Derbyshire’s finest food and drink venues are celebrating their success after
scooping top accolades at a prestigious food and drink awards ceremony.
The sixth Derbyshire Food and Drink Awards, organised by Derbyshire County Council,
were held on Thursday 25th October at Thornbridge Hall, Ashford-in-the-Water.
Winners and those receiving highly commended accolades in the six categories
were announced at the ceremony and presented with their awards by celebrity chef
Brian Turner and county council cabinet member for regeneration Councillor Geoff
Carlile.
The awards aim to find the best of Derbyshire’s eateries and establishments and
are judged on a number of criteria including the quality of food and drink, customer
service, use of county produce and acknowledgement of it on menus.
They are judged by an independent panel of food specialists including an AA inspector
and an assessor for Quality in Tourism, and each short-listed venue then has a
`mystery shopper’ visit.
The winners and highly commended venues are:
Best Restaurant:
- Winner - East Lodge, Rowsley
- Highly commended – `the dining room’, Ashbourne
Bistro/Pub:
- Winner - Devonshire Arms, Beeley
- Highly commended – Chequers Inn, Froggatt
Coffee House:
- Winner - Gallery Café, Ashbourne
- Highly commended - Peli-Deli, Matlock
Best Breakfast:
- Winner - Hodgkinson’s, Matlock Bath
- Highly commended - Stocks, Chapel-en-le-Frith
Restaurant in an Attraction:
- Winner - Chatsworth Carriage House
- Highly commended - Derby Playhouse
Local Food Hero:
- Winner – Mettricks of Glossop
- Highly commended – Scott’s Garden, Riber
Councillor Carlile said: “The awards celebrate Derbyshire’s reputation as a producer
of excellent quality food and drink and the council is very proud to stage them.
“I would like to congratulate all the winners and the highly commended venues
as well as thanking everyone who took part for making this year’s event another
huge success.”
Councillor Carlile added: “As well as putting Derbyshire firmly on the culinary
map, through the awards we can showcase our top quality food and drink venues
and help to promote Derbyshire as a major tourist destination, further boosting
local businesses and the economy.”
The awards come under the umbrella of the Derbyshire Food and Drink Initiatives,
sponsored by the Derby and Derbyshire Economic Partnership and the Alliance SSP,
which have also supported the Derbyshire Food and Drink Fair at Bolsover Castle
and the Derbyshire Food Festival. This year the awards have also been sponsored
by Midlands Co-op.
Royal Crown Derby and Denby Pottery each sponsored three categories at last night’s
awards, with some refreshments being donated by Field House Foods, Thornton’s,
Peak District Dairy, Pure Beans and National Forest Spring Water.
