Inside Hot Plate 2026: The Road to the National Final
From Potential to Performance
Hot Plate 2026 may have crowned its champions, but the journey began in March 2026, with an exceptional display of culinary innovation during Round One. Drawing entries from Chefs across every corner of Compass Group Australia (CGA), the opening stage of the competition challenged entrants to think beyond the plate, developing concepts that balanced creativity, commercial viability and customer appeal. The response highlighted the depth of courageous talent within CGA’s culinary community and set the foundation for a successful competition.
The submissions revealed several trends shaping the future of food service, including a strong focus on operational simplicity, profitability, sustainability and quality. Chicken emerged as the most popular hero ingredient, while concepts inspired by street food, native ingredients and global flavours demonstrated how Chefs are responding to evolving customer expectations. Sustainability was also a recurring consideration, with waste reduction and cross-utilisation featuring prominently throughout many of the submissions.
Looking back now that the competition has concluded, Round One served as a powerful reminder of why initiatives like Hot Plate are so important. Beyond identifying outstanding culinary talent, the competition provided a platform for Chefs to develop commercially relevant ideas, share innovative thinking and strengthen connections across the business. The concepts and creativity showcased during the first round ultimately helped shape a memorable Hot Plate 2026, reinforcing CGA’s commitment to culinary excellence, innovation and the development of future industry leaders.
Innovation Under Pressure
Round Two came around fast and had a more focused goal: proving the concepts could succeed in the real world. Contestants were challenged to evolve their initial submissions into fully realised culinary solutions, developing concept identities, supporting menu items and strategic presentations that demonstrated both creativity and commercial viability. This stage showcased the contestant’s depth of industry knowledge through refining concepts designed to work across a range of foodservice environments.
Throughout the round, participants moved beyond recipe development, focusing on branding, scalability, commercials and customer appeal. Concepts were assessed not only on flavour and originality, but also on their potential to deliver consistent, high-quality experiences while meeting the operational demands of large-scale foodservices. This approach reflected the evolving expectations of the industry, where culinary excellence must be supported by practical execution and commercial sustainability.
Round Two proved to be a defining stage of the competition. It highlighted the ability of Chefs across all corners of the CGA business to think like innovators and entrepreneurs, transforming creative ideas into concepts with genuine business potential. Reinforcing the organisation’s commitment to developing future culinary leaders, driving innovation and expertise continues to enhance the overall food experiences for clients and customers across the country.
Excellence on Display
The Hot Plate 2026 National Final concluded in Melbourne in early September, bringing together culinary professionals, clients, industry partners and business leaders to celebrate the future of food. The event transformed Melbourne Zoo into an immersive street-food marketplace, with eight finalist concepts brought to life through bespoke branded stalls.
The experience extended beyond the competition itself, highlighting the importance of culture and connection. Finalists began the day with an exclusive behind-the-scenes orangutan experience, courtesy of our valued partner Zoos Victoria, before guests were welcomed with canapés from Air Dovey, one of CGA’s Women in Food (employee-led gender equality working group) chairs, featuring native Australian ingredients. An Acknowledgement of Country reflected on the Indigenous season of Pooreet, drawing parallels between traditional gatherings for knowledge sharing and the spirit of innovation that underpins the Hot Plate competition.
CGA’s Managing Director Joanne Taylor reinforced the company’s purpose: Serve a Better Future, giving particular recognition to the impact of the organisation’s 3,200-plus culinary team members, who deliver more than 70 million meals annually. Additional presentations from E15, Unilever Food Solutions and the University of Queensland explored customer behaviour, future menu trends and opportunities to accelerate decarbonisation across foodservice operations.
Broadcast live to audiences across the country, the final featured interviews with participants and Executive Chefs, offering insights into the inspiration behind their concepts and culinary journeys. Following a combination of public voting and judging panel assessment, Faith Gaspar from ESS was crowned the 2026 Hot Plate Champion with her concept, Likha. From Levy, Tuan Tran’s Pho’Caccia secured second place while also claiming the People’s Choice Award, and Chartwells’ wildcard finalist Maria Teresa Cirera earned third place with Sisig Loaded. Together, the finalists demonstrated the creativity, cultural diversity and commercial thinking that continue to shape the future of food within CGA.
Impact Beyond the Plate
As the inaugural year of Hot Plate concludes, the program has proven to be much more than a culinary competition. It has established itself as a strategic platform for recognising talent, accelerating innovation and creating meaningful opportunities for culinary professionals across CGA. Starting at idea generation and menu development and progressing to customer engagement and commercial execution, participants demonstrated the capabilities required to meet evolving consumer expectations and drive the future of foodservice.
Hot Plate has strengthened collaboration and pride across sectors, connected Chefs with industry leaders and partners, and showcased the depth of expertise that exists throughout the business. The success of the program continues to reinforce CGA’s commitment to investing in culinary excellence, fostering diverse talent and building a pipeline of future leaders who will continue to shape our industry.
With strong engagement from participants, clients and partners throughout 2026, planning for Hot Plate 2027 is already underway. Incorporating feedback from the culinary community, including the competition timing, format and process improvements, will help ensure Hot Plate continues to evolve as a competition shaped by the people it was created for. Building on the momentum of a successful first year, the next evolution of the program will continue to champion creativity and operational excellence, ensuring Hot Plate remains a powerful platform for developing the talent and ideas that will power CGA into the future.