Carlisle pastry chef wins top Craft Guild of Chefs Graduate Award at London's Fortnum & Mason

04.10.23 Paige Hill Pastry Chef Credit: ITV
Paige Hill, 23, is one of only five in the UK this year to receive the prestigious Craft Guild of Chefs award in recognition of her skills. Credit: ITV

A Carlisle pastry chef has been named as one of the best in the UK at a prestigious award ceremony.

Paige Hill, 23, works at the Pentonbridge Inn, near Carlisle and received her highly-acclaimed honour at a VIP evening held at London's Fortnum and Mason on Monday 11 September.

Her skills were recognised by the Craft Guild of Chefs. Established in 1885 as a Guild of the Cookery and Food Association, the Craft Guild of Chefs has developed into the leading chefs’ association in the UK, with members worldwide.

The Graduate Awards offer chefs under the age of 25 the opportunity to test their skills, connect with peers and raise their profile. Applicants must compete in regional and national finals with kitchen and pastry chef skills tested alongside exams and challenges.

Paige Hill received her award at a VIP ceremony in London at Fortnum & Mason. Credit: Craft Guild of Chefs

Ms Hill is one of only five pastry chefs from across the UK to achieve a Graduate Award this year and said: “I’m absolutely delighted to have received a Graduate Award. I always want to push myself to see what I can achieve when I’m put to the test and to be recognised at this level is incredible. It’s been a fantastic experience and I’ll use everything I’ve learnt from it to improve my skills and knowledge in the kitchen.”

Overall, 102 chefs have achieved the award since it was established in 2002.

Ms Hill has always enjoyed baking since a young age and explained: "When I was a little girl, me, my mom used to bake all the time. And then at school, in high school, we did food technology and I took it as a GCSE and then my teacher, she was very passionate about me going to this junior chefs on a Saturday I just loved it.

"I think I love the freedom and I love the experimenting, and I love that you can get lost. Like, for example, you can bake with anybody or you can do it in your own words. I love doing on my own, on my days off, and I just get lost in time. And then it gets about 8:00 and I'm like, Oh, hello!"

The final exam for the awards took place at the University of West London on Friday 1 September where Ms Hill created an afternoon tea of fruit and plain scones; a Mediterranean vegetable tart and a chocolate petit gateau. She also produced a menu, costings and a selling price for the meal.

"It was all based on afternoon tea. So we had to do discounts and homemade jam. I couldn't believe it. Like they read my name Second-to-last and I was most anxious on that. I just kept pacing and when they read my name, I was just a complete shock," Ms Hill continued, "I didn't believe it. And then, yeah, it was amazing. I was. So I think I had a little tear.

As part of her prize, Ms Hill will travel to Italy for a four-day culinary tour including two days of one-to-one instruction from Pastry World Cup Champion, Massimo Pica, at his renowned pastry school in Milan.

Ms Hill previously won Apprentice of the Year at the 2019 Craft Guild of Chefs Awards while working at The Royal Garden Hotel in Kensington, and has been part of the kitchen team at the Michelin-starred Pentonbridge Inn since 2020.

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