THE UK’s largest tourism celebration, The White Rose Awards, will this year get the Michelin Star treatment as Welcome to Yorkshire teams up with top Yorkshire chef and restaurant owner Simon Gueller.

The owner and chef of The Box Tree in Ilkley will be giving the huge event his Michelin Star flare as he works with the award winning CGC Event Caterers.

More than a thousand people will attend the ceremony which will be held at one of the world’s best entertainment venues; the first direct arena, Leeds, on Monday, October 30.

Sir Gary Verity Chief Executive of Welcome to Yorkshire said: “This year’s finalists and guests are in for a real treat! Not only will we be celebrating Yorkshire’s tourism stars but we’ll also be enjoying some of Yorkshire’s finest food, created by an incredibly talented team in Simon and the chefs at CGC Event Caterers. Yorkshire has more Michelin starred restaurants than anywhere outside of London and I’m delighted to have Simon work with us to create a real culinary delight for our guests.”

Simon Gueller said: “It’s a huge honour to have been asked to collaborate with Welcome to Yorkshire and CGC Event Caterers. These chefs are used to creating stunning food for more than a thousand guests and I’m incredibly excited to bring my experience of working with some of the finest Yorkshire ingredients to create a very special menu that has a real wow factor; something that will really showcase Yorkshire produce and our Yorkshire culinary talent.”

Kevin Pinnington, F&B Director Arenas & Theatres, CGC Event Caterers said: “We’ve been delighted to work with Welcome to Yorkshire to create their vision each year for the White Rose Awards and this year will be even more exciting. To have a chef of Simon’s quality join our team is a real honour and I know our talented chefs will relish the experience and can’t wait to get cooking up a storm for the guests at our great venue. The arena is a fantastic choice for this event and we’ll be working closely with our SMG Europe colleagues at the venue to deliver another outstanding evening”

Jen Mitchell, General Manger, first direct Arena said: “We are thrilled to be welcoming the White Rose Awards back to the arena and to be working with our family, CGC Event Caterers, to deliver what we know will be an amazing evening. The event is a great showcase for Yorkshire’s tourism industry and I know the team here are delighted to be working with Simon to create an exciting experience for all the guests.”

This year’s White Rose Awards will have even more surprises as organisers plan to make it the biggest and best one yet with exciting guest stars and entertainment all to be revealed in the coming months.

For more information visit whiteroseawards.com