The Weetabix Northamptonshire Food and Drink Awards are back with another sensational set of categories and sponsors. The Awards are a celebration and recognition of excellence within the Northamptonshire food and drink sector. They are a toast to all that is great about local produce and drink and reward all those who work so hard to achieve the best within the culinary sector locally.  

The team behind the Awards have announced eighteen categories including the introduction of a debut category: Event Venue of the Year and with that, 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. 

The full details of the latest competition were revealed by Rachel Mallows MBE 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 families 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 all the categories in the Weetabix Northamptonshire Food and Drink Awards 2023/24, including entry and nomination forms, please visit the Awards’ website – www.northamptonshirefoodanddrink.co.uk - or call Sophie on 01933 664437 or email [email protected]

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