News and views | What makes the BBC Food & Farming Awards special

News and views

What makes the BBC Food & Farming Awards special

Today (January 5th) nominations open for the 2014 BBC Food & Farming awards which celebrate the best producers, shops and food and drink businesses in the UK.

The calibre of the people who win is always terrific so I’m really excited to be part of the judging panel this year which also includes Sheila Dillon, presenter of the Food Programme, TV chefs Raymond Blanc, Richard Corrigan and Valentine Warner, fellow drinks writers Victoria Moore and Pete Brown and writer and broadcaster Tim Hayward,

My own category, which I’ll be judging with the lovely Charles Campion of Masterchef fame, is Best Food Retailer, which was won last time by Eurospar, an independent supermarket in Dolgellau, North Wales.

Other categories include Best Food Market, Best Street Food or Takeaway, Best Food Producer, Best Drinks Producer, Best Initiative in British Food, Outstanding Farmer of the Year and BBC Cook of the Year which is awarded to someone who is preparing tasty, healthy meals on a budget in a hospital, school, care-home or other workplace. There’s also an award for Food Personality of the Year and the Derek Cooper Lifetime Award for the individual or organisation whose life’s work has brought about real change in our relationship with food.

The great thing about the awards is that the initial nominations come from you, the public - you can submit them through a form on the Food & Farming Awards website. The judges for each category draw up a shortlist of three which has to be approved by the entire judging panel then (this is the fun bit) we visit the finalists who could be anywhere from Land's End to John O’Groats. After these visits the final winners have to be approved by the whole panel.

The awards will be announced in Bristol on May 1st, the first day of the city's brilliant new 10 day food festival, Bristol Food Connections whose own site launches tomorrow. All pretty exciting for us Bristolians.

So over to you. Tell us about the most inspiring and passionate UK food and drink producers and retailers you know, checking out the nomination forms to see the information we need and the terms and conditions of entry. Charles and I particularly look forward to hearing about your favourite food shops. Nominations close on January 27th.

You can see 2012’s award-winners here and listen to The Food Programme's broadcast on this year's awards at 3.30 tomorrow on Radio 4 or on iPlayer.

 

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