Winners of HAY Hospitality Awards 2024 announced

Winners of the inaugural HAY Hospitality Awards were announced during an awards night at the Radisson Hotel York on Thursday 5th September. 

Bronze, silver and gold accolades were awarded in each of the 12 categories celebrating everyone from kitchen teams to sales and events, front of house to back of house – the HAY Hospitality Awards recognise the individuals at the heart of the industry in York. 

Chair of the Hospitality Association, and General Manager at Middletons Hotel Adam Wardale said “It’s fair to say that these awards have been a long time coming – we’ve had the desire to organise this for a number of years and we’re delighted that we’ve finally been able to create an evening to celebrate our amazing teams. 

Every finalist represents the dedication and hard work that makes our industry thrive, going above and beyond to create unforgettable experiences for guests—and without them, York would not be the thriving city that it is.

Tonight wouldn’t have been possible without the support from our very generous sponsors, we’ll thank them all personally over the coming days but special thanks to YorkMix Radio, Your Creative Sauce, Make It York and Mint People. 

The inaugural awards went better than we could have imagined and we very much want to make this an important part of the York awards calendar moving forward.”

From the start of the evening the warm, entertaining and joyful personalities of all in the room was clear for all to see, a clear demonstration to all those in attendance of why so many people have such a positive experience visiting York. 

Finalists of one of the most commendable awards of the evening, the Lifetime Achievement Award, were welcomed on stage and received a standing ovation for their exceptional service and dedication to the industry. With 80 year’s experience between them, the judges of the awards noted that this was a particularly difficult category to judge. The awards went to: Suzanne Cowling, Duty Manager at Galtres Lodge Hotel winning gold, Ted Fenney, Maintenance Manager at Hilton York winning Silver, and Paul Harrison, Pastry Chef at Middlethorpe Hall & Spa won the bronze award. 

The entire room was moved when winner of the Rising Star Award, Mariana Kachun, Chef de Rang at Middlethorpe Hall & Spa was presented with a scholarship from York St John University after one of the judges, Brendan Paddison, Associate Professor at York St John University was moved by Mariana’s story. A refugee from the Ukrainian war, Mariana was hoping to return to Ukraine and pick up her studies, but her university has been destroyed in the war. 

HAY Hospitality Award Winners 2024: 

Back of House Hero (sponsored by York BID) 

Gold – Nigel White (Middlethorpe Hall Hotel & Spa)

Silver – Kate Cameron (The Grand)

Bronze – Valentina Semeraro (Radisson York)

Star Behind the Bar (sponsored by Ellers Farm Distillery – Dutch Barn)

Gold – Christine Moore (Hilton)

Silver – Matthew Briggs (Radisson York)

Bronze – Josh Robson (Doubletree by Hilton)

People’s Choice – York Mix Public Vote

Gold – Jonathan Robertson (Middletons Hotel)

Silver – Sam Kitching (Radisson York)

Bronze – Tom Dobson-Walker (The Principal)

Rising Star (sponsored by Your Creative Sauce) 

Gold – Mariana Kachun (Middlethorpe Hall Hotel & Spa)

Silver – Sophie England (The Principal)

Bronze – Caitlin Taylor (The Elmbank)

Hospitality Apprentice (sponsored by York College) 

Gold – Anthony Michaelides (Delta Hotel York)

Silver – Aida Makniene (Radisson York)

Bronze – Alvarro Torress (Delta Hotel York)

Sparkle award (sponsored by Ignite Concerts)

Gold – Ek Raj (The Grand)

Silver – Tamasne Dajnics ‘Magdi’ (Hilton)

Bronze – Nicola Hannington (The Elmbank)

Serving Superstar (sponsored by York Gin)

Gold – Gergo Laszlo (Dean Court)

Silver – Alex Razey (Radisson York)

Bronze – Anna Czarnik (Middletons Hotel)

Hospitality Team (sponsored by Johnny Ross Music) 

Gold – Group, Conference & Events Team (Hilton)

Silver – Kitchen (Radisson York)

Bronze – Forest Team (Galtres Lodge Hotel)

Warm Welcome (sponsored by City Cruises)

Silver – Frank Caulfield (Dean Court)

Gold – Wayne Brady (The Grand)

Bronze – Oleksandra Bilotserkivets (Hilton)

Lifetime Achievement (sponsored by Elite Event Solutions) 

Gold – Suzanne Cowling (Galtres Lodge Hotel)

Silver – Ted Fenney (Hilton)

Bronze – Paul Harrison (Middlethorpe Hall Hotel & Spa)

Most Promising Chef (sponsored by Mint hospitality and events people) 

Gold – Emily Benton (Dean Court)

Silver – Hubert Amankwah (Malmaison)

Bronze – Alex French (Middlethorpe Hall Hotel & Spa)

Unsung Hero (sponsored by Little Vikings) 

Gold – Jamie Wilson (Radisson York)

Silver – Sarah Smith (The Principal)

Bronze – Shirley Fletcher (Hilton)

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