More Finalists Announced for the Weetabix Northamptonshire Food & Drink Awards

The Food & Drink College Student of the 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. We are delighted to have the University of Northampton as a new sponsor for this category and who will kindly offer our Gold Award winner 1:1 careers coaching.

Head of Events, Tourism & Hospitality at the University of Northampton, Inva Reic, commented after the judging: “This year’s Food and Drink College Student of the Year category was brimming with exceptional talent. Each and every candidate had a unique story and their passion for the food and drink industry really shone through. This made the judging panel’s decision really challenging! We are very grateful for the interest shown by the students this year. All of this makes us very hopeful for the future of Northamptonshire’s food and drink sector and we are also very excited to see what all of this year’s finalists do next in their careers.”

Finalists for the Food and Drink College Student of the Year are:

Cohen O'Dell, Northampton College

Chloe Matthews, Moulton College

Alex Mundey, Bedford College, Corby

Dante Newman, Bedford College, Corby

Cara Payne, Northampton College

Thomas Walshaw, Moulton College

Back for its 2nd year, the Healthy Food & Wellbeing Award is sponsored by Delapré Abbey Preservation Trust. This category is in 2 parts and is designed to recognise producers in Northamptonshire who manufacture healthy food, and also 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 Clinton, CEO of Delapre Abbey said “There was a good level of entrants this year, and fantastic to see such diversity across the products and workplaces we were judging. Great to see such a high level of passion with wonderfully tasting produce.”

Finalists for Healthy Food and Wellbeing of the Year are:

Producers:

Organic Wheatgrass Juice, Britt's Superfoods

Bresaola, Northampton Charcuterie Company

Chocolate Super Shake, Nasty Vegan

Carrot Cookies, The Loving Chef

Mango Explosion Granola, Salma Soulful

Businesses and Organisations:

Silverstone Circuits Ltd

Sol Havens CIC

Weatherbys

One to Watch, a category aimed at food and drink manufacturers or hospitality businesses who are less than 5 years old, and is designed to recognize their potential for major growth. Their future significant impact on the market is also taken into consideration as well as how this will raise the profile of Northamptonshire at a regional or national level.

Category sponsor Kim Osborne, Technical Accounts Manager from Whitworth Bros Ltd enthused: “Once again the level of entrants for the One to Watch category was outstanding. The dedication and enthusiasm from every one of the finalists made me proud to be involved. Northampton is continuing to raise the bar to show what can be achieved. I’m delighted to pass on my congratulations to all the finalists for their achievement.”

Finalists for One to Watch are:

Butterwick Bakery

Nasty Vegan

Restaurant Ember

Royal Oak, Naseby

Santina’s Wood Fired Pizza Co.

The category of F&B Achiever is designed to recognize a person who has made and/or continues to make a significant contribution to the sector. This may be awarded early in someone’s career, as recognition of original or creative ideas, or later, when someone has established a consistently outstanding record.

Category sponsor Jenna Bruce, Legal Director at Howes Percival says “A really strong set of finalists, so different, which made it a real challenge to judge. Their individual achievements are impressive in different ways. They are all such champions for the county using local suppliers and establishing themselves within the county and potentially internationally!”

Finalists for F&B Achiever are:

Joe Buckley, The Tollemache Arms, Harrington

Glenn Newman, G&D Newman Ltd

Steve Reid, Friars Farm

Nigel Wagstaff, Houghton Hams

Whites of Earls Barton

The winners will be announced on 1st November at Royal & Derngate.

For more information on the Weetabix Northamptonshire Food and Drink Awards 2023/24, please visit www.northamptonshirefoodanddrink.co.uk.

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