Celebrity chef and restaurateur, Brian Turner, CBE, from Ready Steady Cook was honoured today (Thursday 1 December) with one of the highest professional awards reserved for “persons of distinction” who have made outstanding achievements in their field.
Turner, a former City & Guilds student at Leeds College of Food Technology, donned his graduation gown and collected his City & Guilds’ Fellowship at a special presentation luncheon in London.
Turner is only the second chef after Gary Rhodes to be bestowed with the highest accolade from City & Guilds, the UK’s leading work related awarding body. He joins a long list of famous Fellows including Anita Roddick, Lord Puttnam, Alan Titchmarsh, Libby Purves, and the Rt Hon Sir John Major.
David Young, Chairman of City & Guilds, confirmed that the awarding body was proud to recognise Turner for his dedication and professional achievement in the British catering industry. ‘Brian Turner’s devotion to his craft has made him one of Britain’s most successful and well-known chefs. Despite managing a very hectic schedule, Turner still manages to give his time generously to various charities – including the launch of his new Brian Turner Foundation. A supporter of ‘Focus on Food’, Turner also shares his time and expertise with young people, encouraging them to take an interest in food with hands on cooking lessons.’
After working in some of the most prestigious hotels and restaurants in Europe - including the Beau Rivage in Lausanne and the Michelin-starred Capital Hotel in London - Turner set up his own restaurant, ‘Turner’s’, in Knightsbridge and then at The Crowne Plaza Hotel in Birmingham’s NEC. Continuing to set new standards for British chef-owned restaurants, Turner launched ‘Brian Turner Mayfair’ at the Millennium Hotel in London in 2003 and ‘Turner’s Grill’ at The Copthorne Hotel Slough-Windsor in January 2005. An extremely busy man, his enthusiasm for British food, and his vibrant personality, have resulted in highly successful television appearances on Granada’s ‘This Morning’, and BBC’s series ‘Anything you can Cook’ and ‘Ready Steady Cook’.
Welcoming the award, Turner said: “I am honoured to be here today to receive the City & Guilds’ Fellowship. I am very pleased with City & Guilds’ efforts towards the catering industry and hope more people will see how valuable training is in their everyday lives and careers.”
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For further information, please contact:
Nina Roman on 020 7294 8054 or email nina.roman@cityandguilds.com
Notes to editor:
- A total of 529 fellowships have been awarded by City & Guilds since they were first introduced in 1892.
- The Fellowship (FCGI) is the highest award that can be conferred by City & Guilds and denotes outstanding professional and personal achievement, demonstrated over a number of years in complex situations.
- Fellows of City Guilds are permitted to use the letter FCGI after their names and are eligible for election to the Council and to contribute towards City & Guilds’ policy.
- City & Guilds offers a full suite of Catering and Hospitality courses that cover NVQs (National Vocational Qualifications) and higher level qualifications.
- City & Guilds (http://www.cityandguilds.com) is the UK’s leading awarding body for work related vocational qualifications. In total the organisation awards around 1.3 million certificates to learners each year on over 500 subjects ranging from creative studies to catering, management skills to manufacturing.