Forty-six of Cumbria’s best restaurants, dining pubs, cafes, chefs and food businesses are today named as finalists in the 2018 Cumbria Life Food & Drink Awards.

The seventh annual celebration of the county’s vibrant food and drink sector takes place at Kendal College on Thursday, March 22, hosted by journalist, broadcaster and food critic Jay Rayner.

The prestigious Restaurant of the Year category will be chosen from Ambleside’s Old Stamp House and Lake Road Kitchen, and The Castle Dairy in Kendal, while the hotly contested Dining Pub of the Year sees north Cumbrian newcomer Pentonbridge Inn, near Longtown, up against previous winners The Drunken Duck, near Ambleside and The Punch Bowl at Crosthwaite.

Other newcomers making their mark are Mathilde’s in Grasmere, nominated in Best Cafe and Best Newcomer, and Penny Blue at the Halston in Carlisle, also a finalist in Best Newcomer.

Producers and specialist retailers are recognised in the Taste Cumbria section of the awards, with Ginger Bakers, Lakeland Mues and Lovingly Artisan competing for the Best Food Producer award, and a new category for Best New Product showcasing Blood Orange Rooibos tea from Tea Keepers, Black Garlic Ketchup from Hawkshead Relish and Sourdough Toasting Loaf from More? The Artisan Bakery.

The finalists were chosen by a distinguished panel of judges chaired by chef and restaurant consultant Steven Doherty and Graham Wilkinson, principal of Kendal College.

The other judges are Mary Houston, head of food development for The Westmorland Family Group; Stephanie Thompson and Keith Sutton, Cumbria Life’s restaurant critics; Mike Bevans, former hotelier and columnist for Taste Cumbria magazine; Richard Axford, assistant head of school for the Lakes School of Hospitality and Management at Kendal College; and Rachael Oakden, editor of Taste Cumbria magazine.

Cumbria Life readers made more than 1,000 nominations for their favourite places to eat, and the judges used these in conjunction with visits, reviews, and industry accolades to decide the finalists and winners.

The Cumbria Life Readers’ Award is judged on reader nominations alone, while The Taste Cumbria awards required businesses to submit an entry form.


The evening ends with special awards including Rising Star, Lifetime Achievement and Outstanding Contribution.

Editor Richard Eccles said: “We’re in our seventh year and the Cumbrian food and drink scene just gets better and better. 2017 has been a year of new venues, investment, innovation and accolades which set the scene for an exciting and closely contested 2018 awards night.”

Host Jay Rayner is a regular on television screens, appearing as a judge on MasterChef and a food pundit on The One Show. He hosts the BBC Radio 4 food panel show The Kitchen Cabinet and is a feature writer and restaurant critic for The Observer.

He said: “I’m delighted to be presenting the Cumbria Life Food & Drink Awards. They’re an excellent way to spotlight the best of the region’s offering and can only help to raise standards across the sector. It should be a cracking night.
Jay Rayner

“There’s a lot of talk these days about the relationship between landscape and its food; nowhere in Britain is it taken more seriously than in Cumbria and the Lake District.

“Anybody like me, with an overly developed interest in their dinner, can only be thrilled by the brilliant food stories offered by the region.”

The awards are held in association with Kendal College and north west retailer Booths, which supplies the produce for the awards night dinner, which is cooked and served by Kendal College students under the direction of assistant head of school for hospitality and management Richard Axford.

Profiles of all the finalists will be published in the March issue of Cumbria Life, out on Thursday February 22.

THE 2018 FINALISTS

RESTAURANT OF THE YEAR

Castle Dairy, Kendal

Lake Road Kitchen, Ambleside

Old Stamp House, Ambleside

HOTEL RESTAURANT OF THE YEAR

Cottage in the Wood, Whinlatter Forest, near Keswick

The Forest Side, Grasmere

Hrishi, Gilpin Hotel and Lake House, near Windermere

CASUAL DINING RESTAURANT OF THE YEAR

Foxborough, Carlisle

Steam Bistro, Coniston

Three Hares, Sedbergh

CHEF OF THE YEAR

Hrishikesh Desai, Hrishi/Gilpin Spice, Gilpin Hotel and Lake House, near Windermere

Chris O'Callaghan, The Castle Dairy, Kendal

Kevin Tickle, The Forest Side, Grasmere

DINING PUB OF THE YEAR

Drunken Duck, near Ambleside

Pentonbridge Inn, near Longtown

The Punch Bowl, Crosthwaite

FOOD & DRINK PUB OF THE YEAR

The Black Swan, Ravenstonedale

Dog & Gun, Skelton

George & Dragon, Clifton, near Penrith

Hare & Hounds, Levens

Wheatsheaf, Brigsteer

CAFE OF THE YEAR

Beetham Nurseries, Milnthorpe

Chesters, Skelwith Bridge

Homeground, Windermere

Mathilde’s, Grasmere

The Yard Kitchen, Penrith

BEST NEWCOMER

Mathilde’s, Grasmere

Penny Blue, Carlisle

Pentonbridge Inn, near Longtown

CUMBRIA LIFE READERS’ AWARD

1863, Pooley Bridge

Comida, Kendal

Dockray Hall, Penrith

TASTE CUMBRIA AWARDS

BEST FOOD RETAILER

Black Hand Wine, Penrith

Fyne Fish, Cockermouth

Peace & Loaf Bakehouse, Barrow-in-Furness

BEST FOOD PRODUCER

Ginger Bakers, Kendal

Lakeland Mues, Wigton

Lovingly Artisan, Kendal

BEST DRINKS PRODUCER

Carvetii Coffee, Threlkeld

Kin Toffee Vodka, Newby Bridge

Shed 1 Gin, Ulverston

BEST NEW PRODUCT

Blood Orange Rooibos, Tea Keepers, Kirkby Lonsdale

Black Garlic Ketchup, Hawkshead Relish, Hawkshead

Sourdough Toasting Loaf, More? The Artisan Bakery, Staveley

BEST FOOD INITIATIVE

Food Banks at Booths

Kendal People’s Cafe, Kendal

The World’s Original Marmalade Awards, Dalemain

SPECIAL AWARDS

The following awards will be announced on the night

RISING STAR AWARD

TASTE CUMBRIA FOOD & FARMING AWARD

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION TO CUMBRIAN FOOD AND DRINK