The annual Cotswold Yorkshire Pudding Day returns this year at a new venue, with a reigning champion aiming to secure a third consecutive win.
Chef Ethan Rodgers, formerly of The Bakers Arms in Broad Campden, claimed victory last year, beating competition from Henry’s Seafood Bar and Grill, Arkell’s Brewery’s The Tavern Inn in Kemble, and Téatro Bar and Restaurant in Cirencester. Now, on Sunday 1 February 2026 — National Yorkshire Pudding Day — he will return to defend his title.
This year’s competition will take place at 15:30 at Aura Care Living’s Stratton Court retirement village and care home, and is open to the public. Alongside the professional chef competition, a new resident-led round has been introduced to reflect the venue’s location. Stratton Court residents will submit their own Yorkshire pudding recipes, which will be judged and cooked by Burford-based chef Hubert Kosmala ahead of the main event. Hubert , who runs Thyme & Lovage — a café, bistro and catering company in Burford — will also serve as a judge in the professional competition. A former chef at the award-winning Sir Charles Napier pub in Oxfordshire, he is well-versed in Yorkshire puddings.
“We host a Sunday lunch at the café, bistro once a month, and if I could count how many I have made in my lifetime, I would be giddy,” he said. “I wish the competitors the best of luck and am looking forward to this Sunday.”
National Yorkshire Pudding Day takes place on the first Sunday of February, celebrating the traditional British favourite. The Cotswold Yorkshire Pudding Day has been held annually since 2017.
Ethan Rodgers, formerly executive chef at Cirencester Park Polo Club and The Wheatsheaf Northleach, has recently taken on a new challenge with the reopening of a venue in Cirencester. While he is unable to share full details yet, he said it was important to try to secure the “three in a row” title. “Yorkshire puddings are quintessentially British, so of course we should celebrate it,” he said. “At my new venue, the food focus will be very much British traditional, so I had to say yes to this one more time, despite saying last year, no more Yorkies.”
In 2026, Rodgers will compete against his former venue, The Bakers Arms, as well as Téatro Bar and Restaurant once again. Joining the line-up will be Relish Group director Rob Goves — champion in 2019 — returning to the competition.
Rodgers’ winning Yorkshire pudding recipe last year was a development of his previous entry. The batter’s milk was infused with rosemary, garlic, thyme and bay leaf for 24 hours before cooking. Clarified chicken fat was used, alongside a chicken skin salt and a chicken glaze, which was painted onto the finished puddings before the salt was scattered over.
Judges for the professional chef competition will include The Countess Bathurst, a returning judge and keen cook; Peter Lloyd, sales director of Aura Care Living and a self-described “Yorkshire pudding aficionado” and recipe stickler; a chosen resident of Stratton Court; Foyez Rahman, restaurateur of Sasa’s Indian Kitchen and Bar in Crudwell and You, Me & Umami, a Pan-Asian restaurant in Fairford; and Hubert Kosmala.
