I attended my fifth Food & Drink Awards – let’s lift the lid on what it’s really like to go to a ceremony that welcomes hundreds
I attended my fifth Weetabix Northamptonshire Food & Drink Awards, so let’s lift the lid on what it’s really like to go to a prestigious ceremony that welcomes hundreds from across the county.
The countdown was over last Thursday (October 15) when the awards returned to the Royal & Derngate for their eighteenth year and we met the newly-crowned gold winners for 2026/27.
The Weetabix Northamptonshire Food & Drink Awards continue to shine a spotlight on local culinary excellence by recognising and celebrating the county’s brilliant people, places and producers – and, like I said in last week’s coverage, it was a joy for the Chronicle & Echo to be there once again.
There were 20 award categories to watch as the gold, silver, bronze and commended results were revealed at the much-loved annual evening attended by hundreds – but what is the event really like?
The immersive James Bond theme and black tie dinner, with nods to 007 throughout the entire evening, has to have been my favourite over the past half a decade I have been attending.
The attention to detail was second to none – the red carpet arrival, cocktail drinks reception, music performed by the Lincoln Noel Quartet, every course with a Bond-esque name, and even 007 adorned the top of the espresso martini cheesecake.
Most guests were dressed up to the nines in their black tie outfits, and you can tell they really took the opportunity to enjoy their night off with others from the food and drink industry and let their hair down in style.
Everywhere you looked around the room – packed to the brim with round tables for guests to enjoy the three-course meal by Portfolio Events and watch the awards be presented – there was someone having a long overdue catch up with another they know and admire.
It is impossible to walk through the room without bumping into someone you recognised from across the county, but it was refreshing to see so many new faces get to experience the magic of the Food & Drink Awards having been named a finalist for the first time.
Another special part of the evening is that you do not know who you will be sitting with until you arrive and see the seating plan. Every year I have met a new business owner or food producer that I admire, and this year it was Louise Ely from Bakeworks Co.
Bakeworks Co, which offers sweet treats free from gluten, dairy and soya as well as vegan options, was awarded gold in the One to Watch category and bronze for her cinnamon rolls in the Artisan Local Vegetarian/Vegan Product of the Year category.
The mother-of-two supplies handmade free-from bakes direct to customers, cafes and farmers’ markets, and earlier this year she expanded to offer a self-service bake shed outside her home in Thrapston.
Louise, who also creates celebration cakes, says her passion for free-from baking is driven by personal experience with her mum having developed coeliac disease – and she cannot stand the thought of anyone missing out due to intolerance or allergy.
The hard work and passion exuded from Louise and so many other business owners and producers in the room last Thursday, which is why the Food & Drink Awards is and will continue to be such a special event in this county.
It was a joy to see the hard work of founders, teams, producers and venues pay off, and for them to have a night off to celebrate themselves and others across Northants. In true James Bond style, the evening concluded with the chance to play on casino tables and have a dance.