Award News 2023
Awards Night Culminates the 15th Year of the Weetabix Northamptonshire Food & Drink Awards 2023/24
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With Northamptonshire’s growing success in the Food & Drink sector this year, there has been probably the toughest competition yet when it comes to finding winners across all 19 categories at the awards. Celebrating our ‘Community’, local ‘Champions’ and ‘Culinary’ expertise, Stuart Branch, Chief People and Digital Officer for Weetabix, said, Weetabix is delighted to be headline sponsor for the fourth year running, especially as aspects of sustainability are included in every category. Sustainability is in our DNA at Weetabix and so important to our local communities, our customers, and our consumers. We are delighted that this ethos is shared amongst the brilliant people and businesses that come together through the awards process and are extremely proud to support Rachel and the team to ensure that those who achieve Gold, Silver and Bronze in each category receive the recognition they deserve as we know that they have worked so hard to achieve it. These awards not only provide us with an opportunity to recognise our amazing Weetabix Growers’ group of farmers but also to celebrate the brilliant businesses from around the county, giving us the opportunity to learn from each other, taking inspiration from the innovation, creativity, and ambition in this space.”
With 101 finalists and over 500 hours of volunteer judging taken place, this has to be one of the most supported events in the 15 years of having the awards.
The menu served by Portfolio Events included some wonderful examples of Northamptonshire food and drink including Dovely Bakery Rose Cottage multi seed loaf, Hamm Tun Fine Foods’ Northamptonshire blue cheese, Urban Microgreen mixed salad, New Lodge Vineyard Chilli Honey dressing, Three Hills Brewery Heidrun Session NEIPA, Eat Curious vegan Wellington, and Boughton House honey.
As sponsors of this year’s Gastro Pub of the Year and Young Chef of the Year awards, Booker were delighted with the calibre of entries: “It is fantastic to see such brilliant talent at Weetabix Northamptonshire Food & Drink Awards in the Booker Gastro Pub & Booker Young Chef categories. Booker is really proud to be sponsoring both categories. It has been a hard time for the industry which is why it is even more important to get behind these fantastic local companies to allow them to keep bringing brilliant food and drink to their communities and to help encourage employment for the sector. All companies and the young chefs should be proud of their achievements and Booker will continue to offer the choice, prices, and services this sector requires while also continuing to support young chefs coming into the sector.” Darren Bown - Customer Director, Catering at Booker.
The results are as follows:
Artisan Local Drink of the Year, sponsored by J Sweeney Accountants
GOLD - Club 80 Navy Strength London Dry Gin, Silverstone Distillery
SILVER - Blueberry Juice, Mee Blueberries
SILVER - Oat Drink, Wild & Furrow
BRONZE - Heidrun Session NEIPA, Three Hills Brewing Ltd
BRONZE - Phipps Foundry Mild, Phipps Northampton Brewery Co Ltd
BRONZE - Paw Another, Bearly Organised Ltd
BRONZE - Winwick Hall Methode Champenoise, Winwick Hall Bruce Green Limited
Artisan Local Product of the Year, sponsored by Heygates
GOLD - Coffee Ice Cream, Your Cool
SILVER - Boughton Estate Homemade Honey, The Boughton Estate
SILVER - Shoetown Blue, Hamm Tun Fine Foods
BRONZE - Lemon Curd, Friars Farm
BRONZE - New Lodge Vineyard Chili Honey, Made by the Beekeeper
BRONZE - Northampton Cheesecake, F.F Tee Bakery
BRONZE - Steak Pasty, Duston Village Bakery
Artisan Local Vegetarian/Vegan Product of the Year, sponsored by Daily Bread
GOLD - Strawberry & Rose Cake, Mill House - The Old Stable Yard Tea Room
SILVER - Carrot, Parsnip & Pecan Cake, Sophisticake Creations
SILVER - Northamptonshire Blue, Hamm Tun Fine Foods
BRONZE - Fresh Oyster Mushrooms, Shoots & Spores
BRONZE - Harrington Wild Garlic Butter, The Tollemache Arms
BRONZE - Rose Cottage Multi Seed Loaf, Dovely Bakery
BRONZE - Salad Mix, Urban Microgreens
Booker Gastro Pub of the Year, sponsored by Booker
GOLD – The Tollemache Arms, Harrington
SILVER - The Rose & Crown, Yardley Hastings
SILVER - The Sheaf Inn, West Haddon
SILVER - The Kings Arms, Polebrook
BRONZE - The Old Talbot, Potterspury
Booker Young Chef of the Year, sponsored by Booker
GOLD - Jade Walter - Rushton Hall Hotel & Spa
SILVER - Thomas Giles - The Falcon Hotel, Castle Ashby
BRONZE – Harvey Tapp - The Snooty Fox, Lowick
BRONZE - Levi Moukan - The Falcon, Fotheringhay
Canape of the Year, sponsored by Portfolio Events
Kamil Podgorski, Northampton College
Community Café of the Year, sponsored by The Good Loaf, and The Health and Wellbeing services at West Northamptonshire Council
GOLD - Bennett’s, Thrapston
SILVER – Bob’s Corby, Corby
SILVER - Polo Pavilion Tea Room, Winwick
BRONZE - Happy Mondays, Rushden
BRONZE – A Place to Bee, Kingsthorpe
CERTIFICATE OF MERIT - Lavender Bee Tea Room, Kettering
Event Venue of the Year, sponsored by Hilton Garden Inn
GOLD - Silverstone Circuits Ltd
CRYSTAL - The Granary at Fawsley
SILVER - Kelmarsh Hall & Gardens
SILVER - Kettering Park Hotel & Spa
SILVER - Rushton Hall Hotel & Spa
BRONZE - Furtho Manor Farm
Farming Environment Award, sponsored by Weetabix
GOLD - J.A. Knight & Sons
SILVER – Courteenhall
SILVER - J.E Atkinson & Son
SILVER – Wold Farm
SILVER – White House Farm
Certificate of Merit – Stetchworth Estate Farm
F&B Achiever of the Year, sponsored by Howes Percival
GOLD - Joe Buckley, The Tollemache Arms
GOLD – Eddie & James White, Whites of Earls Barton
BRONZE - Glenn Newman, The Granary, Fawsley, Daventry, and The Waterside Café at Northampton Active, Northampton
BRONZE - Steve Reid, Northampton Cheese Co., Northampton Charcuterie Co., and Friars Farm, Northampton
BRONZE – Jo & Nigel Wagstaff, Houghton Hams
Food and Drink College Student of the Year, sponsored by University of Northampton
GOLD - Cohen O'Dell, Northampton College
SILVER - Thomas Walshaw, Moulton College
SILVER - Cara Payne, Northampton College
BRONZE - Chloe Matthews, Moulton College
BRONZE - Alex Mundey, Tresham College, Corby
BRONZE - Dante Newman, Tresham College, Corby
Healthy Food and Wellbeing of the Year, sponsored by Delapre Abbey
Producers:
GOLD - Mango Explosion Granola, Salma Soulful
SILVER - Organic Wheatgrass Juice, Britt's Superfoods
BRONZE - Chocolate Super Shake, Nasty Vegan
BRONZE - Bresaola, Northampton Charcuterie Company
BRONZE - Carrot Cookies, The Loving Chef
Workplace:
GOLD – Sol Laug Havens
SILVER – Wetherbys
BRONZE - Silverstone Circuits Ltd
Local Food Hero of the Year, sponsored by Moulton College
GOLD – Rick Sharpe, The Roaming Artisan
SILVER - Milly Fyfe
SILVER – Claire Gurney, The Shack Food Project
BRONZE – Narinder Hammond, Skittles Community Shop
One to Watch, sponsored by Whitworth Bros. Ltd.
GOLD - Restaurant Ember
GOLD - Santina’s Wood Fired Pizza Co.
SILVER - Nasty Vegan
BRONZE - Butterwick Bakery
BRONZE - Royal Oak, Naseby
Outstanding Contribution to Food & Drink Northamptonshire
Jo & Nigel Wagstaff, Houghton Hams
Patrons Award
Phil Martin, Northampton College
Restaurant of the Year, sponsored by Greedy Gordons
GOLD - The Palmichael, Burton Latimer
SILVER - Marseille, Northampton
SILVER - Murrays, Whittlebury Park, Towcester
BRONZE - Hopping Hare, Northampton
BRONZE - Karmana, Northampton
BRONZE - Tap and Kitchen, Oundle
Weetabix Sustainability Award, sponsored by Weetabix
GOLD - Sol Laug Havens
SILVER - Blue Skies Ltd
SILVER - SNVB
BRONZE - The Farm Shed
BRONZE - Green Machine Refill
BRONZE - Silverstone Circuits Ltd
Whitco Chef of the Year, sponsored by Whitco
GOLD - Adam Phillips, The Falcon at Castle Ashby
SILVER - Zak Perrin, The Falcon at Fotheringhay
BRONZE - Piotr Czarnocki, Gourmand Pierre Private Dining
HIGHLY COMMENDED – Daniel Webster, Websters Catering and Events
HIGHLY COMMENDED - Laszlo Bodnarjuk, The Palmichael
HIGHLY COMMENDED - Reece Coles, Hops and Chops
World Cuisine Restaurant of the Year, sponsored by British Pepper & Spice
GOLD - June Plum, Wellingborough
SILVER - Marmaris, Northampton
SILVER - Mexican Fire Garden, Kettering
BRONZE - Little India, Earls Barton
BRONZE - Voujon, Long Buckby
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The culinary themed trophies were created from upcycled metalware supporting the sustainable theme of some of our categories. These were presented by Helen Fospero who was the Master of Ceremonies, known for her presenting role on shows such as GMTV, Daybreak and Lorraine.
Mike Peters, Managing Director of Whitworth Bros Ltd, category sponsor of ‘One to Watch’ said “Every year the Awards ceremony and Gala Dinner is an evening to remember and this year was no exception. I’d encourage everyone to seek out the winners and finalists in each of the categories to support them throughout the year as we continue to make Northamptonshire a great place to eat, work and live.”
For more details on the competition please call Rachel Mallows or Clare on 01933 664437 or email clare.d@themallowscompany.com
You can also follow the Awards on Facebook at @foodawards or Twitter and Instagram at @foodawardsHQ or on LinkedIn at @weetabixnfadawards
Booker Young Chef of the Year 2023-24
Whitco Chef of the Year 2023-24
Concluding our Category Finalists Line Up for 2023/24!
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The final nominations are in, as the shortlisting has been taking place throughout September, keeping our judges working overtime for the remaining four categories: Local Food Hero; Farming Environment; Sustainability and Event Venue. We are delighted to welcome our new category sponsor for Event Venue - Hilton Garden Inn at Silverstone!
The Farming Environment category (sponsored by the Weetabix Growers Group) is designed to recognise those protocol growers who have supplied Weetabix within the last two years and who have taken demonstrable action to reduce the environmental impact of growing wheat through carbon footprint reduction, promoting wildlife or regenerative agriculture.
Peter Chandley Head of Quality and Food Safety at Weetabix commented ““The Farming Environment award showcases the important work of our Growers Group of farmers, and as this year’s harvest comes to an end, it’s wonderful to celebrate local farmers doing so much for farming in a sustainable way.”
Finalists for the Farming Environment Award are:
Ben Atkinson, J.E Atkinson & Son
Jim Beaty, Wold Farm
Ed Dale, Stetchworth Estate Farms
Will Green, White House Farm
Matt Knight ,J.A Knight & Sons
Johnny Wake, Courteenhall Estate
For the Local Food Hero award, we are looking for people and businesses in the food and drink sector who go further in producing, supplying, promoting or selling local goods or food services, thereby contributing to the reduction of food miles and carbon emissions.
Matt Smith, Executive Director of Skills and Business Development at Moulton College was really impressed with the entrants, saying “I was intrigued by the diversity of candidates for the Local Food Hero category. What these businesses are achieving is incredible and vital work for local communities within Northamptonshire.”
Finalists for Local Food Hero are:
Milly Fyfe
The Shack Food Project
Skittles Community Shop
The Roaming Artisan
Our headline sponsor, Weetabix, has developed a ‘Change For Better’ framework, based on the four key areas of: sustainable ingredients, reducing packaging waste, efficient operations and health and wellbeing. Inspired by their campaign, the Sustainability Category is therefore designed to recognise and celebrate an individual, business, or organisation for a product, drink, process or project. These need to have made a positive impact in sustainability across one or more of the four areas, and its capacity to act as inspiration to others in the sector.
Sustainability category sponsor Weetabix’s Supply Chain and Technical Director John Petre commented on this year’s finalists “A wonderfully diverse range of entrants again this year leading the way for Sustainability. I’m really pleased to see the progression these businesses have had and with so much future potential. What an exciting time ahead we can expect for Northamptonshire with a high calibre of businesses taking such initiative in terms of their climate impact – a huge Weetabix ‘well done’ to all of you!”
Finalists for Weetabix Sustainability Award are:
Blue Skies
Green Machine Refill
Silverstone Circuit
SNVB
Sol Laug Havens
The Farm Shed
The final category to be announced is the Event Venue of the Year category sponsored by Hilton Garden Inn. These independent Event Venues specialize in catering for over 100 people for formal occasions.
Delighted to be selected as a finalist for the inaugural Event Venue of the Year category is Glenn Newman from The Granary at Fawsley, “We are thrilled to be recognised and nominated for this prestigious award. Our team work hard day in day out to deliver the very best wedding experience. We were all overwhelmed with excitement when we found out we were finalists for best venue!”
Finalists for Event Venue of the Year are:
Furtho Events
Kelmarsh Hall & Gardens
Kettering Park Hotel & Spa
Rushton Hall
Silverstone Circuits
The Granary at Fawsley
On 1st November, the accomplishments and successes of Northamptonshire Food and Drink businesses and individuals will be celebrated at the Gala Dinner at the Royal & Derngate.
For more details on the competition please call Rachel Mallows or Clare on 01933 664437 or email clare.d@themallowscompany.com
You can also follow the Awards on Facebook at @foodawards or Twitter and Instagram at @foodawardsHQ or on LinkedIn at @weetabixnfadawards
It’s been a busy week for finalists at the Weetabix Northamptonshire Food & Drink awards as more are revealed!
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As Autumn starts to show its face it means the Weetabix Northamptonshire Food and Drinks Awards are on the final countdown to the Awards Dinner and revealing more category finalists. This time it’s the turn of Healthy Food and Wellbeing, One to Watch, F&B Achiever, and Food & Drink College Student of the Year!
The Food & Drink College Student of the 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. We are delighted to have the University of Northampton as a new sponsor for this category and who will kindly offer our Gold Award winner 1:1 careers coaching.
Head of Events, Tourism & Hospitality at the University of Northampton, Inva Reic, commented after the judging: “This year’s Food and Drink College Student of the Year category was brimming with exceptional talent. Each and every candidate had a unique story and their passion for the food and drink industry really shone through. This made the judging panel’s decision really challenging! We are very grateful for the interest shown by the students this year. All of this makes us very hopeful for the future of Northamptonshire’s food and drink sector and we are also very excited to see what all of this year’s finalists do next in their careers.”
Finalists for the Food and Drink College Student of the Year are:
Cohen O'Dell, Northampton College
Chloe Matthews, Moulton College
Alex Mundey, Bedford College, Corby
Dante Newman, Bedford College, Corby
Cara Payne, Northampton College
Thomas Walshaw, Moulton College
Back for its 2nd year, the Healthy Food & Wellbeing Award is sponsored by Delapré Abbey Preservation Trust. This category is in 2 parts and is designed to recognise producers in Northamptonshire who manufacture healthy food, and also 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 Clinton, CEO of Delapre Abbey said “There was a good level of entrants this year, and fantastic to see such diversity across the products and workplaces we were judging. Great to see such a high level of passion with wonderfully tasting produce.”
Finalists for Healthy Food and Wellbeing of the Year are:
Producers:
Organic Wheatgrass Juice, Britt's Superfoods
Bresaola, Northampton Charcuterie Company
Chocolate Super Shake, Nasty Vegan
Carrot Cookies, The Loving Chef
Mango Explosion Granola, Salma Soulful
Businesses and Organisations:
Silverstone Circuits Ltd
Sol Havens CIC
Weatherbys
One to Watch, a category aimed at food and drink manufacturers or hospitality businesses who are less than 5 years old, and is designed to recognize their potential for major growth. Their future significant impact on the market is also taken into consideration as well as how this will raise the profile of Northamptonshire at a regional or national level.
Category sponsor Kim Osborne, Technical Accounts Manager from Whitworth Bros Ltd enthused: “Once again the level of entrants for the One to Watch category was outstanding. The dedication and enthusiasm from every one of the finalists made me proud to be involved. Northampton is continuing to raise the bar to show what can be achieved. I’m delighted to pass on my congratulations to all the finalists for their achievement.”
Finalists for One to Watch are:
Butterwick Bakery
Nasty Vegan
Restaurant Ember
Royal Oak, Naseby
Santina’s Wood Fired Pizza Co.
The category of F&B Achiever is designed to recognize a person who has made and/or continues to make a significant contribution to the sector. This may be awarded early in someone’s career, as recognition of original or creative ideas, or later, when someone has established a consistently outstanding record.
Category sponsor Jenna Bruce, Legal Director at Howes Percival says “A really strong set of finalists, so different, which made it a real challenge to judge. Their individual achievements are impressive in different ways. They are all such champions for the county using local suppliers and establishing themselves within the county and potentially internationally!”
Finalists for F&B Achiever are:
Joe Buckley, The Tollemache Arms, Harrington
Glenn Newman, G&D Newman Ltd
Steve Reid, Friars Farm
Nigel Wagstaff, Houghton Hams
Whites of Earls Barton
On 1st November, the accomplishments and successes of Northamptonshire Food and Drink businesses and individuals will be celebrated at the Gala Dinner at the Royal & Derngate.
For more details on the competition please call Rachel Mallows or Clare on 01933 664437 or email clare.d@themallowscompany.com
You can also follow the Awards on Facebook at @foodawards or Twitter and Instagram at @foodawardsHQ or on LinkedIn at @weetabixnfadawards
Northamptonshire Food & Drink Awards announces finalists for Best in Class Dining categories!
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With four dining categories this year in the Weetabix Northamptonshire Food and Drinks Awards, judges have been busy short-listing food and drink businesses from around the county in Booker Gastro Pub of the Year sponsored by Booker, Community Café of the Year sponsored by Public Health, West Northants Council and supported by The Good Loaf, Restaurant of the Year sponsored by The Greedy Gordon pub group and World Cuisine Restaurant of the Year sponsored by British Pepper and Spice. After final Mystery Shopping visits the winners will be announced in the annual Awards ceremony held in November.
Founder Rachel Mallows MBE DL said “We are delighted to have new and existing sponsors to help us to recognise so many of the varied eateries in our county. It’s still tough out there, so it is only right that we can show them some support by giving them the recognition they deserve and encouraging more people to visit them.”
Community Café of the Year which is supported by The Good Loaf is delighted to have a new sponsor in Public Health, West Northants Council. The Community Café category is all about recognising coffee shops that are exceptional, not simply for their produce, but also as stand-out establishments that contribute significantly to their local communities.
Adrian Hornigold, Catering Development Manager from Booker said “We are delighted to be supporting the Gastro Pub of the Year category. It is amazing to see the resilience, creativity and excellent mystery shopping feedback for our hardworking pubs across the county”.
Ian Kelland, Managing Director of World Cuisine Restaurant of the Year category sponsor, British Pepper & Spice commented “This is a great category for us. The originality and quality of the menus and the talent of their remarkable chefs is really noticeable this year. As in previous years, it is a difficult decision to select the individual winners from such a strong field”.
Finalists for the Booker Gastro Pub of the Year are:
The Kings Arms – Polebrook
The Old Talbot - Potterspury
The Rose & Crown – Yardley Hastings
The Sheaf – West Haddon
The Tollemache Arms - Harrington
Finalists for the Community Café of the Year are as follows:
Bennett’s – Thrapston
Bob’s Corby – Corby
Happy Mondays – Rushden
Lavender Bee Tea Room – Kettering
Polo Pavilion Tea Rooms – Winwick
The Place to Bee - Kingsthorpe
Finalists for Restaurant of the Year are:
Hopping Hare- Northampton
Karmana- Northampton
Marseille- Northampton
Murrays- Whittlebury Park, Towcester
Tap and Kitchen- Oundle
The Palmichael- Burton Latimer
Finalists for World Cuisine Restaurant of the Year are:
June Plum- Wellingborough
Little India- Earls Barton
Marmaris- Northampton
Mexican Fire Garden- Kettering
Voujon- Long Buckby
On 1st November, the accomplishments and successes of Northamptonshire Food and Drink businesses and individuals will be celebrated at the Gala Dinner at the Royal & Derngate.
For more details on the competition please call Rachel Mallows or 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
Artisan categories winners are announced
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Artisan Local Vegetarian/Vegan Product category sponsor Daily Bread in Northampton hosted the announcement of the results of this year’s Weetabix Northamptonshire Food & Drink Awards artisan producer categories.
Along with J Sweeney Accountants and Heygates Flour and Animal Feed, sponsors of Artisan Local Drink and Artisan Local Product respectively, it was an opportunity to spread the word that buying local is good for the economy and tastes good too.
Morcea Walker MBE, Vice Lord-Lieutenant of Northamptonshire and Kristina Rhianoff (former Strictly dancer and co-owner of Soo Yoga in Northampton) joined the celebrations to add their support to the finalists. The Bronze, Silver and Gold winners were presented with their certificates, and the Gold winners will be eligible to enter the Guild of Fine Foods Great Taste Awards in 2024.
The early announcements of these three categories was instigated during Covid to ensure that Bronze, Silver and Gold winners can promote their win during the summer.
Rachel Mallows MBE, Awards Director, said: “This has been an amazing year for our three produce and drink categories. At every stage of judging I have received such praise for the wares of our county. There is real innovation in these 21 products and several second-stage judges just couldn’t believe how representative they were of the county and what a strong regional offering we have. In fact, I asked judges to identify three to five finalists and all three categories decided on seven!”
The winners are:
Artisan Local Vegetarian/Vegan Product of the Year 2023/24, sponsored by Daily Bread
Gold
Mill House at The Old Stable Yard Tea Room
Strawberry & Rose Cake
Emily Armstrong from Mill House at The Old Stable Yard Team Room said: “It means absolutely everything to me, I started this four years ago and it’s an amazing achievement from where I came from, never being able to make a cake to now having an award-winning cake, it’s just incredible. I couldn’t be happier!”
Silver
Hamm Tun Fine Foods: Northamptonshire Blue
Sophisticake Creations: Carrot, Parsnip and Pecan Cake
Bronze
The Tollemache Arms: Harrington Wild Garlic Butter
Shoots & Spores: Fresh Oyster Mushrooms
Urban Microgreens: Salad Mix
Dovely Bakery: Rose Cottage Multi Seed Loaf
Artisan Local Product of the Year, sponsored by Heygates Flour and Animal Feed
Gold
Your Cool
Coffee Ice Cream
Jo Rutherford from Your Cool said: “This really means everything to me, I can’t quite believe it. I’m concentrating on using local ingredients in my products and I want to continue to do this. This is the reward I needed to show I’m doing something right.”
Silver
Hamm Tun Fine Foods: Shoetown Blue
The Boughton Estate: Boughton Estate Homemade Honey
Bronze
Made by the Beekeeper: New Lodge Vineyard Chili Honey
Friars Farm: Lemon Curd
Duston Village Bakery: Steak Pasty
F.F Tee Bakery: Northampton Cheesecake
Artisan Local Drink of the Year 2023/24 sponsored by J Sweeney Accountants
Gold
Silverstone Distillery
Club 80 Navy Strength London Dry Gin
Joe Mayhew from Silverstone Distillery said: “To win this award is incredible because you have a group of strangers who don’t know you, they’ve tried your product and chosen it from many other vendors. I’m incredibly proud, emotional and super privileged.”
Silver
Mee Blueberries: Blueberry Juice
Wild & Furrow: Oat Drink
Bronze
Winwick Hall Bruce Green Limited: Winwick Hall Methode Champenoise
Phipps Northampton Brewery Co Ltd: Phipps Foundry Mild
Three Hills Brewing Ltd: Heidrun Session NEIPA
Bearly Organised Ltd: Paw Another
The remaining categories will be announced at the Weetabix Northamptonshire Food and Drink Awards ceremony, to be held on Wednesday, November 1 at Northampton’s Royal & Derngate.
For more details on the competition please call Rachel Mallows or 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
Cooking up a storm - chef finalists announced
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The fifteenth year of the Weetabix Northamptonshire Food and Drink Awards is now gaining pace with judging well under way. However, there are still three exciting categories open for nominations.
Local Food Hero of the Year, won last year by the amazing team at Towcester Community Larder, is sponsored by Moulton College and recognises businesses, organisations or individuals who go over and above in the hospitality industry.
One to Watch, sponsored by Whitworth Bros. is for businesses less than five years old. The Flavour Trailer, last year’s Gold award winners, are certainly living up to the One to Watch name. Finally, there’s the Healthy Food and Wellbeing Workplace Award, sponsored by wellbeing champions Delapre Abbey. If you think there’s someone that deserves to be recognised and celebrated send your nominations to sophie@themallowscompany.com
There were bumper entries for the Whitco Chef of the Year category. Trying to keep it current, the competition had a theme of ‘on a budget’. Produce kindly supplied by Booker and Aubery Allen was used in a skills test of vegetable soup, followed by a cooking challenge using limited ingredients with the main item of lamb leg single muscle cuts, all to be finished off with an egg-based dessert.
This led to some debating from the judges as to who the front runner might be.
The skills tests were kindly hosted by new Associate Sponsors Tresham College, Bedford Group at The Manna House in Corby. Principal Robin Webber-Jones said: “We train people for this industry. It made sense that we supported the awards. I want to be able to showcase to our students what they can aspire to be. The chefs today have all interpreted the ingredients in their own unique styles. The dishes were not only stunning to look at but tasted great too”.
The Whitco Chef of the Year finalists for 2023/24 are: Laszlo Bodnarjuk from The Palmichael; Reece Coles from Hops and Chops; Piotr Czarnocki from Gourmand Pierre Private Dining; Zak Perrin from The Falcon at Fotheringhay; Adam Phillips from The Falcon at Castle Ashby; and Daniel Webster from Websters Catering and Events.
Last year’s Booker Young Chef of the Year Gold Award winners Hannah Dunne and Shawn Monk have been lucky enough to spend a day in the kitchen with decorated chef Chris Galvin. Along with his brother, Chris has spearheaded the revival of high-quality French bistro cuisine in the UK at Galvin La Chapelle.
Meanwhile, this year’s finalists met at the ever-supportive Northampton College to contest the title. With produce kindly supplied by Thomas Farm Shop, Friars Farm, Northampton Charcuterie Company and Shoots & Spores, their challenge was to delight the judges with belly pork and tenderloin of pork.
Awards patron Mary Laing, said: “Huge amounts of credit is due to our young chefs today, producing such an amazing standard of dishes. They will also learn vast amounts from this experience and I hope it will help them to pursue their future career within the county.”
The Booker Young Chef of the Year Finalists for 2023/24 are: Thomas Giles from The Falcon at Castle Ashby; Levi Moukam from The Falcon at Fotheringhay; Harvey Tapp from the Snooty Fox at Lowick; and Jade Walter from Rushton Hall.
The Gold award winners for the Booker Young Chef of the Year and Whitco Chef of the Year categories will be announced at the awards celebrations taking place on November 1 at the Royal & Derngate theatre.
The winners and runners-up in each category will be decided by a second stage judging process and winners will be announced on 4th August at The Daily Bread.
For more details on the competition please call Rachel Mallows or 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
judges are wowed at the calibre of Northamptonshire's artisan producers!
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Artisan Local Drink finalists
Northamptonshire is back! As the contenders for the County's Food Awards are revealed, the judges are wowed at the calibre of Northamptonshire's artisan producers.
The Fifteenth Weetabix Northamptonshire Food and Drink Awards, launched on the first day of spring at Silverstone Circuit, have now begun the shortlisting process. 21 of the County's best artisan food and drink products have been announced as finalists, they will now compete for Gold, Silver, and Bronze in their respective categories.
J Sweeney Accountants have joined sponsors Heygates and Daily Bread to support the three Artisan producer categories: Artisan Local Drink, Artisan Local Product and Artisan Local Vegetarian/Vegan Product. The ‘Artisan’ classification includes products from companies that make a high-quality or distinctive product in small quantities, usually by hand or using traditional methods.
Park Inn by Radisson Northampton, new Associate sponsors were kind to host Artisan Local Drink. The judges were amazed by the range of drinks available in our county, when asked to shortlist to between 3-5 products could not reduce the number of finalists to less than 7!
Sam Toyne from Phipps commented, ”I'm delighted about getting through to the finals as this was our apprentice brewer, Josh's first solo recipe for us. It was supposed to be a one off but it's proven so popular it has been added to our permanent range of real ales. To have a brand new recipe performing as well as our traditional recipes gives us security for the future of Phipps.”
Honey was a sticking point with the judges at Northampton Active for our Artisan Local Product shortlisting. They were wowed by the international influence and wide range of products that had been shortlisted.
Eat Curious, last year’s winner of Artisan Local Vegetarian/Vegan Product provided a scenic venue at Horton for judging this year’s entries. Category sponsor Daily Bread commented that since COVID Northamptonshire is now “back” offering such a high range of quality products.
No stranger to the Awards and its benefits, Gary Bradshaw of Hamm Tun Fine Foods, last year won Silver in Artisan Local Product with his Northamptonshire Blue, is back with a bang after a devastating fire in the winter losing all his stock, being named as a finalist in both Product categories. “It’s good to have some recognition for all my hard work. Sales have been slow, if it wasn’t for all the food shows I wouldn’t still be here. I can’t make enough of the Shoetown Blue it’s my most popular product by far, it’s so consistently good. What a fantastic way to mark my 10th year in business”.
Rachel Mallows MBE DL, Awards Director, said:
“Across all 3 categories, judges reported it was such a hard decision and could not meet my maximum 5 shortlist. Not only were the produced in Northamptonshire products and drinks wide ranging but every judging session had feedback about the exceptional taste. We were so pleased that entries in each category were at least 30% new producers to the awards.”
These prestigious Northamptonshire Awards aim to celebrate all that is great about local produce and drink, recognising excellence within the County’s dining venues and reward those who work so hard within the culinary sector.
Finalists for all three categories are:
Artisan Local Drink of the Year, sponsored by J Sweeney Accountants
Barely Organised- Paw Another Light Session Mead
Mee Farmers- 100% Blueberry Juice
Phipps Northampton Brewery Co Ltd- Phipps Foundry Mild
Silverstone Distillery- Club 80- Navy Strength Gin
Three Hills Brewing- Heidrun session NEIPA
Wild & Furrow- Oat drink
Winwick Hall Bruce Green Limited- Winwick Hall Methode Champenoise
Artisan Local Product of the Year, sponsored by Heygates:
Duston Village Bakery- Steak Pasty
Friars Farm- Lemon Curd
Hamm Tun Fine Foods- Shoetown Blue
Made by the Beekeeper- New Lodge Vineyard Chilli Honey
F.F Tee Bakery- Northampton Cheesecake
The Boughton Estate- Boughton Estate Homemade honey
Your Cool- Coffee ice-cream
Artisan Local Vegetarian/ Vegan Product of the Year, sponsored by Daily Bread:
Dovely Bakery – Rose Cottage Multi Seed Loaf
Hamm Tun Fine Foods- Northamptonshire Blue
Mill House at the Old Stable Yard Tearoom- Strawberry & Rose Cake
Shoots & Spores- Fresh Oyster Mushrooms
Sophisticake Creations- Carrot, Parsnip & Pecan Cake
The Tollemache Arms- Harrington Wild Garlic Butter
Urban Microgreens- Salad Mix
Artisan Local Vegetarian/Vegan Product finalist- Strawberry & Rose Cake. Mill house at The Old Stableyard Tea room
The winners and runners-up in each category will be decided by a second stage judging process and winners will be announced on 4th August at The Daily Bread.
For more details on the competition please call Rachel Mallows or 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
‘Not so Greedy Gordons Pub Group offers support to local Awards’
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Richard and Sonya outside The Pig and Waffle
The Weetabix Northamptonshire Food & Drink Awards is in full swing for its 15th year. Recognising and celebrating excellence in the food and drink in the County, the competition only runs with the generosity of sector sponsors.
Business partners Richard Gordon and Sonja Harvey have a combined experience of 50 years in hospitality. They joined forces at The Golden Lion in Wellingborough in 2011. The Greedy Gordons Group was born in 2019. They now have 4 sites across Northamptonshire and employ 100 local people.
Richard and Sonja wanted to sponsor the Awards, having seen the other side of entering the competition. Their record is quite remarkable with wins every year since they started the Greedy Gordon group:
• Winner Booker Food Pub with The Red Lion, Cranford 2019/20
• Gold F&B Achiever 20/21 and COVID 19 Local Food Hero
• Gold Booker Dining Venue with The Pig & Waffle, Grafton Underwood 21/22
• Gold Booker Dining Venue with The Snooty Fox, Lowick 22/23
Their Buttery café @ GG Express opened in the beautiful village of Woodford in October 2022 with space for a home for GG Express Deliveries, born in COVID, next door. Set to open next month, newly named GG Express Farmshop, will showcase a delicious selection of local produce. Avid supporters of all things local; including sponsoring a fence at The Dingley Point to Point recently where Richard’s father was the vet for some 30 years. Richard said “We are stepping aside and letting others in with a chance to win this amazing accolade. I’ve always been a big supporter of local Awards and we know very well the benefit of entering!” The team have jumped over the fence and are proud sponsors in this year’s Awards backing ‘Restaurant of the Year 2023/24. Sonja added “We are very much looking forward to being part of the sponsorship and support behind the Awards this coming year”.
On 9-10th June The Greedy Gordons Group are supporting The Music Barn Festival 2023 in Cranford, home of the jewel in their crown, The Red Lion, offering food & drink. Fundraising for Northamptonshire charities such as The Hope Centre in Northampton and Kettering Street Pastors, where the festival has to date raised around £60k for local charities.
The Award team is currently looking for Nominations and Mystery Shoppers for our World Cuisine (sponsored by British Pepper & Spice), Booker Gastro Pub (sponsored by Booker), Community Café (supported by The Good Loaf) and Restaurant of the Year (sponsored by The Greedy Gordon Pub Group) categories. Do you have a favourite 'Date night' venue that always puts a smile on your face? If you enjoy dining out and are looking for somewhere to go might you be able to help us?
Throughout July and August all nominations and entries for our 4 dining categories are Mystery Shopped before the finalists are decided. Email us to register your interest or nominate your favourites. Let us know how far you would be willing to travel and any cuisine requests or detests. Do your bit to help your local favourites receive their 'stamp of approval'. Put them in for a shot of winning an award at our Celebration Black Tie Dinner on 1st November at The Royal and Derngate.
For more details on the competition please call Rachel Mallows or 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
A cocktail of numbers and beverages. Food and Drink Awards announce new Sponsor for Artisan Local Drink!
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Joseph Skinner- Partner
It’s an exciting year for the Artisan Local Drink category, with new sponsor J Sweeney Accountants, A modern accounting firm based in Pitsford, Northampton, confirmed to champion the category. The team of knowledgeable and friendly accountants and tax advisors with over 50 years of experience said “We are delighted to be sponsoring the Artisan Local Drink Award. The Northamptonshire Food & Drink Awards is well known and as our business has grown, we have established ourselves as accountancy leaders within the hospitality sector, so when the opportunity came up to sponsor this category we were delighted to support. We encourage the food and drink community to enter and look forward to celebrating with finalists and sponsors at the Awards evening.”
Rachel Mallows, Awards Director toasted the exciting new collaboration with ‘we are so delighted to welcome James and the team at J Sweeney Accountants on board for our 15th year of the Weetabix Northamptonshire Food & Drink Awards. Local producers need our support more than ever, with soaring ingredients and staff costs. We not only nourish and treat ourselves through our food and drink consumption, we build friendships, families and communities through this sector from our home cooking to eating out. We need to recognise and celebrate this”.
Previous award winners know how much this competition can mean to a business or producer. “You don’t realise until afterwards how much difference it can make to your business” John Folliott- Vaughn one of last year’s gold award winners from Stonyfield Wines in Blisworth with his English Quality Sparkling Rose 2018.
"Winning Gold has been fantastic for raising the profile of the distillery and our spirits, especially to a local audience. It has also led to a few collaborations with other local businesses which again is great for increased brand awareness."’ Laurence Conisbee, Silver Artisan Local Drink 2021/22 with their Old Silson Gin and Gold F&B Achiever. Laurence also secured Gold and Bronze in last year’s Artisan Local Drink of the year with Lactodurum Gin and Solstice Malt Whisky from their Towcester based, Wharf Distillery.
Entries for this year’s Artisan Local Drink, Local Product and Local Vegetarian/Vegan products close on 19th May. All Gold awards winners are offered the exceptional opportunity to be entered in the Great Taste Awards.
The free-to-enter categories in this year’s Awards (with their respective sponsors) are:
Artisan Local Drink of the Year (J Sweeney Accountants)
Artisan Local Product of the Year (Heygates Flour and Animal Feed)
Artisan Local Vegetarian / Vegan Product of the Year (Daily Bread)
Booker Gastro of the Year (Booker)
Booker Young Chef of the Year (Booker)
Community Café of the Year (Supported by The Good Loaf)
Event Venue of the Year (Hilton Garden Inn)
Farming Environment Award (Weetabix Growers Group)
F&B Achiever of the Year (Howes Percival LLP)
Food and Drink College Student of the Year (University of Northampton)
Healthy Food and Wellbeing Award (Delapré Abbey)
Local Food Hero of the Year (Moulton College)
One To Watch (Whitworth Bros. Ltd Flour Millers)
Outstanding Contribution to Food & Drink (All Things Business)
Restaurant of the Year (Greedy Gordons)
Weetabix Sustainability Award (Weetabix)
Whitco Chef of the Year (Whitco)
World Cuisine Restaurant of the Year (British Pepper & Spice)
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 1st November 2023 at The Royal & Derngate Theatre, supported again by caterers Portfolio Events.
For more details on the competition please call Rachel Mallows or 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
Back for their fifteenth Year, the 2023/24 Culinary Awards Revealed!
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Towcester Community Larder Volunteers with their Gold Award
The Weetabix Northamptonshire Food and Drink Awards is back for its fifteenth 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 eighteen fantastic categories this year, which includes the introduction of a debut category: Event Venue of the year and with that, welcomes a fresh sponsor, the Hilton Garden Inn, Silverstone. New sponsors also joining the competition this year are, Greedy Gordons (Restaurant of the Year), University of Northampton (Food and Drink College Student of the year) and new Associate sponsor, Bedford College.
New sponsor Greedy Gordons Pub Group, winner of Booker Dining Venue for the Snooty Fox at Lowick last year, is now sponsoring Restaurant of the Year. Richard Gordon said ‘we have had huge success over the last five years and it’s time to make way for others to take these accolades and all the glory that goes with it. We could not be more thrilled to sponsor this fantastic category and are excited and looking forward to this year’s events.’
Thanks to ongoing support from headline sponsor, Weetabix has committed to another three years with the competition representing the Burton Latimer company’s commitment to the county’s hard working food and drink sector. The breakfast giant will once again be joined by existing category sponsors All things Business, Booker, Daily Bread, Delapre Abbey, Whitco, Heygates Flour and Animal Feed, Howes Percival LLP, Moulton College and Whitworth Bros Ltd Flour Millers.
Stuart Branch, Group People and Technology Director at Weetabix said ‘We’re thrilled and proud to be headline sponsor to the Awards for a fourth year. Being directly involved with the judging process, seeing first-hand the impact these awards can have on local businesses growth and development is an honour. We are proud to see the vast range of venues, producers, chefs, businesses and organisations that these prestigious Awards support and celebrate.
The full details of the latest competition were revealed by Awards Director, Rachel Mallows MBE, at the launch which took place (Monday 20th March) at Silverstone Circuit, Silver Award Winners of the Healthy Food and Wellbeing Award 2022. Rachel set off the Awards launch with ‘super close to the country’s iconic starting line, the county’s foods and drink and hospitality sector gets ready to be nominated, entered, judged, and have the chance to win and celebrate their achievements. I want to highlight the Importance of recognition through the Awards, so I start here today thinking about last year, hoping the launch of 2023 is going to be about moving into prosperity after Brexit, Covid and cost of living. We can’t kick off this competition without mentioning the hard work of this sector, the hundreds if not thousands of individuals who work so hard in Food and Drink and in hospitality. We not only nourish ourselves through food and drink consumption, but we also build friendships, we enjoy our family’s and communities through this sector, through our home cooking to eating out. Let’s see what 2023 will bring!’ Rachel also revealed an exciting change to the dining categories. Booker will now sponsor both the Young Chef of the Year and revised category ‘Gastro Pub of the Year’.
This year’s launch also revealed new Awards Patron, David Foskett MBE, member of the Royal Academy of Culinary Arts, Craft Guild of Chefs and a fellow of the Institute of Hospitality. He’s also been voted one of the most influential people in the hospitality public sector. The Awards team are very excited to have David on board.
Previous Award winners like John Folliot-Vaughn, Artisan Local Drink, Gold Award winner 2022/23 Stonyfield Wine were able to reflect on their successes of the competition since winning; ‘you don’t realise until afterwards how much difference it can make to your business’. Katie Steele from the Towcester Community Larder, who won Gold in the Local Food Hero category last year said, our success in the Awards has been fantastic for our profile and making ourselves visible to not just businesses within the community but also to users of our service. Having this acknowledgement that we are open to everyone, and our purpose is about saving food from waste and getting it out to the communities was invaluable.
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 Gastro of the Year (Booker)
Booker Young Chef of the Year (Booker)
Community Café of the Year (Supported by The Good Loaf)
Event Venue of the Year (Hilton Garden Inn)
Farming Environment Award (Weetabix Growers Group)
F&B Achiever of the Year (Howes Percival LLP)
Food and Drink College Student of the Year (University of Northampton)
Healthy Food and Wellbeing Award (Delapré Abbey)
Local Food Hero of the Year (Moulton College)
One To Watch (Whitworth Bros. Ltd Flour Millers)
Outstanding Contribution to Food & Drink (All Things Business)
Restaurant of the Year (Greedy Gordons)
Weetabix Sustainability Award (Weetabix)
Whitco Chef of the Year (Whitco)
World Cuisine Restaurant of the Year
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 1st November 2023 at The Royal & Derngate Theatre, supported again by caterers Portfolio Events.
For more details on the competition please call Rachel Mallows or 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
Weetabix Northamptonshire Food and Drink Awards
The Mallows Company (07103621)