There is no sincerer love than the love of food.
To take the late, great George Bernard Shaw’s cue, the love for food is a beautiful thing. It takes great skill and a natural love for ingredients to create dishes that put a smile on my face.
Want to show your favourite chef how much you appreciate their good food?
Nominate them for olive magazine’s first ever, Chef Awards.
For the past 15 years olive has championed the chefs that are making a difference to the way we eat in the UK. Instead of focusing on ‘celebrity chefs’ and ‘TV cooks’, they have sought out the professionals behind the pass who are breaking a sweat, innovating and pioneering.
And this year, for the first time, olive are celebrating them officially – with the launch of the olive magazine Chef Awards, in association with Dark Horse Wine.
These awards will salute those unheralded chefs – age, experience and location are no barriers – who have been quietly excelling in the background.
These are the carefully selected categories to find the best in their fields – whether it be a chef cooking up a storm in a converted VW camper in a car park somewhere, or a pastry chef pushing the boundaries of patisserie.
Sustainable star
This chef will be able to prove that they care just as much about the environment as the food they’re serving. They’ll be a pioneer of low-waste cooking, they may have invested in low-energy kitchen equipment and they’ll probably grow their own produce.
Best street-food chef
We’ve all gone mad for street food over the past decade and those cooking in the small spaces of street-food shacks/vehicles have really upped their game. Earlier this year we even saw a Michelin-starred street-food pop-up in London. We’re looking for a chef that is producing the finest on-the-hoof food.
Veggie pioneer
Plant-based eating no longer means ‘clean’ salads or another mushroom risotto. This chef will be doing seriously cool things with veg. Meat and fish can be on the menu, but veggies have got to be the stars.
One to watch
This is a chef (over 18) that hasn’t progressed to a head chef position yet but is seriously impressing with their cooking and commitment – this could be a commis, chef de partie or sous chef.
Small but mighty
Chefs are some of the hardest working people we know – and this award is about those that do more than just cook. They’ll be the one-man/one-woman bands who not only cook but run the whole restaurant. They’ll be washing the kitchen laundry on their days off, tending to the produce in the allotment before service, and paying the wages – as well as serving up great plates of food.
Community champion
There are plenty of chefs out there doing great things to give back to their community – and we want to hear about them. Do you have a dinner lady at your local school going above and beyond? Do you know about a baker donating unsold loaves to a local homeless shelter? Does your favourite restaurant have special initiatives to work with vulnerable people? Let us know!
Best pastry chef or baker
Not every chef can master the science of the sweet stuff – and this award is about celebrating those that have. We want to find the chef that’s baking the best bread, decorating the most intricate desserts, and producing the most delicate, flavourful cakes.
Dark Horse Wine award
Ever been to a restaurant and been surprised in the best way at what was served? We’re looking for a chef who’s seriously innovating and doing something truly different to everyone else.
Anyone can nominate – those in the kitchen, or you, the diner who’s been enjoying the fruits of their labour.
Nominate now by clicking here and stay tuned right here for latest updates on this very exciting chefs awards launch.
Remember, not all superheroes wear capes – some wear aprons too.