County celebrates its food and drink heroes

Our local food and drink heroes were honoured at the Carlsberg Northamptonshire Food and Drink Awards.

The event held at Royal & Derngate saw the county’s top restaurants, pubs, chefs and producers celebrated with awards covering all aspects of the food and drink industry.

The winners were:

Artisan Local Drink of the Year:

Winner: Triple ‘F’ Pure Apple Juice – Floyers’ Fruit Farm, Flore

Runner-up: Bell Ringer – Towcester Mill Brewery, Towcester

 

New Local Drink of the Year

Winner: Burnt Ox Blood – Nobby’s Brewing Company, Thrapston

Winner: Dream Catcher – Tea Lab Company, Northampton

 

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

Winner: Northamptonshire Blue – Hamm Tun Fine Foods, Hannington

Runner-up: Phipps Firkin – Neneview Dairy, Stanwick

 

Artisan Local Sweet Product of the Year (Sponsored by Moulton College)

Winner: Honey, Lemon and Ginger Marmalade – Nature’s Fayre, Thrapston

Runner-up: Dark Espresso Chocolate – Seed and Bean, Corby

Runner-up: Gooseberry and Elderflower Gelato – Ganders Goat, Cottingham

 

One To Watch (Sponsored by Whitworth Bros. Ltd Flour Millers)

Winner: Ganders Goat, Cottingham

Winner: Towcester Mill Brewery, Towcester

Hear our interview with the Ganders Goat team on our Listen Again page

 

Farming Innovation Award (Sponsored by Weetabix Growers Group)

Winner: Mee Farmers, Nassington

Runner-up: Courteenhall Farms, Courteenhall

 

Healthy Eating Workplace of the Year (Sponsored by Northamptonshire County Council)

Winner: Weatherbys Ltd, Wellingborough

Runner-up: John Lewis Plc, Northampton

Runner-up: Mercedes AMG High Performance Powertrains, Brixworth

Independent Café / Tea Room of the Year (Sponsored by Pidy UK):

Winner: Workbridge Coffee Shop, Northampton
Runner-up: The Bread & Butter Factory, Northampton

 

Spice Restaurant of the Year (Sponsored by British Pepper & Spice)

Winner: The Exotic Dining, Kettering 

Runner-up: Taste of Spice, Northampton

 

Restaurant of the Year (Sponsored by Whitco Catering and Bakery Equipment)

Winner: The Folly, Towcester  

Runner-up: Tap and Kitchen, Oundle

Booker Food Pub of the Year (Sponsored by Booker)

Winner: The Hopping Hare, Northampton
Runner-up: The Wheatsheaf Pub & Dining Room, Northampton

 

Great Service Award (Sponsored by Northampton College)

Winner: The Folly, Towcester

 

Chef of the Year (Sponsored by Dawn Farms and Cordant People)

Winner: Richard Walker – Fawsley Hall Hotel, Fawsley  

Runner-up: James Peck (Freelance Chef)

 

Booker Young Chef of the Year (Sponsored by Booker)

Winner: Victoria Austin – Highgate House, Creaton  

Runner-up: Arturs Dzerins – The Hopping Hare, Northampton

 

Community Pub of the Year (Sponsored by Carlsberg UK)

Winner: The Dukes Arms, Woodford  

Runner-up: The Sun Inn, Kislingbury

 

Weetabix Local Food Hero of the Year (Sponsored by Weetabix)

Winner: Steve Reid of Friars Farm, Northampton

Runner-up: The Good Loaf, Northampton

 

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

Winner: Tom Warner and Christina Warner-Keogh – Warner Edwards, Harrington  

 

Chairman’s Award

Winner: Alaric Neville – Phipps NBC, Northampton

Hear our interview with Alaric on our Listen Again page 

The evening also shone a spotlight on Eat Out Eat Well, a national scheme run here in the county by Environmental Health Northamptonshire which rewards caterers and eateries who make it easier for their customers to make healthy choices, and saw the top scoring Gold venues from five of the seven borough and district councils being celebrated for their achievement. They are:

 

Mille’s Café, Wellingborough

Mrs B’s in Rushden

Reg’s Café in Kings Sutton

The R Inn Hotel, Tapas Bar and Grill, Desborough

The Stables Café, Althorp