At VWA, we love recognising the incredible dedication, skill, and achievements of those who strive for excellence in food safety, auditing, and professional development. Our VWA Excellence Awards 2025 celebrate outstanding individuals and companies who have gone above and beyond in their learning, performance, and commitment to best practice.
We are delighted to announce this year’s winners:
Food Safety Student of the Year 2025 – Lauren Fudge, PGL Travel Ltd
Congratulations to Lauren Fudge at PGL Travel Ltd, who is this year’s Food Safety Student of the Year. Lauren was chosen for demonstrating an exceptionally high level of competence and understanding during advanced level Food Safety training. This aptitude for Food Safety has been reflected in her impressive examination result.
VWA’s Food Safety tutor, Julie Ryan says “Although the only catering delegate on the Food Safety course, Lauren fitted in well with all the delegates and shared experiences and knowledge from her own background, but was quick and willing to adapt to all the manufacturing delegates around her. Lauren worked well in the groups and was dedicated throughout the five days and was a pleasure to have on board.”
“It was such a lovely feeling receiving the phone call to let me know that I had been chosen as Food Safety Student of the Year. It was an absolute joy to attend a wonderfully informative course, with such a friendly, supportive and knowledgeable tutor. I look forward to further training opportunities with Verner Wheelock in the future – an excellent and professional provider.” Lauren Fudge
Auditing Student of the Year 2025 – Renata Lipinska, Mizkan Euro Ltd
Congratulations to Renata Lipinska from Mizkan Euro Ltd, VWA’s Auditing Student of the Year. Renata’s auditing skills have been exemplary, demonstrating precision, and analytical thinking.
Eleanor Hutchinson, VWA’s Auditing Tutor said, “Renata showed an excellent auditing technique in the practical assessment. She was relaxed, asked good clear questions that were within the scope and focus of the audit, she didn’t pressure the auditees who all felt she brought a calmness to the process. Her closing meeting was very good in that, as well as meeting all of the requirements of the agenda, she also included positive examples of how the staff demonstrated their understanding in their areas. Her evaluation was objective and the outcomes were appropriate, her report was very clear and easy to read with a good summary of evidence obtained and positive feedback. Throughout the course she exhibited a very reflective outlook, taking on board the information provided and thinking about her own current practice.”
”I am absolutely thrilled and incredibly honoured to be selected. It was a complete and very pleasant surprise, and I genuinely did not expect it!
I think it is wonderful that Verner Wheelock runs annual excellence awards to recognise the hard work and commitment of its students. Being acknowledged in this way is extremely meaningful to me and very motivating.
My overall experience of the Lead Auditor training, which I successfully completed last year, was outstanding. The tutor was exceptionally knowledgeable, supportive, and engaging, and I really valued the balance between in-depth theoretical learning and practical assessments. The knowledge, confidence, and skills I have gained will be invaluable, and I will continue to apply and develop them throughout my career. It was also a real pleasure to meet and learn alongside other delegates from a wide range of industries and backgrounds.
Thank you once again for this amazing recognition. I am truly grateful and very proud to be associated with Verner Wheelock.”
HACCP Student of the Year 2025 – Daniel Yeomans, Encirc Ltd
Congratulations to Daniel Yeomans, Encirc Ltd, our HACCP Student of the Year. Daniel has excelled in understanding and applying HACCP principles, showing impressive knowledge.
Julie Ryan, VWA Tutor, say “Daniel was an engaging delegate who was was keen and participated from the start, willing to feedback and lead group discussions as well as asking questions and showing a real interest in the learnings. Daniel always had a smile on his face from start to end, making a tutors life easier!”
“Really happy (and very surprised!) that I’ve received an award for my participation in training and the outcome of the HACCP level 4 exam, and have been named “HACCP Student of the Year 2025” by VWA.
I honestly thought I hadn’t passed when I put down my pen and left the exam room, so this recognition means a lot. It also shows just how wrong you can be about yourself!
Thank you to everyone involved in the training, the team at Verner foster a fantastic learning environment and the results speak for themselves. I’m excited to take this knowledge forward and keep developing in food safety and compliance at Encirc.”
Individual Excellence Award 2025 – Jack Walker, Hotel Chocolat Group Ltd.
Congratulations to Jack Walker from Hotel Chocolat Group Ltd, for winning our Individual Excellence Award.
Alison Wheelock, Managing Director at VWA, says “Jack has been a loyal customer of VWA for a number of years, and we are pleased to continue working with him in his current role, organising a wide range of training courses for his colleagues. We are delighted to recognise his ongoing commitment to training and development with this award. “
“Thank you very much for this wonderful news. I am truly honoured to be selected for the Individual Excellence Award 2025 and grateful to have been nominated by the Verner Wheelock trainers and team. I have also had the privilege of supporting the development of others, with 61 colleagues from Hotel Chocolat completing Verner Wheelock training during 2025, helping to embed strong technical standards and a positive food safety culture across the business. I really appreciate this recognition and look forward to continuing to support Verner Wheelock’s excellent work.”
Company Excellence Award 2025 – Dr Oetker (UK) Ltd
Congratulations to Dr Oetker (UK) Ltd, who have won the Company Excellence Award.
VWA chose Dr Oetker for this award for demonstrating commitment to a culture of continuous improvement in food safety throughout the organisation. They have a structured approach to training to ensure that staff, from new starters to management, have an understanding of Food Safety, HACCP and Auditing Skills at an appropriate level to their role. Delegates from the company have undertaken a variety of different training with Verner Wheelock to enable them to manage their jobs to the best of their ability, contribute to their company and progress their careers within the food industry.
Ethical Excellence Award 2025 – Greencore
Congratulations to Greencore for winning our Ethical Excellence Award. The team at Greencore have demonstrated commitment to a culture of continuous improvement in ethical trading throughout the organisation. The company has performed strongly in ethical audits and ensures that staff, from new starters to management, have an understanding of the ETI Base Code and ethical practices.
“We’re really honoured to receive this award. External ethical audits are a key part of our human rights due diligence programme, helping us to keep improving the experience of working at Greencore for our colleagues. The constructive approach Verner Wheelock take in delivering these audits has played an important part in this continuous improvement.“
Congratulations to all the winners
The VWA Excellence Awards are our way of celebrating individuals and companies who lead by example in food safety, auditing, and ethical practice. We’re proud to support their journey, and we look forward to seeing how they continue to drive excellence across the industry in the years to come.
Want to see how you could be recognised in next year’s awards? Explore our training courses and find out how VWA can help your team achieve excellence.
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