SUPPORTING THE FUTURE OF HOSPITALITY – CELEBRATING 47 YEARS
The 2025 World Young Chef, Waiter & Mixologist (YYY) World Finals culminated in spectacular fashion in London from 16–19 March 2026, bringing together the world’s most exceptional rising hospitality talent.
The prestigious champions were revealed during an elegant awards ceremony at The Chancery Rosewood, hosted by Robert Walton and Ellie Costello on 19 March.
Crowned as the 2025 World Champions were:
• World Young Chef Champion — Joshua Ricciardo of The French Laundry
• World Young Waiter Champion — Austin Brielle of The French Laundry
• World Young Mixologist Champion — Michell Coriell of Little Beach House Malibu
In the overall team standings, Team USA claimed the coveted Gold Medal, Team Monaco secured Silver, and Team Scotland proudly earned Bronze following an extraordinary display of skill, creativity, and world-class hospitality excellence.
The evening celebrated innovation, passion, and the future of global hospitality on one unforgettable stage.
WORLD YOUNG CHEF WAITER AND MIXOLOGIST 2026
Entries are now officially open for the 2026 World Young Chef, Waiter & Mixologist Championships, where the world’s most promising hospitality talent will compete for global glory.
In March 2027, London will welcome 12 Young Chefs, 12 Young Waiters, and 12 Young Mixologists representing 12 competing nations for an unforgettable World Championship showdown.
Before reaching the World Finals, all 36 finalists will battle through prestigious regional competitions, taking on a series of demanding challenges created by an elite panel of expert judges. From these intense contests, only the very best teams — made up of a chef, waiter, and mixologist — will earn their place on the world stage.
- 36 World Finalists
- 12 Chefs
- 12 Waiters
- 12 Mixologists
- 3 Winning Teams
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2020 Competition
2020 FINALS
The exciting Young Chef Young Waiter 2020 Competition Finals took place in London in 4 locations over 3 days in May 2021. The events had been rescheduled from late 2020 due to the series of UK lockdowns and were run in line with government guidelines.
The Finals: Dates and Venues:
Tuesday 25 May:
- The Dorchester – UK Chef & Waiter Final
- Theo Randall @ The InterContinental – UK Chef & Waiter Final
- Adam Handling Chelsea – UK Chef & Waiter Final
Wednesday 26 May:
- Kai Mayfair – China & South East Asia Chef & Waiter Final
Thursday 27 May:
- Kai Mayfair – China & South East Asia Chef & Waiter Final
- The best young chef and best young waiter Winners will be announced on 28 June at the Awards Party at The Dorchester.
Adam Handling MBE
Head Judge - Chef
Our Global Judges
Simon King
Head Judge - Waiter
Finding the World's Best
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Young Waiter and
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Our inspiration judging panel from 2024 was made up of esteemed culinary experts, food critics, and industry leaders. Among the esteemed chef judges were Dave Pynt, Kirk Westaway, Mark Wee, Paul Longworth, Angela May, Gibran Bayoun, Andy Downton, Rob Edwards, Sarissa Rodriquez- Schwartz, Luke Barr, Paul Robinson, and Julian Burgur.
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Winners and judges have included some the industry’s great recognisable names– Adam Handling MBE, Theo Randall, Mark Sargeant, Marcus Wareing, Simon King, John Torode, Anne and Jamain Swarb, Jeremy King, Raymond Blanc OBE, Heston Blumenthal OBE, The Earl of Bradford and Lord Forte.
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