Paymentsense is excited to be backing the prestigious Young Chef Young Waiter competition in 2020 as a patron sponsor. First established in 1979, YCYW engages a diverse range of young adults (under 26 years), encouraging and mentoring them to take up a future in food and beverage.
In 2019, The Nth Degree and UKHospitality relaunched the esteemed competition bringing it into the modern world and championing new advances in the hospitality landscape.
This is especially true for 2020. Technology has become paramount to keep the competition alive, in the face of the global Coronavirus pandemic, which has made large events all but impossible.
Rather than postpone the much-anticipated competition– which gives young adults from across the world the opportunity to showcase their culinary skills to a host of renowned chefs, Robert Walton MBE, decided that 2020 was the perfect time to launch something like YCYW online.
In such an uncertain time, something that encourages people to appreciate, admire, and better understand the skillset, creativity, hard work, and sheer determination it takes to work in the hospitality industry is well-needed.
We’ve seen our lives completely shift as we entered a period of severe isolation and lockdown, and we’ve witnessed thousands of small businesses, especially our well-loved restaurants, pubs, bars, and cafes, suffer as a result.
2020 is perhaps now the year that we realise we’ve taken for granted the work of the food and beverage industry and just how much joy it brings to us.
Robert MBE, the founder of Nth Degree, commented:
‘I’m delighted to launch Young Chef Young Waiter for 2020. We are living in extraordinary times when all our restaurants are closed, and the industry has paused while this crisis unfolds. I am optimistic by nature and want to do my best to offer hope for the future to all the young workers in the hospitality industry. So many of our talented young chefs and young waiters are at home right now, so this is the time when they now need events and activities to keep them inspired, tested, and challenged within the hospitality sector.’
Paymentsense understands the impact that the global pandemic has had on small hospitality businesses in particular and is committed to supporting the industry further by sponsoring the 2020 YCYW competition.
When lockdown stuck, we knew that our customers would face extreme hurdles. To help them continue trading under lockdown, we created a new free product offering called BiteBack. The scheme, which launched as restaurants were forced to close, has helped hundreds of small food and beverage companies take online orders and keep their cash flow intact after shutting their dine-in services.
Guy Moreve, Chief Marketing Officer of Paymentsense:
‘YCYW is a fantastic and prestigious competition that understands and recognises the level of talent and dedication it takes to be a fantastic chef or waiter. This year the hospitality space has seen unrivaled challenges, and business owners have worked tirelessly to save and transform their restaurants, pubs, and cafes. We want to acknowledge their colossal efforts by supporting the industry and its promising future.’