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In the 22 years that it has been bestowed, the Chef Award Catey has become one of the most sought-after culinary accolades in the industry. But don't just take our word for it.

"It's a great achievement to win the Chef Award. We all like to be told 'well done', but when it comes from your peers and colleagues it means so much more," said David Nicholls, the 2005 recipient of the honour, putting his finger on one of the most important things about the Chef Award and, indeed, the Cateys as a whole - the fact that both nominations and judges are drawn from the industry.

Like many a winner before him, Nicholls was taken aback at the reaction to his Catey success from colleagues across the industry. "It was amazing - the calls seemed to go on for days and then the letters started arriving," he reminisced.

What Nicholls and past winners of the category have in common is the fact that they're all trendsetters in their worlds, operating at the very highest level of culinary skill and management. Nicholls is unique in today's world in that he heads a hotel food operation which has not only established itself as London's standard bearer in banqueting, but also retained its fine-dining restaurant in house. And that restaurant, Foliage, has a Michelin star, thanks to Nicholls's ability to nurture and inspire its two successive head chefs.

Which brings to the fore another vital part of a Chef Award winner's make-up - commitment to handing on the baton to the next generation of chefs. The lifeblood of any industry is the passing on of skills and this is particularly important in a craft-based career like cooking. Nicholls is so passionate about this responsibility that he persuaded his bosses at the Mandarin Oriental to set up a culinary training scheme.

There's no doubt Nicholls has put his stamp on both the Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park and his industry. And that's something he'll be looking for when he takes his place on the judging panel for the 2006 award. "I'd like to think we'll choose someone who has made a difference to the industry," he said. "Someone with good business sense, strong leadership, vision, food ability and knowledge - and respect from his or her peers, as well as respect for them."

We're beginning our search for Nicholls's successor, so if you know someone who is an acknowledged expert in the kitchen and is at the vanguard of cooking in the UK, get writing. Nicholls, of course, is an icon in the hotel world, but the category is open to all sectors of the industry (past alumni include molecular genius Heston Blumenthal and the legendary Michel Bourdin, who won the inaugural award in 1984. There's even a certain Gordon Ramsay on the list of "old boys".

Judges' criteria

• The award is open to chef from all sectors of the industry.
• It recognises trendsetters and innovators.
• The recipient must have made a considerable contribution to the industry as a whole, over and above his or her responsibilities and challenges at work.
• The award recognises an individual's input into the development of the profession.