What a Night for Chester Hospitality

Last week, Chester Racecourse played host to one of my favourite nights of the year: the Chester Hospitality People Awards.

And honestly, what a night it was.

Hosted by myself and the brilliant Izzy Marston, the evening brought together some of the very best people, venues and businesses from across Chester’s hospitality scene.

From Carden Park to Rooftop Social, BarLounge, The Ivy, Chester Zoo, Shrub and so many more, the room was full of the people who make this industry what it is.

This was our fourth Chester awards, and having been part of the Liverpool Hospitality People Awards for the last seven years too, it has been incredible to watch Chester’s version grow into something with such energy, support and momentum.

Because hospitality deserves nights like this.

It deserves a room full of people cheering each other on. It deserves employers taking a moment to recognise the people behind the service, the long shifts, the busy weekends, the late nights and the constant pressure.

This industry talks a lot about recruitment, retention and staffing challenges, but sometimes we overcomplicate it. People want to feel valued. They want to know their hard work has been seen. They want to feel like they matter.

UKHospitality recently shared findings from the Sona and Pineapple Hospitality People Insights Report, based on more than 35,000 hospitality employees, and the message was clear: look after your people and they will look after the business.

That is what these awards are really about.

The night began with a drinks reception, with drinks from CHANCE Clean Cider, Think Wine and DevaFest Ale, which set the tone perfectly.

Then it was time to kick things off properly.

We opened the show with the AI song we had created all about working in hospitality. With tambourines on every table and the whole room joining in, it was the perfect way to start the evening. Slightly mad? Absolutely. But also completely brilliant.

After some quick thank yous, we moved into the first three awards of the night, which were all decided by public vote. This was a new addition for this year and it brought something really special to the awards.

With over 14,000 votes cast, it was incredibly close, and it was amazing to see the public getting behind their favourite venues.

The winners were:

Best Restaurant in Chester: ShrubBest

Bar / Night Time Venue in Chester: BarLounge

Best Accommodation in Chester: Carden Park

Getting the public involved felt right. Hospitality is all about people, and it is the guests, customers and local community who experience these venues day in, day out. Their voice matters, and seeing that level of support was genuinely brilliant.

We then went straight into a lovely three-course meal by Horseradish, who looked after the room beautifully.

During dessert, we hosted the auction, raising over £12,000 for Hospitality Action. That is an incredible amount of money for a charity that does such important work supporting people across our industry when they need it most.

Then came the main awards.

And what a lineup of winners we had.

From front-of-house stars and chefs to rising talent, leaders, teams and people who go above and beyond every single day, the evening was a real reminder of how much talent we have in Chester hospitality.

A huge thank you has to go to all of our sponsors. Without their support, we simply would not be able to put on an evening like this and recognise these individuals for the hard work they put into our industry.

So, in no particular order, thank you to The Hospitality Hero, Horseradish, Chester Race Company, Sugar and Lime, Cucumber Catering, Chester BID, DevaFest, Visit Chester, Laurent-Perrier, Printworks, Vivid Floral Design, Ghost Tours, LWC, The Northern Guide, Bicks, Sweet Grind, H.N. Nuttall Ltd Food Service, Ribble Farm, My Fish Company, Liquor & Co, Cool Breeze, ASG and Ryan Williams Photography.

Your support genuinely makes these awards possible.

Most importantly, I hope every nominee left that room feeling proud.

Even being nominated means someone has noticed your hard work. Someone has taken the time to put your name forward. Someone has recognised what you bring to your team, your venue and the wider Chester hospitality scene.

And in this industry, that matters more than people realise.

Hospitality can be hard. It is fast-paced, demanding and often relentless. But it is also full of some of the most passionate, creative and hardworking people you will ever meet.

Last week proved that once again.

Chester hospitality showed up, celebrated loudly, supported each other and reminded everyone just how special this industry is.

What an electric night.

Same again next year?