Celebrating CODE’s Happiest Places to Work 2026

Jeremy King and Jackson Boxer were among the party-goers at Wild by Tart in Belgravia on Monday, 7 September for the announcement of CODE’s Happiest Places to Work 2026, in partnership with Planday.

All but one of the 25 hospitality businesses on the list made it to the event, where Black Bear Burger was crowned overall winner and Bristol’s COR and Ragù took the inaugural Judges’ Spotlight award. It was a joyful celebration of the industry and its people, fuelled by Charles Heidsieck Champagne and wines from Liberty Wines, alongside NOAM Beer, Belu water, and tall glasses of Botivo and soda over ice.

Addressing the room, CODE’s founder Adam Hyman said: “Hospitality is all about people. I’ve always been a big believer in the adage that a happy team equals happy customers. Anybody you speak to will tell you that their success is dependent on their people; without them, they can’t grow, they can’t evolve. That’s why we at CODE believe so strongly in supporting and championing hospitality as a place to build a career. And at a time when AI is transforming so much of the workplace, hospitality has something technology can’t replicate: genuine human interaction.”

The sentiment was confirmed by attendees from the businesses on the Happiest Places to Work 2026 list; all seem to have exciting new openings and new developments – hush hush for now – coming soon.

Pushpa Reddy, chief product officer at Planday, sponsor of CODE’s Happiest Places to Work campaign for the third year, said “Planday exists to help hospitality businesses build happier, more empowered teams, so this campaign is close to our hearts. Seeing businesses like Black Bear Burger lead the way with such genuine commitment to their people is exactly the kind of inspiration our industry needs. Congratulations to every business on this year’s list, you’re proof that putting people first is the most powerful thing a hospitality operator can do. We’re proud to be part of CODE’s Happiest Places to Work for the third year running.”

Stew Down, co-founder of Black Bear Burger, officially hospitality’s Happiest Place to Work 2026, said on collecting the team’s award: “Winning this award means more to me personally than winning any ‘Best Burger’ award as it really shows we are doing something great here at Black Bear. Measuring success often comes through sales and growth, but winning this award demonstrates that we have a great team and great culture and, when you have that, everything else follows.”

Many of the judges made it to the event too, including VERiFAIR founder Justine Murphy, Kelly’s Cause MD Rachel Kerr-Lapsley, and Home Hospitality’s Lauren Linford (who shared her ‘Findings from being a happiness judge’ on her Home Truths Substack this week).

After the presentation, guests enjoyed canapés from the Wild by Tart kitchen, including dainty Cornish sea bass tostadas; miniature sourdough crumpets with whipped Marmite butter, malted seeds and burnt onion powder; crispy layered potato cakes with Exmoor caviar; tasters of Hereford beef tartare; and delicious wild garlic chicken Kievs – the ultimate bar snack.

Guests travelled to the event from up and down the country, with many using the rare day off to make their happy teams even happier by treating them to lunch or dinner. Dan O’Regan and the team from BANK and Lapin in Bristol had lunch at Dorian in Notting Hill, impressing the team there with just how much food they could put away. The Kricket crew went to Flat Iron for steaks. And Black Bear Burger piled into Impala in Soho for a late dinner.

It was a pleasure to bring so many diverse businesses together under one roof to celebrate the industry and share our optimism about the future of hospitality.