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.
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
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here