A waiter at The Greyhound in Beaconsfield said he is ‘so proud’ to be one of just 23 young hospitality workers across the country recognised for ‘excellence’ in a high-flying awards ceremony.

Rohit Sharma, head waiter at the popular gastropub-cum-restaurant on Windsor End, picked up the Annual Award of Excellence at the Royal Academy of Culinary Arts’ glitzy celebration at Claridge’s in London in July – receiving, alongside his certificate, a magnum of champagne (just in case you didn’t realise quite how eminent the recognition was).

He was in good company, receiving the accolade alongside professionals from the Dorchester Hotel, the Ritz in London and Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons, the peers with whom he’d beaten out many other nominees across the country to clear the high bar of ‘excellence’ set by Royal Academy judges.

And high it was – the panel assessing staff nominations included the restaurant manager at three-Michelin-starred restaurant L’Enclume in Cumbria, the general manager of Mauro Colagreco at Raffles London at the OWO and the director of food and beverage at the Dorchester.

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Rohit and his counterparts were judged on their technical mastery, creativity and ability to “meet the highest standards of hospitality excellence” during the assessment process.

The Beaconsfield waiter had to put his food preparation and serving skills to the test across several practical examinations and interviews and, in the final round, put his all into catering for a three-course meal which included the carving of a darne of salmon and decanting and describing wines to a table of two guests.

His success is all the more impressive for following a quick ascent to the top of The Greyhound’s front-of-house team – he joined as a senior waiter last year after receiving a BA in Hospitality Management from the University of Essex and was promoted to head waiter earlier this year.

He said: “I just love looking after people and giving them a memorable experience, so this award means a lot to me.

“I’m so thankful to Daniel, Margriet and the team for getting behind me to do this and also to the Royal Academy. I am so proud of this achievement and grateful for the recognition.”

Daniel Crump, co-proprietor at The Greyhound, added: “We’re incredibly proud of Rohit for his achievement – he brings that skill, knowledge and professionalism to the job every single day, so we’re not surprised that he’s received such fantastic national recognition.”