The organisers of Cumbria’s dedicated food awards have been overwhelmed by the response to their call for entries.
More than 1,400 nominations from members of the public and entries from business owners were received for the second independent Cumbria Food Awards.
The figure is approximately three times the number of entries made for the first awards, held last March.
An independent panel of 15 judges, chosen for their knowledge of the county’s hospitality industry and their foodie expertise, now has the tricky task of deciding on a shortlist of three contenders for each of the 13 awards up for grabs.
Chef of the Year, Café of the Year, Restaurant of the Year and Food Producer of the Year are among this year’s categories, with the finalists announced later this month.
The 2023 awards, in association with Caterite, are due to take place on Thursday, March 16 at Kendal College and will be hosted by the winner of the 2019 BBC MasterChef competition, speaker and cookbook author Irini Tzortzoglou.
Students from the college’s highly regarded hospitality department will prepare, cook and serve canapés for a reception, followed by a two-course meal, for 150 finalists, sponsors and guests, before Irini announces the winners.
The free-to-enter awards are supported by media partner Cumbria Crack, Booths, Patron Simon Rogan, Eden District Council and sponsors and are organised by designer Lindsay Molloy and journalist Michaela Robinson-Tate.
Michaela said: “We were hoping that entries for the 2023 awards would build on the first, highly successful year but we were bowled over by the final figure of 1,400.
“From new producers to established hotels and restaurants, all aspects of Cumbria’s award-winning hospitality industry are represented. We can’t wait to hear what the judges think of this year’s entries.”
To follow the awards, see www.cumbriafoodawards.co.uk and Cumbria Food Awards on Twitter and Instagram
