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Two’s company at the Contract Catering Awards 2026
This year’s Contract Catering Awards took place at the Park Plaza Westminster Bridge on 2 March. Nominated by peers and whittled down to a shortlist, the 16 ultimate winners were announced at the ceremony in front of industry peers and colleagues.
Now in its 14th year, a new Judges’ Choice Award was introduced to recognise and celebrate those superb candidates who narrowly missed out in their nominated categories.
Hosted by TV presenter Mark Durden-Smith, BM scooped two awards on the night.
Area Manager of the year – Milda Burn
Milda is, in every sense, a force of nature. She delivers exceptional financial results while creating an environment where people thrive, clients trust and communities benefit.
Her strategic leadership has secured multimillion-pound extensions, industry-leading client satisfaction and a new generation of confident, motivated hospitality professionals.
These results are driven by Milda’s proactive “one team” approach, collaborative initiatives with client reception and booking staff, marketing and engagement campaigns, and her ability to align catering with each client’s business goals.
She commits wholeheartedly to every aspect of leadership — people, purpose and progress. She represents the very best of BM, and the best of what contemporary contract catering leadership looks like.
Judges’ Choice Award – Elisabeth Ortiz Kuefler
As BM’s first dedicated ESG appointment, Elisabeth did not inherit a ready-made structure. Working with colleagues from across the business, she has built BM’s ESG framework, reporting systems and dashboard from the ground up.
She leads a cross-departmental ESG working group that brings together chefs, nutritionists, HR, marketing and operations. This collaborative model ensures every initiative, from social mobility to carbon reduction, is shaped by those closest to delivery and grounded in operational reality.
Her regular sustainability blogs and media contributions have amplified BM’s voice across the sector, positioning us as a leader in sustainable workplace catering and turning ESG into something chefs, managers and clients can all get behind and act on.
Congratulations
Congratulations to Milda, Elisabeth and our new Operations Director, Rhiannon Read, who won the Business & Industry Award.
We also want to celebrate Claire Beavan, shortlisted for the Business and Industry Award and Nerida Antoniou, shortlisted for the Innovation Award.
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