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Skye Gyngell named 'Female Chef of the Year' at SquareMeal awards

Laurie Fletcher
Laurie Fletcher

Skye Gyngell, who looks after Somerset House restaurant Spring, has been named the ‘Female Chef of the Year’ at a fizz-fuelled ceremony held in the Goring hotel.

Having chosen Gyngell from their shortlist of 26, organisers SquareMeal and sponsor Ayala Champagne praised the chef for her sustainability initiatives as well as her consideration for her employees work/life balance. In an industry where burning out is broadly considered par for the course, Gyngell closes Spring on Sundays, gives staff two weekends off a month and operates a 44-hour working week.

“I am so honoured and thrilled to receive this award,” said Gyngell, “There are so many wonderful creative and talented women working in our industry and it’s just so wonderful to be even included among them.”

“[Gyngell] has proved that she is much more than a chef by leading the way on environmental issues such as eliminating single-use plastics, reducing food waste and committing to sustainable farming methods,” said SquareMeal editor Ben McCormack.

Gyngell has long been a proponent of using seasonal and local ingredients. She made a point of doing so at Richmond’s Petersham Nurseries Café, where she won a Michelin star in 2011, before leaving the following year. Since opening Spring in 2014 as chef-patron, she has has relied on produce from Jane Scotter’s biodynamic farm in Herefordshire, Fern Verrow, and, as McCormack mentioned, in early 2018 the restaurant committed to become the first in London to eliminate single-use plastics, which it achieved this summer. Named by the Standard as one of London's most sustainable restaurants, Spring also serves a daily pre-theatre 'Scratch' menu, offering three courses of food that would otherwise go to waste.

Away from London, Gyngell is culinary director of Hampshire hotel Heckfield Place, where she has planted a biodynamic farm, as well as orchards and woodland.

Now in its second year, with Angela Hartnett claiming the inaugural win, organisers say the award was launched “to celebrate the huge contribution female chefs are making to the UK restaurant industry.”

“While female chefs have never been more visible on the UK restaurant scene, they are still under-represented in restaurant kitchens,” McCormack told the Standard, “Which is why this award was established in 2018. Its aim is to shine a spotlight on the women whose achievements are an inspiration to everyone involved in the UK's vibrant restaurant sector, from school-leavers beginning their career as a chef to diners choosing where to eat.”

The full shortlist is as below:

  • Nieves Barragan Mohacho, Sabor

  • Ravinder Bhogal, Jikoni

  • Erchen Chang, Bao and Xu

  • Sam Clark, Moro and Morito

  • Helene Darroze, Helene Darroze at The Connaught

  • Shauna Froydenlund, Marcus

  • Monica Galetti, Mere

  • Lisa Goodwin-Allen, Northcote

  • Skye Gyngell, Spring

  • Ruth Hansom, Pomona’s

  • Angela Hartnett, Café Murano, Hartnett, Holder & Co, Merchants Tavern and Murano

  • Anna Haugh, Myrtle

  • Margot Henderson, Rochelle Canteen

  • Rachel Humphrey, Le Gavroche

  • Marguerite Keogh, The Five Fields

  • Asma Khan, Darjeeling Express

  • Selin Kiazim, Kyseri and Oklava

  • Pip Lacey, Hicce

  • Thomasina Miers, Wahaca

  • Chantelle Nicholson, Tredwells

  • Alexis Noble, Wander

  • Sarit Packer, Honey & Co, Honey & Smoke

  • Elisabeth Passedat, The Cleveland Arms

  • Ruth Rogers, The River Café

  • Anne-Sophie Pic, La Dame de Pic

  • Clare Smyth, Core by Clare Smyth​

For more information, visit squaremeal.co.uk

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