The winners of St Albans Food and Drink Awards tasted sweet success when they were presented with their awards at a glittering ceremony on 4 October.
The awards are a highlight of the annual St Albans Food and Drinks Festival which culminated with the Festival Finale food market on 7 October 2012. The award winners were voted for by the public through the
festival website.
The winners are:
Best Local Café (sponsored by Flagship Wines)
Winner: Bakehouse St Albans
Highly Commended: Soko Coffee
Local Producer (sponsored by Mokoko)
Winner: Redbournbury Mill
Highly Commended: Hedges Farm
Best Local Pub (sponsored by St Albans City & District Council)
Winner: Ye Olde Fighting Cocks
Highly Commended: The Boot
Best Local Bar (sponsored by the Herts Advertiser)
Winner: Mokoko
Highly Commended: The Peahen
Most Family Friendly Venue (sponsored by St Michael’s Manor)
Winner: Inn on the Park
Highly Commended: Bakehouse St Albans
Local Gem (sponsored by allaboutstalbans.com)
Winner: The Pudding Stop
Highly Commended: Heaven is a Cupcake
Best Local Restaurant (sponsored by St Albans City & District Council)
Winner: Lussmanns
Highly Commended: The Foragers at The Verulam Arms
Kate D’Arcy Award for Exceptional Customer Service
Lucy Clark from Heaven is a Cupcake
The evening ceremony was attended by the Mayor of St Albans City and District, Cllr Eileen Harris, and held at the St Michael’s Manor, St Albans. A raffle held at the awards ceremony in aid of the Mayor’s charities raised almost £600. The Mayor’s charities are Shelter, Centre 33 and Special Olympics St Albans.
Cllr Read, Portfolio Holder for Community Engagement and Localism for the Council, said: “The awards are a great celebration of the restaurants, cafés and local pubs in the District as well the wonderful food and drink produced by local producers. They are one of the highlights of this two-week festival which also includes cooking demonstrations and classes, wine tasting and a foodie quiz. The festival helps to support the local economy by putting the District on the culinary map and attracting visitors to its many eateries and pubs.”
The two-week festival included a Gourmet Night at the Poggenpohl studio on London Road which raised over £700 for Iain Rennie Grove House Hospice Care. Held on 1 October 2012, Ruth Hurren from Darcy’s and Andrei Lussmann from Lussmanns demonstrated their culinary skills to a packed audience.
The festival finished with the Festival Finale on Sunday 7 October in St Peter’s Street, St Albans. There were more than 40 stalls serving local produce and food from around the world. In addition, local chefs gave cooking demonstrations on the AGA Rangemaster Cookery Theatre. More than 5,000 people attended the event which also included music outside the Clock Tower.
Councillor contact:
Cllr Read, Portfolio Holder for Community Engagement and Localism for the Council
Tel: Mob: 07956 220264
Contact for the media:
Amanda Wilkinson,
Media and Internal Communications Officer
St Albans City and District Council
Tel: 01727 819317
E-mail: amanda.wilkinson@stalbans.gov.uk
www.stalbans.gov.uk
Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/StAlbansCouncil
Picture caption:
Winners of the Food and Drink Awards 2012, pictured with hosts Jonny Seabrook and Roma Bhowmick from Radio Verulam.