A 19-year-old pastry chef has been honoured for his rapid rise in the food industry.
Lewis Jackson, who grew up in Penrith and is a former student at Kendal College, was handed the Rising Star award at the prestigious 2025 Cumbria Food Awards.
Lewis is already working at The Ritz in London and has won the National Pastry Chef of the Year award.
The Cumbria Food Awards Rising Star trophy is for someone at the beginning of their career who has already shown what they can do and made an impact in their profession. They also show great potential.
The audience heard how Lewis always had an aspiration to be a pastry chef and completed his NVQ Level 2 hospitality qualification while he was still at school.
He went to Kendal College to study for a Level 2 in pastry, achieving a distinction in just one year. Work experience at the world-renowned Gleneagles Hotel led to an offer of a full-time job as a commis pastry chef at the age of 17.
Lewis worked with the team of 25 pastry chefs at the prestigious hotel, producing afternoon teas, desserts, pastries and more.
During this time, he was runner-up in the National Young Pastry Chef of the year award.
A move to The Ritz – he was also offered a job by The Dorchester – followed at age 18.
He started by making The Ritz’s famous afternoon tea cakes for 400 diners each day and moved on to produce pastries for breakfast and the bread for the Michelin-starred restaurant, which involved working through the night.
He has now progressed to desserts at the restaurant, which has just been awarded a second Michelin Star.
Last year, he won the National Pastry Chef of the Year award and for his prize, travelled to Milan to spend time with world pastry chef champion Massimo Pica.
His Kendal College tutor Yannick Lequitte said: “Lewis was a dedicated and hard-working young man. An excellent team player, he was always looking for perfection and for a new challenge – which he found by going to work in high quality establishments.”
Winners of the Cumbria Food Awards were announced at a ceremony held at Kendal College last Thursday, hosted by TV presenter and chef Matt Tebbutt.
The winners of the 13 categories are here and you can find out more about them via our new platform, which features an interactive map to help you plan your foodie journey here
