South Eastern Regional College (SERC) Chef Lecturer, Brian Magill, has been crowned Culinary Hero in the Craft Guild of Chefs Awards 2025, hosted at the Royal Lancaster Hotel, London on Monday 16 June.

Often dubbed the chefs’ Oscars, the Awards celebrate the absolute best talent across the UK culinary scene.   The Culinary Hero Award was presented by Craft Guild of Chefs chair Mark Reynolds and Kaj Sandom, National Account Manager at Williams Refrigeration who sponsored the Award.

Brian’s Award recognises the work the Chef Lecturer and his students have completed on the Freezer Friends initiative with Bangor Food Bank and with support from the local community.   The Freezer Friends initiative is a pioneering project addressing food poverty while providing real-world experience for students. He has established a framework where surplus fresh produce is transformed into nutritious, frozen ready meals, which are distributed to foodbanks, outreach centres, and social supermarkets. The project continues to expand, involving local businesses, farms, and councils, creating a sustainable model of education and social impact.

The citation in the Craft Guild of Chefs 2025 Awards brochure read, “Brian Magill, Chef Lecturer at South Eastern Regional College, is a truly inspirational figure whose tireless dedication to education, community and culinary excellence makes him a standout winner of the Craft Guild of Chefs Culinary Hero Award.”

Brian said, “It was great to win this accolade and very nice to be recognised at the prestigious Craft Guild of Chefs Awards.   The Culinary Hero Award was unexpected, given the competition, and I would like to thank everyone who took time to vote for myself and the Freezer Friends initiative.”

Tommy Martin, Principal & Chief Executive said, “We are delighted that Brian has received the Culinary Hero Award from the Craft Guild of Chefs.   Brian is an outstanding Chef Lecturer, and this Award for the Freezer Friends initiative is testament to the positive impact he has made not only on the students under his tutelage, but the wider community.

“It is fantastic to see both Brian and our student, Gabby Harrison (21), from Newtownards, a Level 3 Apprenticeship NI in Professional Cookery who was a finalist for the Apprentice Chef Award, recognised on the UK wide stage amongst peers from the industry.”

Northern Ireland born Clare Smyth MBE, who was presented with the esteemed Special Award at the prestigious ceremony, took time to speak to Brian and Gabby at the ceremony.

Visit www.serc.ac.uk Real Learning for Real Life #BetterOffAtSERC

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