Gordon Carberry wins Culinary Innovation award at Sodexo’s global sustainable chef challenge
Cook for Change! guest judge, Anna Haugh and Culinary Innovation winner, Gordon Carberry
Gordon Carberry, a craft development chef with Sodexo Ireland has taken home the Culinary Innovation title at the Sodexo global Cook for Change! Sustainability chef challenge 2026 - a competition championing culinary excellence and a commitment to healthier, more sustainable food.
Cook for Change! is Sodexo’s global culinary competition and is designed to spotlight the creativity and expertise of its chefs and their central role in driving more sustainable and healthier food practices.
Gordon competed against eight other Sodexo chefs from Australia, Brazil, Chile, France, India, the Netherlands and the United States at a live cook off held at Rational’s purpose-built kitchen at its UK head office.
The Culinary Innovation award celebrates the dish that delivers a memorable taste experience while embracing innovative and sustainable approaches. His winning dish was ‘Meacan Bán’ (Irish for parsnip) and included miso glazed parsnip, gouchujang, parsnip puree, popped chickpeas, wild rice, nori, citrus plant mayonnaise and crispy parsnip skins served with parsnip and apple shrub.
I love competing. Throughout this competition I have met chefs from across Sodexo who are creating not only amazing food, but are doing so with sustainability at the heart, whether reducing food waste by using as much of an ingredient as possible or creating more plant-forward dishes.
It has been an inspiring journey and I am proud that I have won the Culinary Innovation title using the humble, but delicious parsnip.
The overall Cook for Change! 2026 champion was Robert Janse from Sodexo Netherlands for his smoked Kohlrabi with miso, white bean cream and Kombucha beurre blanc. The award for Impact at Scale went to Randall Prudden from Sodexo USA for his whole pumpkin with roasted Maitake mushroom & Mole Negro.
More than a competition, Cook for Change! is a true expression of Sodexo’s vision of food as a powerful lever for positive impact. It encourages chefs to explore new ways of cooking - with more plant-based ingredients, less waste, and better nutritional profiles. Cook for Change! empowers Sodexo’s chefs to act as ambassadors of a new food culture: one that supports pleasure on every plate. well-being and environmental responsibility.
The panel of judges included:
- Frederic Anton - Meilleur Ouvrier de France and holder of 6 Michelin stars (Pré Catelan, Jules Verne, Don Juan II)
- Anna Haugh - TV presenter and Executive Head Chef/owner of Myrtle Restaurant in London
- Lloyd Mann, Sodexo’s Global Executive Chef
- Sinead McLaughlin, Regional Corporate Chef at Rational
- Jessie Sommarström, Executive Chef from Sodexo Sweden
This competition not only focuses on creating amazing food for Sodexo’s customers but puts sustainability at the heart of it. That is something I feel really passionate about.
As Sodexo’s new culinary partner for the UK and Ireland, it’s been a unique experience seeing how Sodexo is transforming food services for its clients and I’m looking forward to our continued work in the coming months.
The ambition of this unique global culinary competition is to encourage creativity, champion sustainability in the kitchen and showcase Sodexo’s most talented chefs from within its culinary community on a global stage. It is the third consecutive year that a chef from Sodexo UK & Ireland has won an award at the competition, in November 2023 Sharon McConnell, from Northern Ireland, was joint winner and last year Adam Collison was named the overall winner.
This year’s competition was developed with a renewed format that included three regional semi-finals held last November in Chicago, Shanghai and France. More than 500 chefs from 30 countries entered the competition.
The competition came to an end with a showcase event focused on food innovation and purpose. Held for the first time in the UK, Sodexo Group CEO Thierry Delaporte and Jean Renton, CEO Sodexo UK & Ireland welcomed over 200 guests and Sodexo colleagues from around the world to the stunning Vision Hall @ Town Hall by Bottaccio, London.
The evening was not only a chance to celebrate the chefs who made it to the final and reveal the winners, it was a chance to focus on food innovation and purpose. Guest speaker Brent Loken, Global Food Lead Scientist for WWF provided an insightful keynote speech on the importance of driving global food systems transformation of which he is an internationally recognised advocate.
Guests enjoyed Sodexo’s signature hospitality, with a food showcase featuring dishes from the global chefs in partnership with Sodexo UK & Ireland’s acclaimed food brands - The Good Eating Company, Fooditude and Heritage Portfolio. Dishes also featured hydroponic-grown ingredients produced in partnership with Square Mile Farms and Sodexo’s restaurant The Orangery TCR, home to London’s largest vertical farm.
The Cook for Change! competition has become a showcase of our commitment to supporting clients in evolving their food offers in response to rising consumer expectations and sustainability challenges.
The nine chefs who made it through to the final are inspirational in their creativity and commitment to serving delicious, nutritious and sustainable food for our customers every day.
As CEO of UK & Ireland I am proud to see Gordon win the Culinary Innovation award and as host to this fantastic event this year we have welcomed clients, partners and colleagues from across the world and showcased the amazing food we are serving our clients in our region.
As consumers seek food that is affordable, tasty and healthy, catering has a more essential role to play than ever. On the front line, Sodexo chefs translate these evolving expectations into practical, high-quality, inventive and healthy solutions.
Through their choice of ingredients, cooking methods and creativity, chefs also play a crucial role in guiding consumers toward more responsible and sustainable food habits. With this culinary competition, Sodexo reaffirms its ambition to make food a lever for positive transformation and business performance for its clients.
The Cook for Change! competition is organised in partnership with Rational Group, the world market and technology leader in the field of hot food preparation for professional kitchens.
Find out more about Sodexo's Cook for Change! global sustainable chef challenge
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