TUCO Team of the Year Winner 2025

25th Jul 2025 | By UoL Food and Drink

University of Leicester Food and Drink Team wins the Team of the Year Award at the TUCO Awards 2025

The University of Leicester’s Food and Drink Team has been officially recognised as the TUCO ‘Team of the Year’ 2025, following an outstanding year of innovation, collaboration, and community impact. The award was announced at the annual TUCO Summer Conference Gala Dinner held at Loughborough University on Wednesday 23rd July 2025, in recognition of the team’s transformative submission.

Click here to see all other winners on the night.

Central to their winning submission was the landmark Black Food Innovators campaign, launched during Black History Month in October 2024. More than a menu feature, it became a cross-campus storytelling initiative celebrating the legacies of Black culinary pioneers.

What began in Soul Kitchen—the Caribbean-inspired outlet in the Percy Gee Building—quickly grew into a university-wide and city-wide celebration. Collaborating with the University’s Equity, Diversity and Inclusion team, and in partnership with John Lewis Leicester, the team transformed outlets and John Lewis’ ‘Place To Eat’ café into cultural spaces, showcasing powerful stories through immersive design, QR-linked webpage, and social media storytelling.

This thoughtful and authentic approach led to a 30%+ increase in food sales at Soul, nearly 5,000 additional visitors to the Black History Month webpage, and over 1,700 social media reach increases, with standout engagement across Leicester and beyond.

Underpinning the campaign’s success was a team effort that saw contributions from chefs, managers, marketers, and operations staff alike. From concept to delivery, all financial, operational, and creative elements were executed in-house, supported by meaningful partnerships.

This milestone year also saw several individuals and teams shine:

  • Shafiur Rahman, who began as an apprentice commis chef, was named Apprentice of the Year at the Leicester College Awards.

  • Sous Chefs Joseph Latham and Ashley Podgers took home Gold and Best in Class at the TUCO Competitions for the second consecutive year.

  • Marketing Team shortlisted for the CUBO Best Marketing Campaign Award and the CUBO Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Spotlight Award.

  • Director of Operations Rob Bean earned recognition as a TUCO Online Champion for improving digital procurement systems and reducing food costs.

Beyond events and accolades, the team remains committed to long-term, real-world impact. A standout example is their partnership with the Students’ Union Food Rescue Volunteers Society, delivering over 2,100 surplus sandwiches via Community Kitchen fridges, supporting both sustainability and food access.

This initiative, now a model for wider expansion, is just one way the team continues to deliver on the University’s Citizens of Change ethos.