26 October 2020
After facing arguably the most challenging six months in their history, some of the Northamptonshire’s top eateries have been given a timely and much-needed boost, having been named as finalists in this year’s Weetabix Northamptonshire Food and Drink Awards.
The annual competition celebrates all that is great about local produce and drink and recognises those who work so hard within the culinary sector while it is for their fabulous food, superlative service and mouthwatering menus – assessed by a willing band of mystery shoppers over the summer – that fifteen venues are now competing for further glory in two of the Awards’ prestigious categories!
The first, that of ‘Booker Dining Venue of the Year’ (sponsored by Booker), sees nine of the county’s best pubs and restaurants go head-to-head. They are (in alphabetical order):
Meanwhile, the six top scorers from among the plethora of entries into the ‘World Cuisine Restaurant of the Year’ category (sponsored by British Pepper & Spice) are (in alphabetical order):
Following the enforced closure of venues earlier in the year as a result of lockdown, there were concerns that these categories may not have been able to go ahead but, as Awards Director, Rachel Mallows MBE DL, explains, that was never her fear: “Based on what venue owners were telling us, we just knew that the appetite was there for us press on, so we’re thrilled that, despite having to rethink so much of the competition this year, our sponsors have supported us throughout and enabled us to proceed with these vital categories” she revealed.
‘I’m therefore thrilled to see some new names being celebrated and not at all surprised to see some former winners, runners-up and finalists on the shortlists as they, more than anyone, appreciate what success in these awards means and what a difference it will make as we head towards what of course look set to be some further tough months ahead” Rachel added.
She also went on to pay tribute to those who played their vital role in the process – those secret diners who visited the record number of entries throughout the summer: “So many of our mystery shoppers have performed the task for a number of years and, aside from a handful who were shielding for health reasons, the response to being invited to the role was overwhelmingly positive, with so many being delighted to have the excuse to get out, try out some different eateries and perhaps even find a new favourite!” said Rachel.
“Having personally seen all of their scoresheets and knowing therefore how incredibly hard our shortlisted venues are working to create both safe and superlative experiences for their diners, I would encourage the county’s foodies to go out and offer their support to all of our finalists – something which they need now more than ever!” she urged.
Having already been secretly assessed twice as part of the shortlisting process, the finalists in both categories are currently being visited by two external Mystery Shoppers who will score them on everything from staff knowledge of the menu to use of local ingredients, speed of service, and of course the quality of the food itself – not to mention the standard of their washrooms!
The results, which will see finalists across all twelve categories being awarded gold, silver or bronze, will be announced as part of a virtual online Awards celebration taking place on Thursday 12th November.
For more information on the Weetabix Northamptonshire Food and Drink Awards 2020/21, please visit the Awards’ website at www.northamptonshirefoodanddrink.co.uk or call Rachel Mallows on 01933 664437 or email [email protected]
Meanwhile you can also follow the Awards, including news of the finalists in all of the categories as they are announced, on Facebook at @foodawards or Twitter and Instagram at @foodawardsHQ or on LinkedIn at @weetabixnfadawards
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