Forest Side Sous Chef Among UK’s 30 Under 30

Martin Frickel, Sous Chef at Grasmere’s Forest Side, attended the 31st Acorn Awards yesterday, (22nd May) at Cliveden House in Taplow, Berkshire, where he was presented with a coveted Acorn Award.Since their inception in 1986, the Acorn Awards, affectionately known as the 30 under 30, have sought to recognise the brightest prospects in the hospitality industry. Each winner is nominated by their peers for their outstanding ability in their field. Martin joins a cast of stellar names including previous winners Marcus Wareing, Jason Atherton, Robert Thompson, Craig Sandle and Marco Pierre White…This year’s awards were presented at a special lunch at Clivden by The Caterer editor Amanda Afiya, and ACT Clean chief executive, John Stevenson.Hotelier Andrew Wildsmith and owner of Grasmere’s Forest Side, said: ‘’Recognising rising stars in our industry plays an important part in securing future talent for the hospitality industry. The Acorn Awards are a positive initiative for the UK’s hospitality industry and each recipient should be proud of what they have achieved so far.’’Martin Frickel, 2017 Acorn Award winner, said: ‘’I am exceptionally proud to have been selected as one of this year’s 30 under 30. I have had some exceptional career highlights but this one blows the rest out of the water. Being able to meet past winners who have become hospitality industry greats has been an amazing experience. Not only that having the opportunity to rub shoulders with future industry stars has been epic. It’s important that we have award events like this, we have to encourage future talent and what better way to do this by celebrating success.’’