The Orangery TCR Hosts the Craft Guild of Chefs’ National Chef of the Year Awards
We’re delighted that The Orangery TCR, The Good Eating Company’s (GEC) restaurant, hosted this year’s prestigious Craft Guild of Chefs’ National Chef of the Year and Young National Chef of the Year awards. This year’s competition focused on Our Sustainable Future, making The Orangery TCR a fitting venue for an evening celebrating some of the UK’s leading culinary talent.
A huge congratulations to Ruth Hansom, National Chef of the Year, and Toby Whitehead, Young National Chef of the Year. It was a pleasure to celebrate alongside the Craft Guild of Chefs and judges Tom Shepherd and Mark Birchall.
The Orangery TCR is home to London’s largest hydroponic farm, where herbs, greens and leafy produce are grown in the basement of the restaurant. The restaurant’s farm-to-fork approach set the tone for the competition’s focus on sustainability, seasonality and provenance.
Menus Inspired by Sustainability and Seasonality
Led by Development Chef Russell Watt, the culinary team at The Orangery TCR created a bespoke menu for the awards ceremony. The Orangery TCR's setting and menu complimented this year's theme of sustainability. The evening also provided an insight to our approach to sourcing and menu development that reflects the principles behind The Orangery TCR’s farm-to-fork concept.
Putting Food Innovation into Practice
A defining feature at The Orangery TCR is its unique basement farm that allows the restaurant’s chefs to work with freshly grown produce just steps away from the actual kitchen.
During the evening, guests also had the opportunity to tour the farm and see where the restaurant’s produce is grown. It is this unique approach that earned The Orangery TCR the Innovation Award at the 2025 Foodservice Cateys. The award recognised the restaurant’s work in bringing a more sustainable approach to food production and dining together through its setting and modern British farm-to-fork menu.
Hosting the Craft Guild of Chefs’ awards ceremony was a wonderful opportunity for our teams to present this approach at an event that turned the focus on the future of the culinary profession.
Chef-Led Catering and Hospitality by The Good Eating Company
The event also reflects The Good Eating Company’s approach to food and hospitality. At GEC our teams develop menus around each setting and occasion, with a focus on chef-led cooking, quality ingredients and personal service.
GEC offers dining experiences for a range of corporate dining and catering solutions, from workplace restaurants and cafés to corporate events. Across these settings, its chefs bring creativity and care to menu development, taking account of the occasion, the people attending and the food they want to serve.
At The Orangery TCR, this includes working with produce from the farm and creating seasonal menus that make the most of ingredients that are in season.
Celebrating the Chefs Shaping the Future of Food
The Craft Guild of Chefs’ National Chef of the Year and Young National Chef of the Year awards recognise culinary skill and the next generation of talent in the industry. Hosting the ceremony at The Orangery TCR brought the competition’s spotlight to a working approach to sustainable dining. The setting presented a tangible vision of dining that puts growing and sourcing at the heart of its menu.
The evening was an opportunity to celebrate culinary talent and for GEC’s team to create another memorable experience through food. Whether you’re planning a corporate gathering, an industry awards evening or a private dinner, GEC can tailor its food and hospitality to suit your event. Get in touch with The Good Eating Company to discuss your next event.