Vote in St Albans and Harpenden Food and Drink Awards
It’s time to vote for your favourite local café, food shop, bar, restaurant and food producer in the St Albans and Harpenden Food and Drink Awards 2015.
Voting goes live at 10am on Friday 17 July. Your vote will help decide the winners of these prestigious annual awards that celebrate local food establishments and producers. The deadline for voting is midnight on Sunday 16 August.
The winners will be announced during St Albans and Harpenden Food and Drink Festival 2015 which runs from Tuesday 22 September to Monday 5 October.
The awards are organised by St Albans City and District Council with the support of an independent steering group of advisors.
You can vote on our website in the following ten categories from Friday 17 July:
• Best Bar
• Best Independent Food/Drink Shop
• Best Café
• Best Newcomer
• Best Local Producer
• Best Local Restaurant
• Best Pub
• Best Takeaway
• Most Family Friendly Venue
• Kate D’Arcy Award for customer service. This is a special award in memory of Kate D’Arcy, a popular local restaurateur who died in 2010. The award recognises a person who has exceeded normal expectations by providing outstanding service and delivering a faultless experience.
The public vote will be used to create a top three in each category. A winner for each category will then be selected by the independent steering group.
There is also a special Food and Drink Champion award. The winner will be selected by the steering group as the most successful overall.
Cllr Beric Read, Portfolio Holder for Community Engagement and Localism for St Albans City and District Council, said: “Residents and visitors to St Albans and Harpenden can enjoy an extremely high standard of food and drink. These awards provide a fantastic opportunity to celebrate the people and businesses that make our City and District a great food and drink destination for visitors. I encourage everyone to vote now for your favourite local restaurant, café, pub, takeaway and food producer.”
The shortlist for each voted category will be revealed at the end of August. All the award winners will be announced at the Food and Drink Awards’ Dinner at Sopwell House on Monday 5 October.
Any candidate or business can download a poster from our website to display about the Food and Drink Awards.
More information about the St Albans and Harpenden Food and Drink Awards is available on our website.
Councillor contact:
Cllr Beric Read, Portfolio Holder for Community Engagement and Localism for St Albans City and District Council
Contact for the media:
Ruth Boyer, Communications Officer, St Albans City and District Council
Tel: 01727 819316
E-mail: ruth.boyer@stalbans.gov.uk
Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/StAlbansCouncil
Notes:
1. Members of the steering group for the St Albans and Harpenden Food and Drink Awards include:
• Helen Burridge – St Albans City and District Council
• Councillor Beric Read – Portfolio Holder for Community Engagement and Localism for St Albans City and District Council
• Becky Alexander – Food Writer, Herts Advertiser
• Andrew Meredith – White Hart Tap
• Sonia McDonnell – Crumbs 'n' All Caribbean Cakes
• Richard Marrett – City Centre Manager
• Oliver Zissmann – That Design Store
• Andrei Lussmann – Lussmanns Restaurants
• Sally Walker –Events Officer at Harpenden Town Council
• Julia Jenkins – Flagship Wines Ltd
• Iain Loe – Campaign for Real Ale
• Keith Lunn – Harpenden Retail Forum.
2. Last year’s Food and Drink Champion Award was presented to Johnny Shepherd from The Pudding Stop. Full details of the winners of the St Albans and Harpenden Food and Drink Awards 2014 are available on our website