Celebrating CODE’s Women of the Year 2026 at Simpson’s in the Strand

When it came to selecting a venue for CODE’s Women of the Year lunch this year, there was only one ever choice: Simpson’s in the Strand, reopened just last month by restaurateur Jeremy King. For not only is Simpson’s one of the most talked about new openings of the year – and for many of the attendees, it would be their first time there – it also has a somewhat chequered past when it comes to welcoming women, that we wanted to have some fun with.

So it was that a group of some of the UK’s most successful women in hospitality gathered for lunch in the Assembly Room at Simpson’s, a Regency-style ballroom characterised by a frieze of neoclassical paintings, original chandeliers and an ornate plasterwork ceiling. This is the room where ladies were always welcome, while the menfolk were downstairs in The Grand Divan, playing chess, talking politics, and drinking themselves into a stupor in the historic wooden booths. King, who addressed the room ahead of lunch, shudders at the history of misogyny, but consoles himself with the sage words of The Savoy’s archivist, who noted that the women were probably more than happy with each others’ company, thank you very much.

The mood in the room at CODE’s Women of the Year lunch was certainly happy and celebratory, as the Charles Hiedsieck champagne flowed and women from across the industry came together over a very fine lunch of dressed Portland crab with avocado and grapefruit paired with a pinot gris from winemaker Fiona Turner at Tinpot Hut in Marlborough; and roast chicken with stuffing and bread sauce, paired with a red from sister Beatrice and Benedetta Contini Bonacossi at the Capezzana estate in Tuscany. Impeccable matches by Liberty Wines, with mineral water by Acqua Panna and San Pellegrino, two brands long associated with gastronomy. Chefs in attendance included Maria Bradford of Shwen Shwen in Sevenoaks, Chantelle Nicholson of Apricity, Sally Clarke of Clarke’s, and Adejoké Bakare of Chishuru; while multi-site operators include Tonkotsu founder Emma Reynolds, Wahaca’s Thomasine Miers, and Laura Harper-Hinton, founder of Caravan.

Three award-winners were recognised on the day: Dara Klein, winner of Breakthrough Year 2026, sponsored by San Pellegrino and Acqua Panna; Nieves Barragán Mohacho, CODE’s Woman of the Year 2026; and Fay Maschler, winner of CODE’s Lifetime Achievement Award 2026, sponsored by Planday. 

Judging by the applause that met the announcement, Dara Klein was a popular choice for Breakthrough Year. Jeremy King of Simpson’s in the Strand, presenting her with the award: “Growing up around honest, natural hospitality has clearly been a great influence and inspired her to get where she is today.”

Nieves Barragán Mohaco’s award was similarly well received. Natalia Ribbe, CODE’s Woman of the Year last year, presenting this year’s award and with it the title of CODE’s Woman of the Year 2026, to Nieves Barragán Mohacho, said: “She is a chef who has built her path with patience, determination, and an unwavering commitment to what she does and what she cares about. What makes her career particularly inspiring is the way she has remained close to the work itself. At a time when success can often pull people away from the day to day reality of service, she continues to lead from the kitchen – present, consistent, and committed. Her career proves that longevity is possible; that excellence can be sustained. That staying grounded, staying driven, and staying true to your roots, can lead to something truly lasting.” She also quoted chef Angela Hartnett, who said: “Her energy drive, her love for life is infectious. I just love her! Let her story remind us that success does not always require stepping away from where you started. Sometimes it means staying even closer to it.”

In many ways, however, it felt like CODE’s Lifetime Achievement Award winner, Fay Maschler’s Day. There was not a dry eye in the house when she paid loving tribute to her big sister, Beth Coventry, proprietor of The Wells Tavern in Hampstead, who was also in attendance. Dame Karen Jones, winner of CODE’s Lifetime Achievement Award 2025, professed herself as “not a little starstruck” by “the one and only Fay Maschler”. (Happily, there were no hard feelings about Maschler’s review of Dame Karen’s 1980s Soho restaurant Fatso’s Pasta Joint which Maschler said “set back the cause of Italian cooking by 30 years.”)

Presenting the CODE Lifetime Achievement Award, sponsored by Planday, to Maschler, Dame Karen said: “Her pithy reviews shaped the views of those of us who were growing up in hospitality in the ‘80s and ‘90s. She was quite simply the best, and pretty much the only critic we read and we went where she said we should go, even if that meant we had to save up to go there. For one half century, Fay has been a formidable presence at tables across London, her opinions echo through kitchens, dining rooms and sometimes the nightmares of chefs and owners. Fay’s reviews really did shape the way that Britain eats now and that’s not an exaggeration. When Fay began writing for the Evening Standard in 1972 London was a very different restaurant city. The restaurant scene was really small and the idea of London as a global food capital was, to say the least, optimistic. And yet, through her curiosity, career and her extraordinary palate, Fay didn’t just document the transformation of this city’s dining scene, she helped create it. Her writing, always precise, wickedly funny and occasionally devastating, has set the gold standard for restaurant criticism. She showed that eating out can be both a pleasure and a serious conversation. Week after week, year after year, decade after decade, Fay showed up, with appetite, with insight, and with standards that never slipped.”

It was a beautiful speech and a beautiful lunch, in honour of not only of CODE’s three individual award-winners but also an entire room full of women who have helped make hospitality the powerhouse that it is today.

Meet our awards winners.