They are the last finalists of the Weetabix Northamptonshire Food and Drinks Awards to be revealed, however they are by no means the least. The Awards team is excited to announce the hunt for Local Food Heroes, Healthy Food and Wellbeing organisations and the Food and Drink College students is now completed and ready to celebrated!Â
The Food and Drink College Student of Year Award is aimed at students aged between 16 and 21 currently undertaking a full or part-time food/drink-related course at a Northamptonshire college (Moulton, Northampton or Bedford). It is designed to recognise students showing drive, commitment and passion for the sector, those demonstrating exceptional progress in skills development who are keen to learn and who are a young ambassador for learning about food and drink. One judge emphasised how they felt really inspired by what they had heard from the talented students.
Finalists for the Food and Drink College Student of the Year are:
Bilal Ismail, Northampton College
Elizabeth Knott, Moulton College
Will McGowan, Bedford College, Corby
Tia (Echo) Morris, Northampton College
Luke Wolstencroft, Bedford College, Corby
The team behind the Awards is delighted with the introduction of the debut category: Healthy Food and Wellbeing Award which also welcomes a fresh sponsor, Delapré Abbey Preservation Trust. This category is designed to recognise producers in Northamptonshire who manufacture healthy food and those businesses and organisations who provide healthy food and wellbeing initiatives for their staff (defining ‘healthy food’ as those lower in fat, salt and sugars which can be used as part of a balanced diet).
Richard Cllinton, CEO of Delapre Abbey said: “It was impressive to see such a breadth and quality of healthy food products being produced in Northamptonshire, showing great innovation by these producers to support people to lead healthier lifestyles. It was equally impressive to see the level of care and attention employers are placing in supporting their employees to achieve greater wellbeing in and outside of their workplaces. Once again the awards have shown the exceptional talents that exist within the counties food and drink sector.”
Finalists for Healthy Food and Wellbeing of the Year are:
Producers:
Kebab-ish, Bite me spices
Organic Wheatgrass Juice, Britt’s Superfoods
Tomato and Red Pepper Relish, Friars Farm
Cucumber & Dill Sauerkraut, Millie Pickles
Chocolate flavour Super Shake, Nasty Vegan
Businesses and Organisations:
Mercedes-AMG HPP
Northampton General Hospital
Silverstone Circuits Ltd
Sol Havens CIC
Local Food Hero of the Year category, sponsored by Moulton College, invited the public to nominate a person, business or organisation which they believed had done more in the last year to promote local food and/or utilizing that food for others than any other.
Once again, the number of nominations in this category was higher than ever before and highlights the huge effort of many individuals and businesses to promote and develop the food and drink sector within Northamptonshire and, with so many heroes out there, choosing a winner is set to be a tough decision!
Finalists for Local Food Hero of the Year are:
Community Health Works UK CIC
Elliott’s Rectory Farm, Moulton
Foodkind CIC, Northampton
Jamie’s Quality Butchers, Kettering
The Green Patch, Kettering
Towcester Community Larder, Towcester
The finalists have until Wednesday 12th October to discover their fate when the Bronze, Silver and Gold winners in all fifteen categories of this year’s competition will be announced at the Awards Dinner taking place at Royal & Derngate in Northampton.
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