Entries Closed on 21st March 2025
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Entries Closed on 21st March 2025 〰️
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.
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
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.
Hear from Alex Lewis 2025 Scholar
“I thoroughly enjoyed every part of the William Heptinstall Award process. Taking part encouraged me to reflect on my career so far and to consider how I wish to shape my future trajectory, as well as how winning the award could assist with this. The interview stage was especially valuable, giving me the chance to articulate my passions and speak in depth about my journey as a chef. It was also a pleasure to meet other young chefs that were taking part and to learn more about the initiatives offered by the Royal Academy of Culinary Arts.
Although I haven’t begun my travels yet, I’ll soon be spending time next Summer in France at Le Doyenne restaurant that greatly inspires me, along with visiting several wineries. To make the most of these visits, I’m completing a Level 3 WSET refresher course beforehand. I’ve also chosen to travel to Italy for an in-depth masterclass in charcuterie making, as this is something I’ve wanted to pursue for a long time.
These experiences are essential for broadening my knowledge as a chef and understanding how world-class restaurants operate, as well as the networking opportunities that arise. Travelling is always enriching for me, and I can’t wait to get started.”Alex Lewis
“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
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.
