Finalists for the Sussex Food & Drink Awards 2010/11 have been announced and 24 of Sussex’s fantastic food and drink heroes have made it through on public voting and expert judging to make an enticing final line up.
Said Clive Beddall OBE, Chairman of the Judges: “The awards are celebrating their fifth anniversary this year and they continue to grow in popularity with thousands of members of the public voting for hundreds of their favourite Sussex farmers, food and drink producers, young chefs, food/farm shops, butchers, eateries and farmers markets.
“We have seen a record number of different businesses and individuals receiving votes this year –familiar, quality names have appeared again and we are excited to see many new names emerge, proving that these awards are reaching every corner of the county and that Sussex continues to produce some of the UK’s best food and drink heroes.”
All 24 finalists will have to wait a few more weeks to discover who the winners are which will be announced at the Sussex Food & Drink Awards banquet, to be held at the East Sussex Golf Resort & Spa on 27th January 2011.
This black tie event promises to be the best yet, celebrating the awards’ fifth birthday! A Sussex bubbly and ale reception (sponsored by Harveys) will get the party started and then, using the very best local produce, AA rosette chef Andy Wiles has created a fantastic banquet with seven courses including game, fish, fruits, cheeses and other Sussex goodies.
Said, Paula Seager, MD of Natural PR which organise the awards: “The awards ceremony is always such a fantastic evening and this year’s banquet is going to be a true celebration of the amazing food and drink that Sussex has to offer. A sense of anticipation builds throughout the evening until winners are announced and trophies presented BAFTA-style with host Danny Pike from BBC Sussex. There is nothing contrived or stuffy about these awards, just a lively and fun celebration of our Sussex food heroes.”
To buy tickets for this fabulous event, email: sandra@naturalpr.biz or call Natural PR on 01273 857242.
The finalists are:
Best Sussex Farmer's Market
Lewes
Shoreham
Uckfield
Sussex Farmer of the Year sponsored by Knill James
Tim Hassell, Home Farm, Goodwood
Jenny & Trevor Passmore, Church Farm, Coombes
Shon and Simon Sprackling, Rother Valley Organics, Petersfield
Best Sussex Food/Farm Shop sponsored by Mayo Wynne Baxter
Cheese Please, Lewes
Plaw Hatch Farm Shop, Sharpthorne
Sussex Produce Company, Steyning
Sussex Food Producer of the Year sponsored by Musgrave Retail Partnership
Caroline's Dairy, Sidlesham
Nut Knowle Farm, Horam, nr Heathfield
Plaw Hatch Farm, Sharpthorne
Sussex Drink Producer of the Year sponsored by Natural PR
Dark Star Brewery, Horsham
Hepworths Brewery, Horsham
World Coffee, Lindfield
Best Sussex Eating Experience sponsored by a Taste of Sussex
The Curlew, Bodiam
Restaurant Tristan, Horsham
Simply Delicious, Bognor Regis
Sussex Young Chef of the Year sponsored by Blue Spark Organisation
Simon Duncan, Sam's of Brighton
Steven Edwards, South Lodge, Horsham
Hanna Payne, the Pass at South Lodge, Horsham
Sussex Butcher of the Year sponsored by Leonards
S K Hutchings, Partridge Green
New Street Butchers, Horsham
Tablehurst Farm Shop, Forest Row
Thursday, 25 November 2010
Friday, 19 November 2010
Sussex Young Chef of the Year finalists announced
Six talented young chefs from across the county fought it out in the hotly contended Sussex Young Chef of the Year ‘cook off’, sponsored by Blue Spark Organisation, as part of the Sussex Food & Drink Awards 2010/11.
The six shortlisted chefs were selected by public vote and faced enormous pressure this year having to produce a full three-course menu, based on local and seasonal ingredients, as opposed to the one course in previous years.
The cook off was hosted by City College Brighton & Hove and the young chefs faced a nail biting wait before having to perform against the clock, producing each dish under the watchful eyes of the expert judging panel chaired by Clive Beddall OBE, Chairman of the Sussex Food & Drink Awards.
After much deliberation from the judging panel, organisers are delighted to announce the top three going through to the final are two young chefs from South Lodge Hotel in Horsham, 24-year-old Steven Edwards, Sous Chef for the main hotel and 23-year-old Hanna Payne from The Pass Restaurant; and joining them is the youngest candidate this year, 20-year-old Simon Duncan from Sam’s of Brighton.
Dhrutee Davé, Director of Haywards Heath based food recruitment agency, Blue Spark Organisation, said: “It has been a fantastic experience to be sponsors of this very popular category this year. The six candidates truly proved themselves in a very intense cook off and all were worthy of a place in the final – it was an extremely difficult decision for the judges to choose the top three as all the dishes were outstanding, but Simon, Hanna and Steven were exceptional and their dishes were truly delicious.”
Said Clive Beddall OBE, Chairman of the Judges: “This year the quality was the best we have ever had – the young chefs were calm and extremely professional and the food was unbelievably good. I’m very excited about the future of food in Sussex with these young chefs making their mark here. We want the three who didn’t make it through this year to please come back again next year as they were excellent and picking the three finalists was a very hard decision.”
Runners up, Will Stanyer from Hotel Du Vin, Brighton; Daniel Whittle from Temptation café, Brighton and Bradley Jordan from Restaurant Tristan, Horsham fought a close battle against the other three finalists. Steven, Simon and Hanna now face another two months of waiting to see who the overall winner is which will be announced at the Sussex Food & Drink Awards dinner, to be held at the East Sussex Golf Resort & Spa on 27th January 2011 and hosted by Danny Pike from BBC Sussex.
Organisers have already opened sales for tickets to attend the awards dinner, now dubbed the ‘Sussex foodie event of the year’. This black tie event promises to be the best yet, celebrating the awards’ 5th birthday and includes a Sussex bubbly and ale reception, sponsored by Harveys; a stunning seven-course banquet dinner using the very best Sussex produce, created by the talented Andy Wiles, East Sussex National’s head chef; lots of entertainment; and a lively Oscars-style awards presentation.
Visit the website www.sussexfoodawards.biz to find out how to buy tickets for this fabulous event or call Natural PR on 01273 857242 for more information.
The six shortlisted chefs were selected by public vote and faced enormous pressure this year having to produce a full three-course menu, based on local and seasonal ingredients, as opposed to the one course in previous years.
The cook off was hosted by City College Brighton & Hove and the young chefs faced a nail biting wait before having to perform against the clock, producing each dish under the watchful eyes of the expert judging panel chaired by Clive Beddall OBE, Chairman of the Sussex Food & Drink Awards.
After much deliberation from the judging panel, organisers are delighted to announce the top three going through to the final are two young chefs from South Lodge Hotel in Horsham, 24-year-old Steven Edwards, Sous Chef for the main hotel and 23-year-old Hanna Payne from The Pass Restaurant; and joining them is the youngest candidate this year, 20-year-old Simon Duncan from Sam’s of Brighton.
Dhrutee Davé, Director of Haywards Heath based food recruitment agency, Blue Spark Organisation, said: “It has been a fantastic experience to be sponsors of this very popular category this year. The six candidates truly proved themselves in a very intense cook off and all were worthy of a place in the final – it was an extremely difficult decision for the judges to choose the top three as all the dishes were outstanding, but Simon, Hanna and Steven were exceptional and their dishes were truly delicious.”
Said Clive Beddall OBE, Chairman of the Judges: “This year the quality was the best we have ever had – the young chefs were calm and extremely professional and the food was unbelievably good. I’m very excited about the future of food in Sussex with these young chefs making their mark here. We want the three who didn’t make it through this year to please come back again next year as they were excellent and picking the three finalists was a very hard decision.”
Runners up, Will Stanyer from Hotel Du Vin, Brighton; Daniel Whittle from Temptation café, Brighton and Bradley Jordan from Restaurant Tristan, Horsham fought a close battle against the other three finalists. Steven, Simon and Hanna now face another two months of waiting to see who the overall winner is which will be announced at the Sussex Food & Drink Awards dinner, to be held at the East Sussex Golf Resort & Spa on 27th January 2011 and hosted by Danny Pike from BBC Sussex.
Organisers have already opened sales for tickets to attend the awards dinner, now dubbed the ‘Sussex foodie event of the year’. This black tie event promises to be the best yet, celebrating the awards’ 5th birthday and includes a Sussex bubbly and ale reception, sponsored by Harveys; a stunning seven-course banquet dinner using the very best Sussex produce, created by the talented Andy Wiles, East Sussex National’s head chef; lots of entertainment; and a lively Oscars-style awards presentation.
Visit the website www.sussexfoodawards.biz to find out how to buy tickets for this fabulous event or call Natural PR on 01273 857242 for more information.
Monday, 8 November 2010
Royal Pavilion Ice Rink opens this week!
The Royal Pavilion’s first ever outdoor real Ice Rink opens its gates to the public this week - on November 13th until January 16th. The first skaters at 10am on Saturday will be given scrummy free hot drinks by Due South, who are running the ice rink restaurant.
School choirs which book to perform Christmas songs at the rink on weekdays at 4.15 during the next two months, will be offered free skating and will also help attract well-wishers to support the Argus Appeal team, who will be collecting for local charities then.
School choirs should email organiser Shella Parkin at shella.parkin@virgin.net with their details, suggested dates and how many children will be singing. School groups can also book tickets at the discounted price of £4 per head off-peak, which can be booked from Ticketmaster on 0844 844 2121.
The rink, which also has a stunning heated restaurant created by Due South, promises to dazzle Brighton this Christmas, providing a superb experience for people in the city, as well as attracting thousands of visitors from elsewhere. It is the only rink in the country with its own pre-school crèche, beginners’ area and ‘penguin’ skate aids especially for youngsters, and aims to be the Christmas rink for families to visit outside of London.
Shella Parkin of Laine Ltd, behind the attraction, said: “We’re really excited about bringing a real ice outdoor rink to Brighton for Christmas 2010. We hope to create a genuinely festive experience with a traditional feel, raising the bar for rinkside dining and going out of our way to make children and families feel welcome and hope to raise plenty of money for charity too.”
With the former Royal pleasure palace as backdrop, the 700 square metre rink has space for 200 skaters per session and the team behind the scheme, who are working with the Royal Pavilion and Brighton & Hove City Council, anticipate thousands of visitors.
Royal Pavilion Ice Rink tickets cost from £9.50-£11 for adults and from £6.50-£7.50 for children under 12 and the one-hour skate times run from 10am to 10.15pm daily, on sale online at www.ticketmaster.co.uk or by calling 0844 847 2352.
Known for its commitment to locally sourced ingredients, Due South’s fully licensed rinkside restaurant, open 9am to midnight, will serve passing customers with warming, seasonal dishes including Castle Farm steak & real ale pie, Honey roasted ham hock with buttered mash and a rich organic cider sauce, South Downs venison curry with rice and poppadom, seasonal fruit crumbles, cakes baked daily and luxurious ice creams. It also offers scrumptious party menus and Christmas dinners – pre-book by calling 01273 821 218.
For tickets for the Royal Pavilion Ice Rink, please visit: www.ticketmaster.co.uk, call: 0844 847 2352 or book in person at Ticketmaster ticket centres.
School choirs which book to perform Christmas songs at the rink on weekdays at 4.15 during the next two months, will be offered free skating and will also help attract well-wishers to support the Argus Appeal team, who will be collecting for local charities then.
School choirs should email organiser Shella Parkin at shella.parkin@virgin.net with their details, suggested dates and how many children will be singing. School groups can also book tickets at the discounted price of £4 per head off-peak, which can be booked from Ticketmaster on 0844 844 2121.
The rink, which also has a stunning heated restaurant created by Due South, promises to dazzle Brighton this Christmas, providing a superb experience for people in the city, as well as attracting thousands of visitors from elsewhere. It is the only rink in the country with its own pre-school crèche, beginners’ area and ‘penguin’ skate aids especially for youngsters, and aims to be the Christmas rink for families to visit outside of London.
Shella Parkin of Laine Ltd, behind the attraction, said: “We’re really excited about bringing a real ice outdoor rink to Brighton for Christmas 2010. We hope to create a genuinely festive experience with a traditional feel, raising the bar for rinkside dining and going out of our way to make children and families feel welcome and hope to raise plenty of money for charity too.”
With the former Royal pleasure palace as backdrop, the 700 square metre rink has space for 200 skaters per session and the team behind the scheme, who are working with the Royal Pavilion and Brighton & Hove City Council, anticipate thousands of visitors.
Royal Pavilion Ice Rink tickets cost from £9.50-£11 for adults and from £6.50-£7.50 for children under 12 and the one-hour skate times run from 10am to 10.15pm daily, on sale online at www.ticketmaster.co.uk or by calling 0844 847 2352.
Known for its commitment to locally sourced ingredients, Due South’s fully licensed rinkside restaurant, open 9am to midnight, will serve passing customers with warming, seasonal dishes including Castle Farm steak & real ale pie, Honey roasted ham hock with buttered mash and a rich organic cider sauce, South Downs venison curry with rice and poppadom, seasonal fruit crumbles, cakes baked daily and luxurious ice creams. It also offers scrumptious party menus and Christmas dinners – pre-book by calling 01273 821 218.
For tickets for the Royal Pavilion Ice Rink, please visit: www.ticketmaster.co.uk, call: 0844 847 2352 or book in person at Ticketmaster ticket centres.
Thursday, 4 November 2010
Bluebell railway kittens to star at Black Cat Day on Sunday
Three four-week-old black kittens rescued from a parked Bluebell Railway steam engine will be the stars of the show at Cats Protection’s family fun Black Cat Day this Sunday 7th November. The event, which takes place in Chelwood Gate, Sussex, aims to match cats with new owners and raise funds, with fun games, stalls, face painting, a bouncy castle and much more.
There were originally five kittens, found by a Bluebell Railway train driver freezing to death and without their mother, on October 1st. Karen Thompson, Deputy Director of the National Cat Centre came to the rescue and put the kittens inside her clothes, against her skin, and rushed them back to the centre to warm them up. Sadly two had already succumbed to hypothermia and didn’t make it – but the other three, who have been named Percy, Emily and Thomas by Cat Centre staff, have been hand reared and staff and volunteers at the centre take it in turns to take them home and feed them through the night.
Said Karen Thompson: “They are doing unbelievably well and we’re so glad to have been able to save them. We hope that they will be ready for adoption in five weeks’ time.”
“We are finding it more and more challenging to find homes for the cats at our centre and need all the support we can get - we have a huge number of delightful cats which will make great pets. They have all been vaccinated, health-checked and neutered and we need to find loving owners for them,” said Tania Marsh, Deputy Manager of the cat centre.
“Black cats are even harder to find homes for than others and we currently have 48 at the centre, so our annual Black Cat Day is about opening our doors to local cat lovers as well as providing a fun day for families to enjoy. Whether you are looking to adopt a cat, or just want to have a really great day out, you will be supporting us by coming along.”
The fun starts at 10am and runs until 4pm and includes a tombola, raffle and ghost walk. Children can also enter the Halloween costume fancy dress and scariest carved pumpkin competitions if they bring their pumpkins along. The Fire Brigade will also be there to provide budding young officers the chance to experience their fire engine between 12-2pm. Most activities are indoors but, if the weather is good, the grounds include delightful woodland and a lake to enjoy, with dogs welcome outside.
Black Cat Day runs from 10am-4pm on 7th November at the National Cat Centre, Chelwood Gate, Haywards Heath, RH17 7TT. Entry is free, although a donation of a tin of cat food on arrival would be hugely appreciated!
There were originally five kittens, found by a Bluebell Railway train driver freezing to death and without their mother, on October 1st. Karen Thompson, Deputy Director of the National Cat Centre came to the rescue and put the kittens inside her clothes, against her skin, and rushed them back to the centre to warm them up. Sadly two had already succumbed to hypothermia and didn’t make it – but the other three, who have been named Percy, Emily and Thomas by Cat Centre staff, have been hand reared and staff and volunteers at the centre take it in turns to take them home and feed them through the night.
Said Karen Thompson: “They are doing unbelievably well and we’re so glad to have been able to save them. We hope that they will be ready for adoption in five weeks’ time.”
“We are finding it more and more challenging to find homes for the cats at our centre and need all the support we can get - we have a huge number of delightful cats which will make great pets. They have all been vaccinated, health-checked and neutered and we need to find loving owners for them,” said Tania Marsh, Deputy Manager of the cat centre.
“Black cats are even harder to find homes for than others and we currently have 48 at the centre, so our annual Black Cat Day is about opening our doors to local cat lovers as well as providing a fun day for families to enjoy. Whether you are looking to adopt a cat, or just want to have a really great day out, you will be supporting us by coming along.”
The fun starts at 10am and runs until 4pm and includes a tombola, raffle and ghost walk. Children can also enter the Halloween costume fancy dress and scariest carved pumpkin competitions if they bring their pumpkins along. The Fire Brigade will also be there to provide budding young officers the chance to experience their fire engine between 12-2pm. Most activities are indoors but, if the weather is good, the grounds include delightful woodland and a lake to enjoy, with dogs welcome outside.
Black Cat Day runs from 10am-4pm on 7th November at the National Cat Centre, Chelwood Gate, Haywards Heath, RH17 7TT. Entry is free, although a donation of a tin of cat food on arrival would be hugely appreciated!
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