The William Heptinstall Award
The William Heptinstall Award is made each year to enable a young person to widen his or her culinary experience whilst travelling outside the UK.
The Award is designed to allow the recipient to fully experience the cuisine of the area to be visited, while undertaking an overseas stage or stages.
The value of the Award from 2025 will be £5,000, of which £500 should relate to wine education.
Who is eligible to apply?
James Goodyear 2013 with Thomas Keller
Young persons, under the age of 30, who are establishing a career in the catering industry and are normally resident in the United Kingdom, are encouraged to apply. Only previous winners are not eligible to re-apply.
How is the winner selected?
Applicants should complete and return the Application Form, together with a short piece on how they would spend the award money if they won. As explained on the Form, a brief reference from their employer or tutor is also required.
Candidates will be short-listed on the basis of their Application Form and the other material submitted.
The Trustee Directors will invite short-listed candidates for interview in London on a date usually during May - this will not involve a test of practical skills. Following the interviews these candidates will be guests of the Directors for lunch at a top London restaurant.
Melissa Paul, 2023 Scholar
How may Restaurant and Catering College Management help?
Restaurant Management, Heads of Catering Colleges and Culinary Schools are encouraged to support their young chefs in applying for this Award. They may do this by completing their section of the Application Form, and by allowing time off to attend the interview. The list of Previous Winners clearly shows the high standards of the sponsoring establishments and the positive influence of this Award on chef employment prospects
Dan Cornish 2022 Scholar with Chef Daniel Calvert & Sezanne team in Tokyo
“The opportunity given to me by the William Heptinstall Award has been invaluable to me as a pastry chef, to my current career and also my future Patissier. In Japan and in France I learnt more than just doing stages - being able to visit numerous other shops run by many different chefs from different backgrounds exposed me to a variety of Patisserie and Chocolate, styles, skills and ingredients I could never find in England. An additional bonus was seeing a variety of shop packaging methods that I hope will help shape my own style for when I decide to open my shop.”
Sarah Frankland 2010
Register now
The Application Form for the 2025 Award will be available to download during December 2024. But don't miss out on your chance to win! Register your interest now and we will send you a form just as soon as it's available. Then, when you get your copy, just fill it in, add the extra details, and return to us.
When pressing the Submit button you accept that the information you have entered is necessary for us to send you a copy of the Application Form and may be retained by us until no later than 30 June 2026.
William Heptinstall
William Heptinstall, who died in 1971, was a well-known British chef. He was patron of Fortingall Hotel in Glen Lyon, Perthshire, Scotland, a haven for lovers of good food and especially famous for its Sunday hors d'oeuvre table. While he took immense pride in British food, he was also deeply interested in European gastronomic traditions. He travelled extensively and worked for a time in Imperial Russia.
The William Heptinstall Memorial Fund
This Charitable Trust was established in 1972. For over 50 years it has given awards to enable young chefs to widen their knowledge of the craft through overseas travel and study. Following a most generous donation from the family of F John Avery MW, the award was increased to include £500 which should relate to wine education.
