Enjoy St Albans Food and Drink Festival Award Winners 2022 Revealed
A garden centre won a prestigious prize for its stunning café at the Enjoy St Albans Food and Drink Festival Awards.
Carpenter’s Nursery and Farm Shop took the Best Café title for its Potting Shed, a converted barn with views over open countryside.
It was one of eight awards that were announced at a glittering ceremony at St Michael’s Manor on Monday 3 October. Community radio station Mix 92.6 transmitted the event live.
Members of the Festival’s Steering Committee presented the trophies while among the guests was the Mayor of St Albans City and District, Councillor Geoff Harrison.
The Festival, now in its 15th year, is organised by St Albans City and District Council with the help of a steering group. SA Law and St Albans BID sponsor it.
Iain Woodhead, the Potting Shed’s Head Chef, said after receiving the award:
This is absolutely fantastic. Everyone has worked super, super hard and we have created a great café.
We had a wonderful night – everyone was coming over to our table to congratulate us which was really nice and much appreciated.
The winners were:
Restaurant of the Year: DavVero Italian Restaurant, The Quadrant, Marshalswick.
Best Pub or Bar: The Engineer, Southdown, Harpenden.
Best Café: The Potting Shed, Carpenter’s Nursery and Farm Shop, Sandridge.
Best Food or Drink Shop or Market Stall: Buongiorno Italia, Lattimore Road, St Albans.
Best Takeaway or Street Food: Peru Sabor, Charter Market.
Best Local Producer: Carpenter’s Nursery.
Best Newcomer: Punchin’ Palooka, Verulam Road, St Albans.
Kate D’Arcy Award for Customer Service: Charlie Powell of Charlie’s Coffee, London Road, St Albans..
Councillor Harrison said:
It is a tremendous honour to win one of these coveted awards because the competition is so intense and I congratulate all the winners.
They have put in a huge amount of hard work and shown great hospitality skills as well as a passion for what they do.
Councillor Chris White, the Council Leader who also attended, said:
I enjoyed meeting some of the finalists and came away hugely impressed with the contribution they make to our District.
The St Albans Food and Drink Awards is our way of celebrating the achievements of our local food and drink industry.
These awards help promote these outstanding businesses and highlight how much choice and value there is on offer when you eat, drink and shop locally.
Residents nominated venues and producers from around the District earlier this year in the eight categories. A shortlist was then drawn up for a public vote.
A panel from the Steering Committee selected a winner from the top three in each category after making surprise visits to the venues.
They chose the winners according to criteria such as product quality, customer service and atmosphere.
Pictures by Claire Connold: top, the Potting Shed staff, left to right, Pepi Brankova, Julie Madden, Danielle Hodges and Iain Woodhead are presented with the award by Monir Ali, far right, from the Festival Steering Committee; bottom, Cllr White (left) and Cllr Harrison, Mayor of St Albans City and District, at the event.
Media contact: John McJannet, Principal Communications Officer: 01727 819533, john.mcjannet@stalbans.gov.uk.