Phil Shelley and Amber Francis lead winners at the 2025 Foodservice Cateys

Phil Shelley of NHS England and school chef and food educator Amber Francis led the list of winners at the 2025 Foodservice Catey awards.

More than 500 of the industry’s best and brightest gathered for a black-tie awards ceremony at the Royal Lancaster London this evening.

Shelley, the senior operational manager and national lead for net zero food at NHS England, received the Outstanding Contribution Award in recognition of his pivotal role in transforming the delivery of NHS catering.

Over the past five years, the former hospital chef has chaired the Independent Review of NHS Hospital Food and published a report that shone a light on catering in healthcare settings. This helped to embed new standards, deliver training programmes and competitions for chefs and improve the quality of the 200 million meals served to patients, employees and visitors in NHS settings each year.

Nick Vadis, director of Compass UK & Ireland, described Shelley as “a real catalyst for change within NHS England”.

Francis, who was named ‘Champion of Champions’ in the 2025 series of Great British Menu and is head chef and senior food educator at Christ’s College school in London, received the Extra Mile Award. She was recognised for her passion for food education and work to show how nutritious meals can have a profound impact on improving pupil behaviour, energy levels and focus.

Nicole Pisani, co-founder of charity Chefs in Schools, said the wider impact of Francis’s work should not be underestimated and she had “shown how school kitchens can be spaces of real creativity and ambition”.

Foodservice giant Compass UK & Ireland took home several awards, with Adam Greenway of its B&I catering arm Eurest winning General Manager of the Year. Levy UK took home Best Use of Innovative Technology, while Sandra Juan Delgado, sustainability manager at education caterer Chartwells University, won the Rising Star Award.

Claire Huish, director of HR and operations at Bennett Hay, took home the People and Training Award, while James Pate, sales director at Thomas Franks, won Salesperson of the Year.

There were also multiple winners from Westbury Street Holdings’ brands. Dan Wilson, head of food UK at BaxterStorey, won Chef of the Year, while Genuine Dining took home Business and Industry Caterer of the Year. Meanwhile, 2025 Acorn Award winner Ellie Olds at Holroyd Howe was recognised as Healthy Eating Champion.

Healthcare Caterer of the Year went to Caterplus, while Education Caterer of the Year was awarded to Cardiff Council.