The magical grounds of Chewton Glen Hotel in the New Forest played host to a truly inspiring event: the Agincare Heroes Awards 2025 sponsored by Brakes Foodservice. With over 100 team members gathering from across Agincare services nationwide, the day was packed with recognition, pride, and plenty of joy.
Our special thanks go to Brakes Foodservice for their valuable support as Main Headline Sponsor of the Agincare Heroes Awards 2025. We were delighted to welcome Richard Whittall and Lauren Cornwell from Brakes to be a key part of the celebrations.
Brakes and Agincare – a recipe for success!
As the UK’s leading wholesale food supplier, Brakes services Agincare’s care homes with a wide range of food, drink and catering products, alongside specialist support tailored to the care sector. This includes menu planning, nutritional guidance, and accredited training to help meet residents’ dietary needs. By offering a one-stop solution for catering supplies and expertise, Brakes helps Agincare deliver consistent, high-quality meals that align with operational budgets and care standards.
An Unforgettable Day
The Agincare Heroes Awards 2025 started in fantastic fashion with a welcome reception followed by an uplifting awards ceremony hosted by Adam Luckhurst with Agincare Founder and Chairman Derek Luckhurst and Group Chief Executive Raina Summerson. The programme was packed: Employee of the Year, Chef of the Year, Nurse of the Year, Outstanding Leader, Care/Support Worker of the Year, Support/Customer Service of the Year, Care Team of the Year, Registered Manager of the Year, the Will Mitchell Award for Outstanding Contribution, and culminating in the award of five prestigious Agincare Hero Medals.
Chef of the Year Award
As our headline sponsor, it was fitting for Brakes to also sponsor the Chef of the Year Award. Host Adam Luckhurst thanked Brakes for their support before inviting Richard and Lauren to the stage to address the audience and present the award to the winner Fatou Konteh from Greenhive Care Home in Peckham. Ronaldo Custodio from Tower Bridge Care Home and Olha Khilevych from Cheriton Care Home in Dorchester, Dorset, were Highly Commended in a fiercely competitive award category.
Special Moments and Highlights
The event wrapped up with moving closing remarks from Agincare Founder and Chairman Derek Lukchurst, and Group Chief Executive Raina Summerson before guests departed exhausted in the best possible way.
Laughter, high emotion, and heartfelt thanks were in abundance. Colleagues cheering colleagues, stories of going “above and beyond,” and touching tributes made it so much more than an awards ceremony: it was a celebration of what makes Agincare so special and we were delighted that Brakes were a part of it.
View the winners and highy-commended team members.
Thank you to our Headline Sponsor Brakes
We are honoured to have teamed up with Brakes as the Headline Sponsor for the Agincare Heroes Awards 2025. Now in its fourth year, the event reaffirms something fundamental: it’s all about people. Recognising not just the big wins, but the daily small things – the compassion, the leadership, the kindness, the steady reliability that often goes unseen. These moments ripple out to impact residents, colleagues and communities.
We can’t wait to celebrate Agincare Heroes again next year!
Fancy being part of it? For more details about sponsoring the Agincare Heroes Awards 2026 email [email protected]