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Towcester Community Larder Volunteers with their Gold Award

It’s been six weeks since the dazzling Weetabix Northamptonshire Food and Drink Awards evening took place at the Royal & Derngate Theatre and since then the Awards team have caught up with some of the Gold Award winners to see what life has been like since their triumphs were revealed. If you were contemplating being part of it all next year, strap in to discover the successes and future plans of some of the best venues and producers in the county, which is sure to persuade you!

Paul Hunt from The Curious Vegan Co who won Gold in Heygate’s sponsored Artisan Local Vegetarian/Vegan Product of the Year category for their delicious ‘Oinkin Patties’ was over the moon with his winnings. ‘We’ve only been trading since March and to win an award, especially a local one that puts us on the map, it validates that we are doing everything right. We’ve got a tremendous team. To win the award in our first year is super important’.

Since winning Gold for British Pepper and Spice sponsored World Cuisine Restaurant of the Year, Alacati Grill has been booming, having seen a boost in bookings. Owner Pammy Raydemir said ‘this was an amazing event for local businesses. The restaurant business is such hard work with long hours. It was especially much harder, the last few years, due to the pandemic. It was really awesome to connect with other business people in such a happy and exciting atmosphere!’ The venue has also had a whirlwind media advertising journey since receiving their prize. They had been contacted by BBC Radio Northampton and were interviewed on the early evening show and on the morning show, as well as the local newspaper, The Chronicle and Echo. The article was also in the Daventry Express too! This was advertising at its best with local media partners!

Winner of the Booker Dining Venue of the Year Award, The Snooty Fox, Lowick explained how much the award meant to them after a tough few years. ‘Winning Gold Booker Dining Venue of the Year meant everything to us, we battled for two years to open the Snooty Fox through the pandemic which came at a huge cost, so to finally open and six months later to win Gold was simply the icing on the cake! All the hard work from the team, the long hours and dedication paid off and to now proudly hold this title. It has lifted the business to another level and to proudly display the Awards Logo next to ours, as we work closely with Bookers, is really the proudest moment of our careers to date.’ Things look set to get even more exciting for The Greedy Gordons Pub Company, who since the Awards have further expanded and opened a café in Woodford called ‘The Buttery’ with plans to add a farm shop in the New Year.

Whitco, sponsors of the Awards for another year saw Bart Polinski of T.H.E Hospitality Ltd Hibiscus Fine dining restaurant at Delapre Abbey, take the crown for their Whitco Chef of the Year Award. Bart said ‘It’s fantastic to see companies like Whitco sponsoring events that let chefs be noticed and step up in their careers. For me it was never about winning, it was about the experience, the chance of learning something and seeing other chefs in action and maybe a little test to see where I am in my career. Whitco made it possible for me and made me believe that I am better than I thought’, modest words from a Gold winning chef!

Award winners of Whitworth sponsored One to Watch, The Flavour Trailer, have been reaping the rewards since taking Gold back in October, having now launched their third takeaway truck offering takeaway seven nights a week from across more than 15 locations across the county. Mario Sheppard said ‘The feedback and the response from our audience has been wonderful. It seemed for a few weeks we were being congratulated everywhere we turned. It was intense. We are so grateful and feel so honoured to have been part of a wonderful and memorable process.’

The Awards team caught up with Towcester Community Larder, Gold winners of the Moulton College sponsored Local Food Hero Award who are now trying to launch new exciting initiatives that they have found a need for. Some of these great projects include Larder for Schools - providing breakfast provisions for Teachers and family support workers to distribute; Feed and Read, where volunteers can help young people to read and give them a healthy snack whilst the parents are shopping; And lastly, Larder Club, focusing on the elderly where they can come and have a chat and a warm lunch.

Katie Steele from the Towcester Community Larder expressed 'We were over the moon to win this award and would sincerely like to thank the Weetabix Northamptonshire Food and Drink Awards and Moulton College for recognising what we do. Special thanks to South Northants Volunteer Bureau and Roade Community Larder for being our partners on this journey but most importantly I want to take this opportunity to thank all the volunteers, past and present, that give their time and energy so cheerily and willingly to make the Larder the special place that it is today. This award is for all of them as they are the true heroes’.

Fresh from their interview with ITV, Weetabix Sustainability Gold Award winners Ian and Lauren Horton from Ganders Goat said "Sustainability is not just an idea for us here at Ganders Goat, it is the foundation of all we wish to achieve and the continuation of every decision weighted towards nature and how we can do better. Ganders Goat is a dream come true as we set out to live sustainably to provide for our son, nature and the future. The Award we have received has given us another boost to keep going, keep working with nature and that our ethics and approach to production and wellbeing is on the right track. Being sustainable can pay through efficiency gains and the like but you don't get the recognition, the pat on the back from nature to say thanks, that's where the award really comes into its own."

The successes and triumphs of this year’s awards has not only revealed the fantastic level of talent across the country but also the vital need to support and appreciate local!

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Northampton General Hospital- Healthy Eating & Wellbeing Workplace finalist

They are the last finalists of the Weetabix Northamptonshire Food and Drinks Awards to be revealed, however they are by no means the least. The Awards team are excited to announce the hunt for Local Food Heroes, Healthy Food and Wellbeing organisations and the Food and Drink College students is now completed and ready to celebrated!

The Food and Drink College Student of Year Award is aimed at students aged between 16 and 21 currently undertaking a full or part-time food/drink-related course at a Northamptonshire college (Moulton, Northampton or Bedford). It is designed to recognise students showing drive, commitment and passion for the sector, those demonstrating exceptional progress in skills development who are keen to learn and who are a young ambassador for learning about food and drink. One judge emphasised how they felt really inspired by what they had heard from the talented students.

Finalists for the Food and Drink College Student of the Year are:

Bilal Ismail, Northampton College

Elizabeth Knott, Moulton College

Will McGowan, Bedford College, Corby

Tia (Echo) Morris, Northampton College

Luke Wolstencroft, Bedford College, Corby

The team behind the Awards are delighted with the introduction of the debut category: Healthy Food and Wellbeing Award which also welcomes a fresh sponsor, Delapré Abbey Preservation Trust.  This category is designed to recognise producers in Northamptonshire who manufacture healthy food and those businesses and organisations who provide healthy food and wellbeing initiatives for their staff (defining ‘healthy food’ as those lower in fat, salt and sugars which can be used as part of a balanced diet).

Richard Cllinton, CEO of Delapre Abbey said ‘It was impressive to see such a breadth and quality of healthy food products being produced in Northamptonshire, showing great innovation by these producers to support people to lead healthier lifestyles. It was equally impressive to see the level of care and attention employers are placing in supporting their employees to achieve greater wellbeing in and outside of their workplaces. Once again the awards have shown the exceptional talents that exist within the counties food and drink sector.’

Finalists for Healthy Food and Wellbeing of the Year are:

Producers:

Kebab-ish, Bite me spices

Organic Wheatgrass Juice, Britt's Superfoods

Tomato and Red Pepper Relish, Friars Farm

Cucumber & Dill Sauerkraut, Millie Pickles

Chocolate flavour Super Shake, Nasty Vegan

Businesses and Organisations:

Mercedes-AMG HPP

Northampton General Hospital

Silverstone Circuits Ltd

Sol Havens CIC

Local Food Hero of the Year category, sponsored by Moulton College, invited the public to nominate a person, business or organisation which they believed had done more in the last year to promote local food and/or utilizing that food for others than any other.

Once again, the number of nominations in this category was higher than ever before and highlights the huge effort of many individuals and businesses to promote and develop the food and drink sector within Northamptonshire and, with so many heroes out there, choosing a winner is set to be a tough decision!

Finalists for Local Food Hero of the Year are:

Community Health Works UK CIC

Elliott's Rectory Farm, Moulton

Foodkind CIC, Northampton

Jamie’s Quality Butchers, Kettering

The Green Patch, Kettering

Towcester Community Larder, Towcester

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Bee Hotel at The Green Patch- Local food hero Finalist

The finalists have until Wednesday 12th October to discover their fate when the Bronze, Silver and Gold winners in all fifteen categories of this year’s competition will be announced at the Awards Dinner taking place at Royal & Derngate in Northampton.

Meanwhile, to keep up to date with the latest news, please follow the Awards on Facebook at @foodawards or Twitter and Instagram at @foodawardsHQ or on LinkedIn at @weetabixnfadawards using the hashtag #WFDA22.

For more details on all the categories in the Weetabix Northamptonshire Food and Drink Awards 2022/23, including downloading entry and nomination forms, visit www.northamptonshirefoodanddrink.co.uk/. Or call Sophie on 01933 664437 or email sophie@themallowscompany.com

You can also follow the Awards on Facebook at @foodawards or Twitter and Instagram at @foodawardsHQ or on LinkedIn at @weetabixnfadawards

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Rewarding businesses for taking action to help build a more sustainable, greener and better future, must be celebrated. Both the Farming Environment and Weetabix Sustainability Awards exhibit how our society can, with good leadership, move through post pandemic recovery into a new and more sustainable path, allowing future generations to live in a cleaner, greener world. These categories have been seeing brilliant stories of innovation and impact across the county (and beyond) in order to find farmers and businesses that are making a real difference.

Weetabix, the Awards’ main sponsor and direct sponsor of the Sustainably Award are committed to sourcing sustainable ingredients, reducing packaging waste, making their operations more efficient and helping local communities. Inspired by this campaign, the Sustainability category is designed to recognise and celebrate an individual, business, or organisation for a product, drink, process or project which has made the most positive impact in sustainability across one or more of the four areas, and its capacity to act as inspiration to others in the sector.

‘We’ve always said at Weetabix that sustainability is baked into our DNA as a company and we know that through our sponsorship of the Awards, we’re working with like-minded, dedicated food & drink heroes, who are leading the way in this space.

Sustainability plays an important part in every category of the awards, and we continue to be inspired by the work presented from both entrants & winners, and we are delighted to be able to celebrate them at the awards ceremony in October and throughout the year.

This year, with the help of the Awards Team, we’ve introduced a new category to celebrate the brilliant work that our ‘Growers Group’ of farmers are doing to find the most sustainable way to grow wheat whilst supporting environmental initiatives, and we look forward to sharing these successes, alongside the success of those categories more familiar to supporters of the awards, in the near future.’ John Petre, Supply Chain, Procurement and Technical Director at Weetabix

Finalists for Weetabix Sustainability Award are:

Foodkind CIC

Ganders Goat

Jute Coffee

The Roastery

West Lodge Farm

The Awards’ most recent debut category, Farming Environment award, sponsored by Weetabix has had an exciting shortlisting journey. Weetabix buys all its Weetabix original wheat from within a 50-mile radius of its factory in Burton Latimer and are excited to celebrate farmers that have not only been doing this in the last two years but also those who have taken demonstrable action to reduce the environmental impact of growing wheat through carbon footprint education, promoted wildlife or regenerative agriculture. The Judges emphasised how impressed they were with the number of entries, especially as its Harvest time.

Finalists for Farming Environment Award are:

Ben Atkinson, J.E Atkinson & Son

Ed Dale, Stetchworth Estate Farms

Fay Johnson, Rectory Farm

Keith Thompson, Bridge House farm Ltd

Matt Knight, J.A Knight & Sons

Timothy Breitmeyer, Bartlow Estate

The results of these categories will be announced at the Awards celebrations taking place on 12th October 2022 at the Royal & Derngate theatre.

Meanwhile, to keep up to date with the latest news, please follow the Awards on Facebook at @foodawards or Twitter and Instagram at @foodawardsHQ or on LinkedIn at @weetabixnfadawards using the hashtag #WFDA22.

For more details on all the categories in the Weetabix Northamptonshire Food and Drink Awards 2022/23, including downloading entry and nomination forms, visit www.northamptonshirefoodanddrink.co.uk/. Or call Sophie on 01933 664437 or email sophie@themallowscompany.com

You can also follow the Awards on Facebook at @foodawards or Twitter and Instagram at @foodawardsHQ or on LinkedIn at @weetabixnfadawards

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F&B Achiever Finalist- Aldo Gallone, E.Gallone Ltd.

Never has there been more need for an uplift for food and drink businesses during these tough economic months. Revealing the finalists in the One to Watch and F&B Achiever of the Year categories is a significant reminder of the hard work, perseverance and achievements that local businesses are making across the county and beyond.

F&B Achiever of the Year, sponsored by Howes Percival, has now been successfully shortlisted for this distinguished category. The F&B Achiever is designed to recognise a person who has made and/or continues to make a significant contribution to the sector. The Award may come early in a career, as recognition of original or creative ideas, or later, when someone has established a consistently outstanding record.

Matthew Talbot, Partner at Howes Percival, enthused, “Howes Percival are delighted to be sponsoring the F&B Achiever of the Year category again for 2022/23. I was blown away by the high standard of the finalists this year. It’s wonderful to see such quality from across the county, from a range of businesses, all working hard to put Northamptonshire on the map!”

Finalists for F&B Achiever of the Year are:

Andrew Collins, Whittlebury Bakery

Suzy Keeping, KDR Events Ltd

Aldo Gallone, E. Gallone Ltd

Joe Buckley, Tollemache Arms

The One to Watch category sponsored by Whitworth Bros Ltd, is aimed at food and drink manufacturers whose businesses are less than 5 years old and is designed to recognise their potential for major growth, their future significant impact on the market and thereby raising the profile of Northamptonshire at a regional or national level.

Last year Yum Chop foods were crowned joint Gold winners, and are now part of ‘Thrive with Sainsbury’s’ 2022 cohort programme, assisting them with a financial commitment to support their transition to supermarket shelves.  Abi and Michael, founders of Yum Chop said ‘Being a Gold winner in this category has really helped us.  It demonstrated to us that we are on the right track and was a real affirmation of our product and our business ethos.  Congratulations to the finalists in this year’s competition – I hope they will use this to show just how amazing they are!’

Finalists for One to Watch are:

Nakasero Foods

Nasty Vegan Ltd

Northampton Cheese Company

The Flavour Trailer

Jute Coffee Limited

The finalists now have until Wednesday 12th October to discover their fate when the winners and runners-up in all fifteen categories of this year’s competition will be announced at the Awards Dinner taking place at Royal & Derngate in Northampton.

Meanwhile, to keep up to date with the latest news, please follow the Awards on Facebook at @foodawards or Twitter and Instagram at @foodawardsHQ or on LinkedIn at @weetabixnfadawards using the hashtag #WFDA22.

For more details on all the categories in the Weetabix Northamptonshire Food and Drink Awards 2022/23, including downloading entry and nomination forms, visit www.northamptonshirefoodanddrink.co.uk/. Or call Sophie on 01933 664437 or email sophie@themallowscompany.com

You can also follow the Awards on Facebook at @foodawards or Twitter and Instagram at @foodawardsHQ or on LinkedIn at @weetabixnfadawards

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The message from the shortlisting judges at the Community Café, Booker Dining Venue and World Cuisine Restaurant individual judging sessions recently, was clear: Northamptonshire has an amazing array of quality eateries and deserves our support!  At a time when cost of living and energy price increases alongside staffing shortages in the hospitality sector are having an impact, eateries in the county are doing all they can to continue to provide a high quality offer, much appreciated by their customers.

Although the Awards celebrates those who promote the local food and drink offer, an adapted category this year looks to celebrate cafés who support their local communities or communities of people.  The Community Café category is all about celebrating cafés that are not only the best for their food and drink offer, but are a stand out from the crowd venue, providing noteworthy support within their communities. This category is supported by The Good Loaf, and Suzy Van Rooyen, CEO of the Good Loaf, said “I have been thrilled at the number of entries, the quality of their food offer and what they do for our communities.”

Finalists for the Community Café of the Year are as follows:

Aspen Café, Bosworth Garden Centre

Café 1850, Northampton

Café Track, Northampton

Johnnys Happy Place, Kettering

Saints Coffee, Northampton

The Place to Bee, Kingsthorpe

One of the Awards’ longest standing and most successful categories, Booker Dining Venue of the Year, was a particularly difficult judging decision.  Rachel Mallows, Director of the Weetabix Northamptonshire Food and Drink Awards, remarked “the judges involved in the shortlisting process had a very difficult task.  I set the challenge for them to identify between three and five dining venues, and they insisted on ten!  Judges commented that most of the entries were in fact worthy of being a finalist.  That indicates to me that the sector is working very hard to continue to provide very high standards in difficult trading times.   Let’s get out to all our eateries and support them!”

Finalists for Booker Dining Venue of the Year are:

Electric Pavilion, Northampton

Ember, Wellingborough

Hibiscus, Delapre Abbey

The Folly, Towcester

Tap & Kitchen, Oundle

The Plough, Shutlanger

The Rose & Crown, Yardley Hastings

The Snooty Fox, Lowick

The Tollemarche Arms, Harrington

The Butchers Arms, Greens Norton

World Cuisine Restaurant of the Year, sponsored by British Pepper & Spice, was also a hotly contested shortlisting session.  Five venues from around the county (with food from around the world!) were chosen from a very strong long list.  Judges were impressed with the good customer service comments, mystery shopper reviews and menus.

Finalists for World Cuisine Restaurant of the Year are:

Alacati Grill, Daventry

Café Bangla, Rushden

June Plum, Wellingborough

Mewar Haveli, Northampton

Pjayz Kitchen, Northampton

The achievements and successes of Northamptonshire Food and Drinks businesses will be celebrated at the Awards Ceremony and Dinner due to be held on 12th  October 2022 at the Royal & Derngate.

Meanwhile, to keep up to date with the latest news, please follow the Awards on Facebook at @foodawards or Twitter and Instagram at @foodawardsHQ or on LinkedIn at @weetabixnfadawards using the hashtag #WFDA22.

For more details on all the categories in the Weetabix Northamptonshire Food and Drink Awards 2022/23, including downloading entry and nomination forms, visit www.northamptonshirefoodanddrink.co.uk/. Or call Sophie on 01933 664437 or email sophie@themallowscompany.com

You can also follow the Awards on Facebook at @foodawards or Twitter and Instagram at @foodawardsHQ or on LinkedIn at @weetabixnfadawards

Daily Bread in Northampton was the host for the announcement of this year’s Artisan Local Product, Artisan Local Vegetarian/Vegan and Artisan Local Drink winners. The competition, now in its fourteenth year, is aimed at celebrating all that is great about local produce and drink, recognising excellence across a range of categories, rewarding those who work so hard within the food production and culinary sector.

Well known on radio and TV for her enthusiasm and passion, the Reverend Kate Bottley joined finalists in all three categories with sponsors, patrons, judges and press to announce the Bronze, Silver and Gold winners for 2022. A former Celebrity Masterchef contestant in 2017 and known to undertake the odd cookery demonstration here and there, Kate brought a sense of joy to the occasion as she made her announcements.

The winners will be celebrated at the annual Awards Dinner in the autumn, but these accolades can be promoted in the forthcoming Food and Drink Festivals across the county and country. Gold winners, as well as receiving mentoring support, will be entered into the Guild of Fine Foods Great Taste Awards for 2023.

The winners are:

Artisan Local Vegetarian/Vegan Product of the Year 2022/23, sponsored by Daily Bread

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Gold

Oinkin’ Patties from The Curious Vegan

Silver

Spiced Rhubarb Chutney from The Food Library

Tongue Taster from Northampton Cheese Company

Bronze:

Almond & Coconut Granola By Salma Shah

Cucumber & Dill Sauerkraut from Millie Pickles

Vegan Fizzy Blue Raspberry Bottles from The Sweet Lounge

Artisan Local Product of the Year 2022/23, sponsored by Heygates Flour and Animal Feed

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Gold

Naked Dairy Gelato from Rocky’s Gelato

Silver

Blueberry & Lavender Jam from Mee Farmers

Northamptonshire Blue from Hamm Tun Fine Foods

White Sourdough from Whittlebury Bakery

Bronze

Elderflower Sorbet from Your Cool

Garlic and Fennel Salami from Northampton Charcuterie Company

Tomato & Chilli Chutney from Green Kitchen Preserves

Artisan Local Drink of the Year 2022/23

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Gold

Blue Aurora English Blueberry Ice Wine from Lutton Farm

Lactodorum Towcester Gin from Wharf Distillery

Stonyfield English Quality Sparkling Wine 2018 Rose from Stonyfield Vineyard

Silver

Heidrun session NEIPA from Three Hills Brewing

Oat Drink from Wild & Furrow

Bronze

Solstice Single Malt Whisky from Wharf Distillery

Post pandemic, the organisers were thrilled to receive a higher number of entries than previous years and from a range of established and new businesses.  Awards director, Rachel Mallows, said

    “We are once again thrilled to have the headline sponsorship of Weetabix, and category sponsorship from Daily Bread and Heygates Flour and Animal Feed in these artisan awards. On a very warm summer’s day, we presented a superb range of finalist produce and drink from some pretty amazing businesses. To have Kate help us with this was the icing on the cake!” The judging involved a two stage tasting process with local and then external judges across a number of months. This year there was resounding support for the county’s producers with one second stage judge commenting that the ‘category products and drinks were world class; exceptional. Any county would be proud of all these products.’

Daily Bread member John Clarke said

    “We had really wanted Kate to help us celebrate our 40th anniversary two years ago, but with the pandemic we had to cancel.  We are over the moon to welcome her to Daily Bread with the Awards team and have her congratulations to us all, from what was started by a small group from Weston Favell Church.  Daily Bread has a great selection of local producers in the shop and we know our customers love buying local.”

Gold award winner, Curious Vegan Co., a vegan company based between Horton and Braefield said

    ‘we are absolutely thrilled to bits to win Gold for our Oinkin’ Pattie. It’s credence to what we do. We strive to be the best and it’s really such a big team effort and I’m so proud of everyone back at the farm. We will keep striving to make products better, more accessible and we are now taking it to market into wholesale and into retail early next year. This award will give us the spring in our step to really push our products forward’.

Silver award winner, Mee Farmers, who won the award for their Blueberry & Lavender Jam lockdown recipe that uses waste fruit said they added lavender to the product as they wanted to relate it to British products. They said,

    ‘It’s a really exciting time for us wining this award as it’s our first time going into products with blueberries (which they sell fresh to Waitrose and M&S).  It’s really nice to have my own project that I can take forward. The blueberry and lavender jam was the first product we started working on and its success has now led the way for a new market for us. To have it be your own recipe and win something is very special.’

The remaining categories will be announced at the annual Weetabix Northamptonshire Food and Drink Awards ceremony, to be held on Wednesday, 12th October 2022 at Northampton’s Royal & Derngate. For more details of this year’s competition, or for tickets, please call Sophie Smith on 01933 664437 or email sophie@themallowscompany.com

For more details on all the categories in the Weetabix Northamptonshire Food and Drink Awards 2022/23, including downloading entry and nomination forms, visit www.northamptonshirefoodanddrink.co.uk/. Or call Sophie on 01933 664437 or email sophie@themallowscompany.com

You can also follow the Awards on Facebook at @foodawards or Twitter and Instagram at @foodawardsHQ or on LinkedIn at @weetabixnfadawards

The young Weetabix award finalists reflect on their culinary journeys and share their favourite dishes to cook

The finalists have been announced for the Booker Young Chef of the Year category in this year’s Weetabix Northamptonshire Food and Drink (WNFAD) Awards 2022.

The highly anticipated yearly awards set out to celebrate the successes of hundreds of Northamptonshire based food and drink businesses and individuals excelling in culinary excellence.

To determine the finalists for the Booker Young Chef of the Year category, a cook-off was hosted at Northampton College over two weeks.

Let’s meet the five chefs who emerged victorious…

David Smith - The Palmichael

David Smith, 25, from Wellingborough has worked as a chef at family-run Italian restaurant, The Palmichael, in Burton Latimer for seven years.

On being a finalist, David said: “The feeling to be part of this competition is truly a fulfilling feeling and to be a finalist is already a victory in its own and the opportunity to cook with some of the best young chefs in the county is a fantastic feeling.”

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David Smith from The Palmichael

David always wanted to be a chef from a young age so he began training at Northampton College as he supported himself with part-time jobs. He started as a pot-washer and kitchen assistant, completing small tasks like peeling vegetables and helping with desserts and garnishes until he was given even more responsibility in one of his first jobs.

David said: “It was at that point I knew I had always made the right decision of wanting to be a chef.”

At the Northampton College cook-off, David put together a Ballotine of GuineaFowl with GuineaFowl bonbon, a fricassee of peas and broad beans finished with chorizo and chorizo oil.

David continued: “Cooking back at the college was like walking back into an old workplace. It was great to be back and see my old tutors.”

David’s favourite dish to cook is Ratatouille.

Hannah Dunne - Ember

Hannah Dunne has been working at wood fired restaurant, Ember, for just over one year.

On reaching the final, she said: “As a shy teenager, the first thing that brought me out of my shell was learning to cook. I have built my knowledge over a number of years in different settings, but to have gotten this far in the awards has been my greatest achievement.

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Hannah Dunne from Ember

“I’m very grateful for the opportunity and hope to show my best and how far I have come and my passion and food and my job.”

Hannah studied at catering college for two years whilst working as a kitchen porter at a local restaurant before moving around to lots of different establishments to learn from other chefs and working her way up to her junior sous chef position.

At the Northampton College cook-off, Hannah put together a garlic butter stuffed Guinea fowl breast, potato fondant, honey mustard guinea fowl croquette, carrot braised in red wine and a chozio reduction.

Hannah said: “I really enjoyed coming up with this dish at the cook off as I got to show lots of skills while showcasing some of Northamptonshire's best ingredients.”

Shawn Monk - The Falcon Inn at Fotheringhay

Shawn Monk has been a chef at The Falcon Inn at Fotheringhay for six years. He began his culinary career as a kitchen porter before progressing into a commis chef role as he completed his apprenticeship.

Shawn then began working for his current head chef, Zak Perrin, and - just four months later - was promoted to chef de partie. Following the coronavirus pandemic lockdowns, Shawn was able to complete his apprenticeship and work towards becoming a junior sous chef.

He was awarded Bronze in last year’s WNFAD awards.

On reaching the Booker Young Chef of the Year final, Shawn said: “It means a lot to get to the final, especially with so much competition in the area and hopefully I win but I still wouldn’t be disappointed if I don’t as getting to the final is a big achievement in itself.”

At the Northampton College cook-off, Shawn cooked a guinea fowl supreme with a guinea fowl chorizo and mustard stuffed thigh with fondant potatoes, carrot puree and seasonal vegetables, finished with a mustard reduction.

Shawn said: “I really enjoyed the experience and hope the outcome goes my way. I enjoyed the friendly competition between us all and wish everyone involved luck but, if it doesn’t go my way, I will definitely be back.”

Shawn’s favourite dish to cook is a venison wellington served with dauphinoise potatoes, seasonal vegetables and a red wine reduction.

Nicole Wicks - Rushton Hall

Rushton Hall took Nicole on as an apprentice for a year when she was 17 and she went on to work with them for another year in their fine dining restaurant.

Nicole then decided to leave to get some experience working in other hotels and completing agency work before returning to Rushton Hall under their new head chef, Martin Allen.

She told this newspaper that reaching the WNFAD award finals is a huge achievement for her.

Nicole said: “Being a chef, I’m sure we’re all already used to the very long hours and hard work non-stop, spending our time off more so to recover and prepare for the next week ahead rather than having much free time to ourselves.

“It’s a career with a lot of sacrifices and being acknowledged and having that hard work addressed really does make it all worth it. It personally gives me that extra confidence boost that I am on the right track and I am doing what I’m doing for a reason.”

Nicole completed level one hospitality and catering at Northampton college before going on to complete level three professional chef in her apprenticeship. She has spent over three years at Rushton on all sections but has specialised in Pastry for the last year and a half.

Her personal style of cooking is of an Asian influence as it is the type of food she enjoys the most - especially Vietnamese. Her favourite dishes to cook are Vietnamese pho, dumplings and Thai curry.

At the Northampton College cook-off, Nicole decided to sous vide the guinea fowl and then put the roasted bones and scrap vegetables and as well as some fried chorizo, wholegrain mustard and honey into a sauce to make a creamy reduction. She then used the chorizo and mustard again to make a fried potato croquette and served everything with charred shallots, garlic mushrooms, sous vide leeks and a caramelised onion puree.

On the experience, Nicole said: “I went into the experience quite nervous as it was my first competition and had no clue what to expect but I think naturally, as a chef, the minute you start cooking and have that vision in your head of the flavours you want to create and the final dish you want to serve, you become quite calm and focused.

“Ultimately, I didn't leave myself as much time for plating as I would've hoped for but every element I wanted to serve I got on the plate in time.”

Matthew Heritage - The Falcon Inn at Fotheringhay

Also from The Falcon Inn at Fotheringhay is Matthew Heritage.

On being a finalist, Matthew said: ‘It means so much for me to reach the final and have the opportunity to become an award winning chef at 19.

“Working in a place that gives me the opportunity to do this is phenomenal and I am very thankful to my head chef Zak for helping me beyond belief to get to this stage so young.

“Thank you to everyone involved for this amazing opportunity.”

These talented chefs will now go head-to-head in the finals before Gold, Silver and Bronze winners are announced at an awards ceremony hosted by The Royal & Derngate theatre on October 12.

For more details on all the categories in the Weetabix Northamptonshire Food and Drink Awards 2022/23, including downloading entry and nomination forms, visit www.northamptonshirefoodanddrink.co.uk/. Or call Sophie on 01933 664437 or email sophie@themallowscompany.com

You can also follow the Awards on Facebook at @foodawards or Twitter and Instagram at @foodawardsHQ or on LinkedIn at @weetabixnfadawards

Inspired by headline sponsor Weetabix’s Change For Better commitment, the Sustainability Award at the Weetabix Northamptonshire Food and Drink Awards is fast gaining momentum.

Change For Better created a framework by which Weetabix pledges to work on four key areas – sustainable ingredients, reducing packaging waste, efficient operations and health and wellbeing.

The awards category is designed to recognise and celebrate an individual, business or organisation for a product, drink, process or project which has made the most positive impact in sustainability across one or more of those areas, so acting as inspiration to others in the sector.

The Sustainability Award is also one of the awards, along with the F&B Achiever Award, for which All Things Business is the Media Partner.

Last year’s awards saw joint Gold Award winners in the Sustainability Award: Blue Skies in Pitsford and Re in Flore.

Blue Skies was founded in 1997 with a commitment to ‘adding value at source’. This means it aims to make the finished products, which include prepared fruit packs, juices and ice cream, close to where the fruit is grown, and by doing so return more value to the communities that produce the fruit, and ensure the products are created fresh from harvest.

Simon Derrick, from Blue Skies, said:

    “Winning Gold in the Weetabix Sustainability Award has meant a huge amount to Blue Skies. It has helped us to further demonstrate the sustainability credentials of our business and we often use the winners logo in presentations and reports.”

Lindsay Singh, from Re, a zero waste and coffee shop that supplies more than 400 plastic-free products, food, household cleaning, sweets, snacks and personal care products, said:

    “The awards have been a fantastic experience for us here at Re. The application made us really think about who we were and how we express it. The interview panel were kind and informed.

    “The awards event itself was ridiculously fun and exciting. We met incredible people throughout the entire process Of course, winning a Gold was super-special, but the whole process was one which we found to be so affirming. For us, the best part has probably been the mentorship that we won, along with tangible visibility for our business. It has been a real confidence booster.”

Gold in the F&B Achiever Award went to Matt Fountain of Bewiched Coffee, which has coffee shops in Burton Latimer, Corby, Higham Ferrers, Kettering and Northampton, and on Moulton Park.

 Matt said:

    “We were very proud to have won Gold at last year’s awards in such a competitive field. We continue to strive to deliver something better within the coffee sector in terms of service, product and environment. Since winning the award our business has been focusing on going from strength to strength by continuing to expand organically and embracing business to business franchise opportunities with the capacity to reach a larger audience nationally.”

Ben Thomas, Managing Director of All Things Business, said:

   “We are proud to sponsor these two awards. We are committed to becoming the greenest publisher in the UK and we take whatever steps we can to reduce our carbon footprint and do more to protect the environment.

    “We’re looking forward to the awards night in October and seeing who is leading the way in the local food sector in terms of sustainability.”

For more details on all the categories in the Weetabix Northamptonshire Food and Drink Awards 2022/23, including downloading entry and nomination forms, visit www.northamptonshirefoodanddrink.co.uk/. Or call Sophie on 01933 664437 or email sophie@themallowscompany.com

You can also follow the Awards on Facebook at @foodawards or Twitter and Instagram at @foodawardsHQ or on LinkedIn at @weetabixnfadawards

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THIS year’s Northamptonshire Food and Drink Awards is now in full swing with many of its categories now closed and judging well under way. Three categories, however, remain open for nominations.

One of the award’s longest standing categories, Booker Dining Venue of the Year is still open for entries from pubs and restaurants across Northamptonshire.

Last year saw The Falcon, Castle Ashby, Greedy Gordons Pub Company, The Pig & Waffle at Grafton Underwood all take Gold and they have been reaping the benefits of the competition ever since.

World Cuisine Restaurant sponsored by British Pepper & Spice, defined as a venue whose menu offers predominantly international cuisine, is also still open for submissions. Last year’s winner was Indian cuisine, Saffron last year.

Finally one of the awards newest categories, Community Café of the Year supported by bakery The Good Loaf – a previous winner of the local Food Hero award – is still seeking nominations for tea rooms and cafes that are not only the best for its produce, but are a “stand-out-from-the-crowd” venue, providing noteworthy support within their communities.

Suzy Van Rooyen, chief executive of The Good Loaf, said: “We are delighted to be supporting the Community Café category this year. As winners of the Local Food Hero Award in years gone by, we know what an uplift the recognition means to small businesses and are so pleased to be a part of this for others who will see the benefit. “

Dining venues will be “mystery shopped” twice before the finalists are decided. Gold, Silver and Bronze winners will then be announced at The Royal & Derngate Theatre on October 12. It is therefore also an exciting time for any keen foodie who loves to frequent dining venues as the NFADA Awards team seek volunteers (no experience necessary, just an appreciation of excellent service and food) to be mystery shoppers for the above categories.

All interested gourmet gurus can contact the Awards Manager sophie@themallowscompany.com for more information.

There have been two exceptional cook offs for both Booker Young Chef of the year, hosted by Northampton College and Whitco Chef of the year hosted by Tresham College, over the past two weeks which delivered passionate performances from a number of talented chefs.

Vita from Whitco, sponsor of the Whitco Chef of the Year category, emphasised just how important chefs are; ‘it’s all about the people and it’s the people that can make it all matter and happen. Our country really needs to value them more and we as clients need to value them more. They need to be celebrated! We want to be able to say to the chef well done, whether that be a casual, a very quick, easy dinner, or a fine dining experience. We all should say thanks to the chef because it’s an amazing skill and it’s so undervalued in this country’.

Finalists for Booker Young Chef: Nicole Wicks (Rushton Hall); Shawn Monk and Matthew Heritage (The Falcon Inn at Fotheringhay); David Smith (The Palmichael); Hannah Dunne (Ember).

Finalists for Whitco Chef of the Year: Bartlomiej Polinski (Hibiscus); Arturs Dzerins (Electric Pavillion); Ben Dury (The Red Lion, Cranford) and Michael O’Gorman (The University of Northampton – Waterside Campus).

Gold award winners in each category will receive a prize in the form of a special culinary experience. Although details of this year’s prizes are yet to be confirmed in previous years winners have spent the day with some of the country’s top chefs.

All the winners will receive their awards at the gala awards ceremony on October 12 at the Royal & Derngate Theatre in Northampton.

For more details on all the categories in the Weetabix Northamptonshire Food and Drink Awards 2022/23, including downloading entry and nomination forms, visit www.northamptonshirefoodanddrink.co.uk/. Or call Sophie on 01933 664437 or email sophie@themallowscompany.com

You can also follow the Awards on Facebook at @foodawards or Twitter and Instagram at @foodawardsHQ or on LinkedIn at @weetabixnfadawards

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The Weetabix Northamptonshire Food and Drink Awards is back for its fourteenth year with another sensational set of categories and sponsors.

The Awards are a celebration and recognition of excellence within the Northamptonshire food and drink sector. It is a toast to all that is great about local produce and drink and rewarding those who work so hard to achieve the best within the culinary sector.

The team behind the Awards are delighted to announce the introduction of two debut categories: the Healthy Food and Wellbeing Award which welcomes a fresh sponsor, Delapré Abbey; and the Farming Environmental Award sponsored by Weetabix for the Weetabix Growers Group.

Thanks to ongoing support from headline sponsor, Weetabix will be supporting for their third year a sign of the Burton Latimer company’s commitment to the county’s flourishing food and drink sector. The breakfast giant will once again be joined by existing category sponsors Booker, British Pepper & Spice, Daily Bread, Whitco, Heygates Flour and Animal Feed, Howes Percival LLP, Moulton College and Whitworth Bros Ltd Flour Millers.

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John Petre, Supply Chain, Procurement and Technical Director at headline sponsor Weetabix welcomed everyone to The Falcon in Castle Ashby, one of the two Booker Dining Venue Gold Winners of 2021.  He announced a new category aimed at celebrating the work of the members of the Weetabix Growers’ Group, who provide wheat from within a 50 mile radius of the Burton Latimer site.  The Award will champion those farmers who are reducing the environmental impact of growing wheat.  ‘The Farming Environment Award is an exciting new category, along with the Healthy Food and Wellbeing Award sponsored by Delapre Abbey – both of which capture the importance of sustainability.   Weetabix is proud to once again be the headline sponsor for the Northamptonshire Food and Drink Awards and we look forward to supporting the sector by celebrating the sector’ John added.

Sally West, Corporate Consumer Service Manager at Weetabix asked Zak Perrin, Owner and chef of The Falcon Inn (Fotheringhay) and last year’s Gold award winner, what the Awards had meant to him. Zak said “winning Gold at the Food and Drink Awards is my proudest achievement in my career. It’s been a great thing for the business and for myself personally. It has also opened my eyes to the producers we have on our doorstep locally and a great network.”

Another previous Gold award winner, Simon Derrick from Blue Skies who picked up the Sustainability Award was also present at the launch and when asked how aware he was of the wider food and drinks sector in the county and its breadth. Simon responded with “I have always been aware of a strong food and drink sector in Northamptonshire but I don’t think I was ever aware of just how much is here. You really get a sense of the passion, enthusiasm and the skills, whether it’s the restaurants, food producers, or local pubs. The enthusiasts you have around food and drink in this county is amazing and I think we need to do more to celebrate that and to champion it across the county and further afield”.

The full details of the latest competition were revealed by Awards Director, Rachel Mallows MBE, at the launch which took place (Tuesday 5 April) at The Falcon in Castle Ashby, one of the Gold Winners of the Booker Dining Venue of the Year 2021. Rachel revealed a change to the Café award which this year is supported by The Good Loaf, a category now named Community Café of the Year to celebrate great Cafes and Tea Rooms that also support their local communities.

Rachel added ‘We are asking our foodies of the county to buy local, shop local and eat locally and help the sector not just recover, but thrive after the past two years’.

The free-to-enter categories in this year’s Awards (with their respective sponsors) are:

Artisan Local Drink of the Year

Artisan Local Product of the Year (Heygates Flour and Animal Feed)

Artisan Local Vegetarian / Vegan Product of the Year (Daily Bread)

Booker Dining Venue of the Year (Booker)

Booker Young Chef of the Year (Booker)

Community Café of the Year (Supported by The Good Loaf)

Farming Environment Award (Weetabix Growers Group)

F&B Achiever of the Year (Howes Percival LLP)

Food and Drink College Student of the Year

Healthy Food and Wellbeing Award (Delapré Abbey)

Local Food Hero of the Year (Moulton College)

One To Watch (Whitworth Bros. Ltd Flour Millers)

Weetabix Sustainability Award (Weetabix)

Whitco Chef of the Year (Whitco)

World Cuisine Restaurant of the Year (British Pepper & Spice)

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The results of the competition, which will again see finalists awarded Gold, Silver or Bronze,

will be announced at the Awards celebrations taking place on 20th October 2022 at The Royal & Derngate Theatre.

For more details on all the categories in the Weetabix Northamptonshire Food and Drink Awards 2022/23, including downloading entry and nomination forms, please visit the Awards’ website – www.northamptonshirefoodanddrink.co.uk - or call Sophie on 01933 664437 or email sophie@themallowscompany.com

You can also follow the Awards on Facebook at @foodawards or Twitter and Instagram at @foodawardsHQ or on LinkedIn at @weetabixnfadawards

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