Winners of the Food and Drink Awards 2007
Winners of the Food and Drink Awards are revealed
The winners of the Coventry & Warwickshire Food and Drink awards were revealed last night at a prestigious awards ceremony held at The Belfry Hotel in Warwickshire. The highly coveted awards, which are in their 6th year, were designed to encourage and reward quality, excellence and the innovative use of local produce.
This year, the awards attracted more entries than ever before. Around 150 businesses from across the region attended the ceremony to find out which were fortunate enough to scoop an award. Awards were given for ‘Best Restaurant’, ‘Best Café/Tearoom’, ‘Best Breakfast’, ‘Best Ethnic Restaurant’, ‘Best Junior Chef’, ‘Best Local Producer’ and ‘Best Coventry & Warwickshire Food and Drink Festival Menu’.
All short listed entries were automatically entered into two further awards: ‘Excellence in Quality and Customer Service’ and ‘Champion of Local Produce’. The top three nominated entries in each category were visited anonymously by independent judging panels Quality in Tourism who work on behalf of VisitBritain.
Set in 550 acres of countryside, the 4 star Belfry Hotel provided the perfect backdrop for the prestigious ceremony. The evening got underway with a drinks reception before guests enjoyed a 3-course gourmet dinner devised by Laura Bailey, Chef de Parti from the Banqueting Department who won an internal Junior Chef competition. The menu consisted of Pumpkin Soup, Warwickshire Beef Wellington and Winter Berries steam pudding.
The nominees were announced and the winning entries were presented with their awards after dinner. The winners received a plaque and certificate to acknowledge their award.
And this year’s winners are…..
Best Restaurant
The Granville @ Barford, nr Warwick (Winner)
The Restaurant at Organic Gardens Ryton (Highly Commended)
The Bell Inn at Alderminster, nr Stratford-upon-Avon (Commended)
Best Café/Tea Room
Compton Verney (Winner)
Thomas Oken Tea Rooms, Warwick (Highly Commended)
Wylies Café Tearoom & Food Emporium, Warwick (Commended)
Best Breakfast
The Restaurant at Organic Gardens Ryton (Winner)
Bubbenhall House Bed & Breakfast, Bubbenhall (Highly Commended)
Ashton Lodge Country Hotel & Restaurant, Street Ashton (Commended)
Best Ethnic Restaurant
Turmeric Gold, Coventry (Winner)
Agra Palace, Nuneaton (Highly Commended)
Balti Cottage, Coleshill (Commended)
Best Local Producer
Lighthorne Lamb (Winner)
19 Gales Farmhouse Foods, Bentley, nr Atherstone (Highly Commended)
Turkey Talk, Balsall Common
Best Junior Chef
Daniel Osborne, Planters Restaurant, Freasley (Winner)
Chris Poole, Ashton Lodge Country House Hotel (Highly Commended)
Anthony Brandl, Holiday Inn Leamington Spa/Warwick (Commended)
Excellence in Quality and Customer Service
Compton Verney (Joint Winner)
Turmeric Gold (joint Winner)
Champion of Local Produce
The Granville @ Barford (Winner)
Best Coventry & Warwickshire Food and Drink Festival Menu
Planters Restaurant, Freasley, North Warwickshire
Anne Cumberlidge, Tourism Business Adviser for Coventry & Warwickshire stated "The quality and standard of the entries have been very impressive this year. The awards are a fantastic way in which to celebrate the winner’s achievements and to receive the recognition they deserve for their hard work and dedication. We congratulate them all."
Running alongside the awards scheme was the successful Coventry & Warwickshire Food and Drink Festival which took place from 28 September - 4 November.
The awards are run by a steering group of representatives from North Warwickshire Borough Council, Nuneaton & Bedworth Borough Council, Rugby Borough Council, Stratford-on-Avon District Council, Warwick District Council, Warwickshire County Council, CVOne, Shakespeare Country, Fresher by Miles, Heart of England Fine Foods, Henley College, the Chamber of Commerce & the Regional Centre for Tourism Business Support with support from Advantage West Midlands.
