Sara Jayne Stanes, chief executive of the Royal Academy of Culinary Arts (RACA) for the last 15 years, passed away over the weekend at 75 years old following a brief illness.
The news was confirmed in a tweet by the Royal Academy of Culinary Arts that said:
“It is with great sadness that we inform you of the passing of our CEO, Sara Jayne Stanes OBE on Saturday morning (24/07/21). Our deepest sympathies are with Sara’s husband Richard, and her immediate family. You are asked to please respect the family’s wish for privacy.”
Best known in the industry for her role at RACA, the association of head chefs, pastry chefs, and restaurant managers. She was a director since 1996 and chief executive since 2006, steering its principal aims including raising the standards of food, cooking, and service through education and training and providing career opportunities for young people, reports The Caterer.
She was also chief executive and trustee of the Adopt a School Trust, the Academy’s charity that focuses on the education of school children about food nutrition, food cultures, and cookery skills. She was additionally a trustee of the Gold Service Scholarship competition, which recognizes young front-of-house professionals, added The Caterer.
Stanes spent the first 20 years of her career producing television commercials,
“Sara was the powerful engine room of the Royal Academy of Culinary Arts with it’s ideals and missions always in the front of her mind. Sara loved the hospitality industry and deserves her place in the history of the Academy and industry as a whole,” said Brian Turner of the RACA.
“Her knowledge and appreciation of food, service, wine and chocolate was second to none and her desire to see that this was passed on to future generations through Adopt a School and the Academy’s apprenticeships scheme was something to be seen.
You can read The Caterer’s lovely tribute to Sara Jayne Stanes here.
