Enter The Caterer's Best Places to Work in Hospitality 2026

Boost your brand | Attract top talent | Power commercial growth

In a world where trust, brand and reputation have never mattered more, The Caterer’s Best Places to Work in Hospitality sets the standard for how exceptional culture leads to lasting success. Recognition as a great employer enhances your reputation, strengthens your employer brand, and gives you the edge in attracting both talent and customers.

This powerful initiative recognises the top 30 hospitality employers in the UK – whether that’s pubs, restaurants, hotels or foodservice operators – as voted for by their own employees.

It isn’t a box-ticking exercise – it’s your opportunity to be named as one of the UK's Top 30 hospitality employers and gain an honest, data-driven look at how your people feel. Plus, you will also receive a custom insight report on your workplace which can feed into your future people and culture strategy. 

The secret to stronger retention, happier teams and improved performance? Understanding what truly drives your people.

What you will gain

These awards are unlike any other, as they’re based entirely on anonymous feedback from your team, gathered through a robust engagement survey designed by workplace culture experts Korero. Your custom insight report reveals how your people truly experience your workplace:

  • Their connection to your purpose
  • Whether they feel safe, supported, and valued
  • Levels of satisfaction, advocacy, and belonging

These insights aren’t just interesting – they’re transformational. They cut through the noise and help you build a successful business, commercially and culturally.

An evening of celebration with your team

New for 2026, we will be hosting our Top 30 for an evening of networking, drinks, canapés and celebration to honour your achievement in being listed as one of the Best Places to Work in Hospitality. This standalone event held in May 2026 will shine a spotlight on our Top 30 and give the recognition you deserve for your outstanding workplace culture and dedication to your people. At the awards ceremony we will present everyone with a trophy and winner pack which will include printed collateral that you can use across your site.

STRONGER EMPLOYER BRAND

Become the place people want to work

BETTER RETENTION

Engaged teams stay longer and perform better

CUSTOMER TRUST

Consumers are drawn to respected brands

PR VISIBILITY

Gain exposure through The Caterer platforms

COMMERCIAL CREDIBILITY

Awards signal quality and leadership

We also have six individual awards to celebrate those in the top 30 going above and beyond in workplace culture:

Most improved: celebrating a returning entrant for the work they’ve completed over the last 12 months to develop and better their employee engagement, employee strategy and satisfaction

Equity: rewarding the operator that treats their employees how they want to be treated and meet their individual needs

Pride: recognising the company whose employees are proud and happy to work there

Wellbeing: acknowledging the operators that truly care about the physical, mental, financial and social wellbeing of their employees

Purpose: honouring the organisation that clearly articulates purpose and objectives to employees, so they understand the part they play in overall company performance

Recognition: paying tribute to the company that ensures employees receive regular feedback on their work and recognises those going above and beyond

A partnership between The Caterer and workplace culture experts Korero.

WHAT DO PAST ENTRANTS HAVE TO SAY?

We found this a really useful process last year. It was a great opportunity to engage with our colleagues and hear their views. We have incorporated their feedback into our planning for this year.

Vicky Freeman director of people and training Thomas Franks

Achieving 6th place in 2019 has been a proud moment for Aloft Liverpool and has spurred our team on to deepen our people agenda with a dynamic approach. Our management team are now at the stage where they are asking what’s next and how can we make our team become even more engaged within their roles.

Takis Melitsiotis general manager Aloft Liverpool

Winning the award cemented our belief that we were heading in the right direction. Retention and recruitment figures say so too, so we will keep doing what we’re doing.

Jo Freeman head of brand Paris House Restaurant

Seeing the difference in perception of long-term staff compared to newer staff was really interesting and opened up areas where we have subsequently communicated our culture better.

Josh Blinston Jones head of people The Palomar

We have always strived to be the best employers we can be. We entered to learn more, improve ourselves, and to attract people to our team.

Kieran Waite founder Season + Taste

I think the survey was really good, and I liked that we were reminded that we needed more responses, so communication was great!

Josh Chadwick general manager The Tawny