Condé Nast Traveller Launches The ‘UK’s Top New Restaurant Awards’
The best new UK restaurants, as chosen by Condé Nast Traveller’s leading panel of judges
Condé Nast Traveller, the global authority on high-end travel, has launched their inaugural Top New Restaurant Awards. The awards will showcase the best of what’s new on the UK food scene. From fine dining spots in major cities to cool new concepts off the beaten track – as well as up-and-coming and game changing talent – the awards will highlight the best from across the country.
Since moving to the UK more than two years ago, I have been blown away by the incredible culinary talent across the country. This is, without a doubt, one of the most exciting and dynamic food scenes anywhere in the world. Condé Nast Traveller’s newest awards – under the careful guidance of an outstanding set of judges, who highlight the nation’s diversity in different ways – will showcase the best and brightest in the food scene from all corners of the United Kingdom. Divia Thani, Global Editorial Director, Condé Nast Traveller
Categories for the awards are:
- The Best New Restaurants in the UK for 2023
- The Best New Chef in the UK, celebrating the brightest and most exciting new talent on the restaurant scene
- The Game Changer Award, celebrating someone in the industry who is shifting the way we eat and drink for the better
Voting for the reader’s choice of best new restaurant goes live on Condé Nast Traveller’s Instagram account on 23 January.
Judges for The UK’s Top New Restaurant Awards are:
Divia Thani is the Global Editorial Director, Condé Nast Traveller, overseeing seven editions of the title across the globe. She took on this newly created role in January 2021. Divia launched the Indian edition of Condé Nast Traveller back in 2010 and served as Editor in Chief of Condé Nast Traveller India for a decade. Under her leadership, the brand has developed several new IPs including India’s Top Restaurant Awards. Prior to this, she worked as Features Editor at Vogue India and a restaurant critic and style editor for Time Out Mumbai. Follow her journeys on Instagram @diviathani
Tom Parker Bowles is Restaurant Critic for The Mail on Sunday and Food Editor of Esquire, as well as writing a monthly column for County Life.
He is a regular judge on BBC’s Masterchef, and is the author of eight books. His new one, Cooking and The Crown, is out in September.
Angela Hartnett, OBE, is one of the UK’s most loved chefs and restaurateurs, known for her sophisticated yet simple, Italy-inspired cooking. Born in Britain, her passion for good, honest food and the best ingredients was instilled in her by her Italian grandmother and mother.
Angela was the chef judge in BBC1’s Britain’s Best Home Cook in 2020, alongside Claudia Winkleman, Mary Berry and Chris Bavin. In June 2022 she launched the podcast, Dish by Waitrose & Partners, which she co-hosts with celebrity broadcaster Nick Grimshaw.
Gurdeep Loyal is a Food/Travel Writer based in London, whose work spotlights diasporic food cultures of the world, traces the evolution of migratory cuisines and seeks to decolonise food narratives. Gurdeep was winner of the Jane Grigson Trust Award for his first cookbook ‘Mother Tongue – Flavours of a Second Generation’, which explores British-Indian identity through food, memoir and recipes. He is a frequent guest on British food TV including the BBC’s ‘Saturday Kitchen’.
Julie is a seasoned (if you’ll pardon the pun!) chef, TV and radio broadcaster, restaurant owner, industry award winner and featured cook - she’s even had the joy of cooking lunch for Dame Judi Dench!
She takes great pride in pulling inspiration from her Malaysian-Scottish roots to develop the South East Asian and Malaysian cooking she is known for, and is currently working on her first recipe book.
Gizzi Erskine is an internationally celebrated chef, broadcaster, podcast presenter and award-winning food writer.
Gizzi has trained with honours at Leith’s School of Food and Wine and then went on to work in the kitchens of world-leading chefs and restaurants. She was one of the innovators of the Pop-up restaurant scene doing her first event over 20 years ago and words like pop-up, residency and super club were coined within the scene she was part of way back then. Over the years she has launched and owned multiple restaurants across the UK.
Award winning TV Chef and Broadcaster Andi Oliver enjoys a rich & varied career, with food and music being at the forefront throughout. On air Andi is a regular panel member on BBC Radio 4’s The Kitchen Cabinet alongside Jay Rayner as well as a contributor to Radio 4’s Award winning The Food Programme. In 2018 she followed in the footsteps of Yotam Ottolenghi & Giorgio Locatelli and was appointed Head judge alongside Sheila Dillon for the prestigious BBC Food & Farming awards.
One of the most influential content creators in the UK, Notorious Foodie is a self-taught home cook from London. Whether it’s indulgent home cooking using the very best ingredients or fine dining at the most talked about restaurants, you’ll find this and everything in between on his channels that have amassed over 14 million followers (@Notorious_Foodie).
Originally from Australia, Skye Gyngell is now one of Britain’s most respected and acclaimed chefs. After initially training in Sydney and then Paris, Skye moved to London to work at The French House and with a number of high-profile private clients before taking on the role of head chef at Petersham Nurseries. It was at Petersham that Skye became renowned for her distinctively seasonal, elegant cooking, creating dishes inspired by what she saw growing and blossoming around her.
After getting his first job at Wheeler’s Oyster Bar in his hometown, James' talent took him to Gordon Ramsay’s Maze, two-Michelin- starred The Ledbury - under mentor Brett Graham - and Michelin-starred gastropub The Harwood Arms. James opened signature restaurant 12:51 by Chef James Cochran in Islington, North London in 2018 - the same year he won the BBC’s Great British Menu - a feat he repeated in 2020. A winner of the prestigious Eater London Chef of The Year, James also runs Around the Cluck offering a gourmet twist on the classic fried chicken takeaway. Most recently James has hosted dinners for Google, Burberry, Too Good To Go and more!
About Condé Nast Traveler
Condé Nast Traveller is the world's most distinguished travel title providing inspiration and advice for discerning travellers. Authoritative and influential, Condé Nast Traveller features destinations in the UK and around the world, whilst offering their award-winning expertise in luxury travel. The title assembles four major hotel lists every year: Hot List, Spa Guide, Readers' Choice Awards and The Gold List.
