I’m not involved in the Foodie Awards anymore, but still think it’s lovely to shout about the fabulous local food and drink businesses in our area – so here’s a final call for entries.
The awards, organised by Talk Business in partnership with Visit Coventry and Visit Warwickshire, recognise great food and drink businesses across Coventry and Warwickshire through a range of categories from fine dining chef of the year to producer of the year and more.
They will culminate in a ceremony at The Box at FarGo Village, Coventry in June.
Winners of the awards will be decided by a panel of judges made up of some top local names in the food and drink industry, including Paul Foster of Salt in Stratford-upon-Avon and Glynn Purnell, who opened The Mount in Henley-on-Arden earlier this year.
Both chefs will be among those deciding on winners in several categories that focus on quality, service and innovation with an emphasis on farm to fork, including best artisan food and drink producers, farm shop, independent food and drink retailer, newcomer, street food trader and chef or cook of the year.
New categories this year will also recognise Foodie Start-up, Fine Dining Restaurant and Fine Dining Chef of the Year as well as the International Taste Award.
Foodie Awards Founder Jonathan Smith, from Talk Business UK, said: “With just two weeks to go before entries into this year’s Foodie Awards for Coventry and Warwickshire close, we are thrilled to have the support of local food hero and Michelin Star chef Paul Foster of Salt in Stratford-upon-Avon, who has agreed
to be a judge for the Fine Dining Chef of the Year category, which will take place at the Cookery School at The Farm in Stratford.
“We have been inspired by the entries we have received so far into all of the award categories and look forward to having them all assessed and the finalists chosen for the next stage and the Awards presentation event.
“The Foodie Awards shine a spotlight on the Food and Drink sector and give recognition to all those who work so hard across this sector to give us all wonderful eating and drinking experiences.”
The Foodie Awards will again be raising money for The Trussell Trust network of eight food banks in Coventry and Warwickshire.
All finalists will be invited to a Finalists’ Night on June 6th at a venue to be announced. The winners of the Fine Dining and Casual Dining categories will be decided at exclusive cook-off events in June. Paul Foster and Glynn Purnell will also be joined by BBC’s Junior Bake Off judge Ravneet Gill to judge the Best Casual Dining Chef during a live cook-off on the demo stage at Pub In The Park Warwick during the weekend of June 11/12th.
Nominations for the Foodie Awards close on May 15th – so there’s still time to enter. Get nominating your favourite businesses for any of the following categories:-
● Farm Shop
● Artisan Drink Producer
● Artisan Food Producer
● Independent Food/Drink Retailer
● Fine Dining Restaurant of the Year
● Fine Dining Chef of the Year
● Best Casual Dining Establishment
● Best Casual Dining Chef
● Pub or Bar of the Year
● Employee of the Year
● Best Food/Drink Experience
● Young Foodie of the Year
● Food Hero/Community Award
● Foodie Start-up (Business started in the last 12 months)
● International Taste Award
● Street Food Trader of the Year
● Café/Coffee Shop of the Year
● Coventry BID Award (exclusive to Coventry) – Sponsored by Coventry BID
Entries can be made via the Foodie Awards website here.
