Fifteen finalists in the Weetabix Northamptonshire Food and Drinks Awards announced
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After facing a very challenging six months, some of the county’s top eateries have been given the ultimate morale booster after fifteen were 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 recognises those who work so hard within the culinary sector to provide customers with fabulous food, superlative service and mouth-watering menus.
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Hide AdThese awards are assessed by a willing band of mystery shoppers, who visited the eateries over the summer. The chosen fifteen venues are now competing for further glory in two of the award’s prestigious categories.
The first category, ‘Booker Dining Venue of the Year’ - which is sponsored by Booker - sees nine of Northamptonshire’s best pubs and restaurants go head-to-head.
These are:
Hibiscus, Northampton
Italian Market Kitchen, Rothwell
Nuovo, Northampton
The Griffin’s Head, Mears Ashby
The Hopping Hare, Northampton
The Red Lion, East Haddon
The Saracen’s Head, Little Brington
The Tollemache Arms, Harrington
The Willow and Brook, Apethorpe
The second category, ‘World Cuisine Restaurant of the Year’ - which is sponsored by British Pepper & Spice - has six top scorers from among the plethora of entries:
Hashtag Justinas Chef, Northampton
Nazreen, Burton Latimer
Oren Pho, Northampton
Saffron, Northampton
The Exotic Dining, Kettering
Truva Charcoal Bar & Grill, Towcester
There were concerns that these categories may not be able to go ahead after the enforced closure of venues earlier this year as a result of lockdown.
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Hide AdAwards Director, Rachel Mallows MBE DL, said: “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.
“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.”
Mystery shoppers visited a record number of entries throughout the summer. Ms Mallows goes on to pay tribute to those who played their vital role in the process.
She said: “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!
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Hide Ad“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!”
The finalists in both categories have already been secretly assessed twice as part of the shortlisting process and are currently being visited by two external mystery shoppers. They will score the finalists on everything from staff knowledge of the menu to use of local ingredients, speed of service and food quality as well as the standard of their wash rooms.
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 12 November.
For more information on the Weetabix Northamptonshire Food and Drink Awards,, please visit the Awards’ website. Alternatively, contact Rachel Mallows on 01933 664437 or email her at [email protected].