandy Jennings, CEO of Venues of Excellence, reflecting on the event and the opportunity for member venues to showcase their food and beverage excellence, said about this year’s event: “This is one of our most prestigious events on the Venues of Excellence calendar, and witnessing the incredible culinary and service talent within our member venues is truly inspiring! Quality and excellence are our core values, and this competition always highlights the exceptional skills and service our teams provide. We’re incredibly proud to represent over 50 of the UK’s top conference and event venues, and this event perfectly showcases the outstanding talent, passion and enthusiasm within our teams.”
Venues of Excellence and Wilson Vale were delighted to see member venues committed to showcase their team talents and look forward to planning the 2026 event.
The full list of winners of the Cook and Serve Challenge 2025 are:
Best Starter (Junior): Katherine Metcalfe, Rhodes House
Best Starter (Senior): Zolton Gothard, Rhodes House
Best Main Course (Junior): Katherine Metcalfe, Rhodes House
Best Main Course (Senior): Zolton Gothard, Rhodes House
Best Dessert (Junior): Hannah Marston, Weston Park
Best Dessert (Senior): Zolton Gothard, Rhodes House
Best Cocktails (Junior): Vera Neves, Unique Venues Birmingham
Best Cocktails (Senior): Ritik Panjrekar, Imago Venues
Best Beverage Selection (Junior): Ada Roustemovski, Rhodes House
Best Beverage Selection (Senior): Ritik Panjrekar, Imago Venues
Best Beverage Service (Junior): Vera Neves, Unique Venues Birmingham
Best Beverage Service (Senior): Enya Smith, Weston Park
Best Food Service (Junior): Ellie Hearst, Leicester College
Best Food Service (Senior): Ritik Panjrekar, Imago Venues
Food Service Champion: Vera Neves, Unique Venues Birmingham
Champion Chef: Zolthan Gothard, Rhodes House
Chairman’s Best Team Award: Hannah Marston and Enya Smith, Weston Park
The Champion Chef Menu:
Starter:
Mayfield Egg, Watercress & Nettle, Nettlebed Witheridge Espuma, Hazelnuts
Accompanying beverage:
Tragolargo
Main Course:
Chalk Stream Trout, Leek, Cucumber, Sea Vegetables, Cucumber Beurre Blanc
Vouvray, Le Portail
Dessert:
Il Flottant, Rhubarb, Nougatine
Accompanying beverage: Hundred Hills Rose
