Loch Ness chef Ammar Soeb Khumri wins Kraft Heinz Masters of the Menu 2026

A £5,000 cash prize, PR support and a hosted supper club: that is the package awarded to Ammar Soeb Khumri, senior chef de partie at the Lovat Hotel on Loch Ness, after he was named winner of Kraft Heinz's Masters of the Menu 2026.

Khumri secured the title following a live cook-off at CORD by Le Cordon Bleu in London, competing through two rounds of cooking against four fellow finalists. Adam Hills, head of Fancett's Bistro in Cambridge, took second place. The remaining finalists were Stefan Wesley of the Moorings in Alderney, Laszlo Lukacs of Kirkstyle Inn and Sportsman's Rest, and Jacek Macienko of JM Chefs Table.

What does the winner actually get?

The prize is more than a trophy. Khumri will host an exclusive supper club on November 19 alongside competition judge James Cochran, the Great British Menu winner and former 1251 chef patron. For a chef working at senior chef de partie level (the rank just below sous chef on a kitchen brigade), the exposure and PR support carry career value beyond the cash.

Khumri said: "Getting to cook at CORD by Le Cordon Bleu and come away with the title is something I'll remember for a long time. I'm looking forward to working with James on the supper club and sharing my food with a new audience."

Who runs the competition, and who judges it?

Now in its second year, the Masters of the Menu is delivered by Kraft Heinz's Away From Home division — the supplier arm serving foodservice operators rather than retail shelves — in partnership with the Craft Guild of Chefs.

The judging panel held its own credentials. Alongside Cochran sat Ian Nottage, Martin Eshelby and Stefan Sewell, the 2025 Masters of the Menu winner who returned to judge this year's cohort.

Cochran set out what the panel was actually testing. He said: "Winning this competition means delivering your own dish under pressure, then adapting when a completely new challenge is put in front of you. Ammar should be really proud of what he's achieved."

He added: "Masters of the Menu gives chefs in independent kitchens a platform to show what they can do, alongside support they can take back into their everyday work."

Why is a supplier running this?

The commercial logic is straightforward. For Kraft Heinz, the competition puts the Heinz brand in front of independent chefs — the segment the Away From Home division sells to — while tying those chefs' creativity to cooking with its products.

Tom Franklin, UK & Ireland director of Kraft Heinz Away From Home, said: "Independent kitchens are full of talented chefs whose work deserves to be seen and celebrated. Masters of the Menu is about giving those chefs recognition, practical support and opportunities beyond the competition itself."

He added: "Huge congratulations to Ammar, Adam and all of this year's finalists. We're proud to support their development and to see the creativity they bring to cooking with Heinz."

What comes next?

The November 19 supper club with Cochran is the immediate fixture. With the competition only in its second year and a former winner already sitting on the judging panel, Kraft Heinz has a format it appears intent on building into an annual pipeline for independent-kitchen talent.