Double success for Gidleigh Park chefs in regional awards
Two chefs from Dartmoor's Gidleigh Park have celebrated a major double success at the South West Chef of the Year 2026 awards, with one also taking the competition's overall title.
Will Bradridge was named Professional Chef of the Year, while colleague Jacob Ashburton-Dunning won Young Professional Chef of the Year and was crowned South West Chef of the Year 2026.
The awards were announced at a ceremony at Exeter Golf and Country Club on Tuesday, 27 October, recognising the skills and creativity of chefs and cooks from across the region.
Jacob impressed the judges with a three-course menu featuring lobster with squash purée, bisque sabayon and crispy kale, followed by venison with blackberry and spiced potato fondant. His dessert was doughnut with honey-roasted pear and spiced mascarpone cream.
Will's winning menu began with octopus, fennel and tomato, followed by partridge with parsnip and pear. His dessert combined Jerusalem artichoke, golden raisin and hazelnuts.
Established in 2004, South West Chef of the Year celebrates talent across the region's hospitality industry, with categories for professional chefs, young professional chefs, students, home cooks and junior cooks. Entrants in the two professional categories were challenged to prepare a three-course menu.
The judging panel brought together 21 of the South West's most respected chefs, including Michael Caines MBE, Nathan Outlaw and Paul Ainsworth, alongside Gidleigh Park's own Executive Head Chef, Ian Webber. Chefs were excluded from judging categories involving their own restaurants.
Ian said: “A huge well done to Jacob and William. They form the backbone of our kitchen here at Gidleigh Park, showing incredible hard work on a daily basis. Their dogged determination over the last year, and throughout the competition, has seen them both improve hugely as individual cooks, and not least, they both help to create positive momentum as the whole team progresses here at Gidleigh Park on a daily basis.”
He added: “We couldn’t be more pleased and are all incredibly proud of their achievements, especially as they are both also genuinely nice guys!”
Ian also paid tribute to the people behind the competition, saying: “Jacob, William and I would like to personally thank Julie Harvey for organising and bringing the competition to fruition over its many years of success, and to Michael Caines for his ongoing mentorship, as the founder of the South West Chef of the Year, some 22 years ago. Michael has been the catalyst in transforming both ours, and so many other, chefs’ careers and lives over the 22 years the competition has been running, not to mention his career as a whole too. The awards are a special legacy indeed.”
The success adds to Gidleigh Park's reputation as one of the South West's leading dining destinations. The hotel and restaurant holds a Michelin Star and two Michelin Keys, alongside five AA Red Stars for the hotel and three AA Rosettes for its restaurant.
The restaurant is open for dinner from Tuesday to Saturday, with a five-course menu priced at £135 per person and a seven-course option at £165. Visitors can also enjoy lunch from the Country House menu, afternoon tea or drinks and a walk around the estate.
For further information or bookings, visit www.gidleigh.co.uk.