Frank Coughlan (Champion of Irish Food Award)

  A 950-place restaurant, banqueting space for 1,500 and four other restaurants serving 650 people each. Add in two Champagne and seafood bars, public catering areas, 162 private boxes, two super boxes and a royal suite for up to 400 people and you can see it's quite a task being in charge of catering at the new Wembley stadium in London. So just as well it's being handled by an Irishman.

For after a hunt lasting more than six months the company in charge of catering at the multi-million pound venue recently appointed Frank Coughlan as Corporate Executive Chef.

The Irish-born chef now oversees a team of 39 full-time staff boosted by up to 3,000 casual workers during major events. It's quite a task but one he is well able to handle. For previously Frank was Executive Chef with Facilities Management Catering - the catering arm of the sports and leisure division of Compass Group.

He had the responsibility for catering at the tennis championships at Wimbledon and last year oversaw the Ryder Cup at the K Club in Ireland - where he joined forces with Bord Bia to source the best in Irish food for spectators, players and officials alike. The success of that was in a large part down to Frank's skills.

During his time at Compass he was responsible for using Irish food at numerous high-profile events and has forged a formidable reputation within the food industry - being well-regarded by peers and suppliers alike.