LCF Awards 2026 logo

 

The Judging Panel

We are pleased to introduce our independent panel of coffee industry experts for the LCF Awards 2026.

Loading
Alex Mason
Head of Key Accounts UK & Ireland, Too Good to Go Alex has been at Too Good To Go for 4 years, joined during the height of the pandemic to lead our Food to Go UK team before taking role of Head of Key …
Andrew Bowen
Coffeepreneur, Author and Speaker at The Daily Grind and CafeSuccessHub Andrew Bowen is the best-selling author of "The Daily Grind: How to Open and Run a Coffee Shop That Makes Money”. Andrew and his …
Anissa Msallem
Head of Partnerships, Farm Africa Anissa leads the Partnerships team at Farm Africa, a charity that works to improve farmer livelihoods and environmental protection in rural eastern Africa. She began …
Barista Benji
Freelance Promotional Barista Ben (“Barista Benji”) is a latte artist, barista trainer, and content creator with over a decade of experience in specialty coffee, brand activations and social media mar …
Cemal Ezel
CEO, Change Please CIC Cemal Ezel OBE is the founder of Change Please Coffee, Old Spike Roastery, and Coal Rooms Restaurants—social enterprises dedicated to creating meaningful change through innovati …
Christopher Winkler
Content Creator Christopher has been a content creator for about 10 years, with coffee and coffee shops being a focus for content creation. Being a passionate home barista, good coffee and the ritual …
Claire Bowen
Coffee Shop & Cafe Consultant Claire Bowen is a coffee shop and cafe consultant and co-author of the bestselling book The Daily Grind: How to Open and Run a Coffee Shop That Makes Money. With her husb …
Duncan Milne
Managing Director & Founder, Grey Coffee Duncan Milne is the founder of Grey Coffee, a strategic design studio that connects brand, interior, and digital into one seamless experience. For over 15 year …
Edwin Harrison
Founder, Artisan Coffee School Edwin is incredibly passionate about specialty coffee and entrepreneurism. He is the Co-Founder of Artisan, Curious Roo Coffee Roasters and the Artisan Coffee School. Th …
Finn Scott-Delany
Editor, MCA Finn Scott-Delany has been editor of news and insight publisher MCA for more than three years, during which time he has developed an in-depth knowledge and understanding of the eating and …
Flora Zwolinski
Senior Insight Manager, Lumina Intelligence Flora Zwolinski, a Senior Insight Manager at Lumina Intelligence works closely alongside some of the biggest brands in the FMCG sector, interpreting data, g …
Gerd Mueller-Pfeiffer
Founder, International Coffee Consulting With over 25 years of experience in the coffee industry - primarily at the world’s largest coffee company, Nestlé – Gerd brings a wealth of knowledge and exper …
Harry George
Managing Director, SEND Coffee Harry started his first coffee shop when he was 23, and has since gone on to open 72 more worldwide. During this journey he has been behind numerous philanthropic projec …
James Wiise
Strategic Advisor, Two II In 2017, Wiise achieved an extraordinary feat by winning the prestigious Coffee Masters competition, cementing his status as a standout figure in the coffee scene. What sets …
Jennie Milsom
Commercial Content Editor, William Reed Jennie has worked as a journalist and editor for B2B, specialty and consumer brands for 20 years. She was editor on Boughton’s Coffee House magazine and has fou …
Juliane Caillouette-Noble
Managing Director, The Sustainable Restaurant Association Juliane Caillouette Noble came to The Sustainable Restaurant Association (The SRA) as Development Director in 2016 after five years running Ja …
Laurence Pugh
Managing Director, The Yard Creative Laurence has 20 years in the design industry working with global brands and SME’s across the UK and internationally and is the Managing Director of The Yard Creati …
Lorraine Copes
CEO & Founder, Be Inclusive Hospitality Lorraine Copes is a multi-award-winning social entrepreneur, coach, and founder of Be Inclusive Hospitality CIC, established in 2020 to tackle racial inequity i …
Luke Hunter-Powell
General Manager, Brewed by Hand I'm Luke Hunter-Powell, the General Manager at Brewed by Hand. My extensive journey in the coffee industry has led me to collaborate with prestigious brands like Hario, …
Maggie Davis
Insight Manager, Lumina Intelligence Maggie Davis is an experienced Insight Manager and market intelligence specialist at Lumina Intelligence. A recognised thought leader in the UK foodservice and hos …
Maja Novak
Specialty Coffee Entrepreneur & Sensory Skills Specialist, Founder, Space Cup (successfully acquired by a hospitality group) | Founder & CEO Vista Maja Novak is a specialty coffee entrepreneur with ov …
Mary Parsons
Head of Food, City Harvest Mary is an accomplished leader with over fourteen years in the food industry, spanning roles in both private and non-profit sectors. As Head of Food at City Harvest, she sou …
Max Milward
Senior Sustainable Sourcing Manager, Fair Trade Foundation Max Milward is the Senior Sustainable Sourcing Manager for Coffee at the Fairtrade Foundation, which is the UK arm of the global Fairtrade ne …
Oscar Woolley
Director, European Speciality Tea Association Suki Tea Makers was set up in Belfast on a farmers’ market in 2005 and is now a leading UK artisan tea company known for its high-quality, ethically sourc …
Paul Rooke
Executive Director, British Coffee Association Paul Rooke is Executive Director of the British Coffee Association.  He joined the Association in March 2020 and is responsible for managing and leading …
Rachel Arthur
Editor, Beverage Daily Rachel Arthur has been covering the global coffee industry for a number of years as part as her role as editor for BeverageDaily.com - a trade publication for the beverage indus …
Radu Judele
Co-Founder, CoffeeNerdery Radu is the co-founder of CoffeeNerdery, a discovery platform that helps coffee nerds find great coffee from nearly 100 carefully selected UK roasters. He brings a rich backg …
Rastislav
London Coffee Masters Champion 2022 Rasty Kasár, a skilled Slovak barista and bartender, achieved victory at the London Coffee Masters in 2022 and the UK Coffee in Good Spirits 2023 competitions. In 2 …
Sonja Wittenberg
Chief Commercial Officer, Well Grounded Sonja started her career in management consulting before moving into commodities trading at a large plc.  Over ten-years ago she joined an innovative specialty …
Stefan Chomka
Editor, Restaurant Magazine Stefan Chomka has worked at Restaurant magazine for more than 15 years and has spent the past decade as its editor. His knowledge of food and drink means that he makes regu …
Steve Lovegrove
Business Director, Benchmark Designs Ltd With over 25 years’ experience in the coffee industry, I have built a diverse background spanning operations, purchasing, sales and marketing. My career has be …
Will Martins
Communications Coordinator / Creative Director, SCA UK / Nizatto Will is the Communications Coordinator for the SCA UK and the Founder and Creative Director of Nizatto, a creative and marketing agency …