Sussex Food & Drink Awards Winners

Celebrations were in full flow last night [Thursday 26 January] at this year’s spectacular Sussex Food & Drink Awards ceremony, where eight of Sussex’s top food and drink producers were hailed as local heroes and received their trophies at the American Express Community Stadium.

A record-breaking 11,000 people voted for over 350 Sussex food and drink businesses and individuals in the sixth Sussex Food & Drink Awards 2011/12 and Chairman of the Judges, Clive Beddall OBE, noted that Sussex is now seen as one of Britain’s true centres of excellence for food and drink by national food buyers.

He continued: “Research shows that, despite economic downturn, demand for locally sourced food has actually accelerated during the past 12 months and more than half the country’s shoppers now say they are prepared to pay extra for local food.

“The Sussex Food & Drink Awards celebrate the exceptional standards of quality and innovation that have taken the county’s producers into the top half of the UK’s Premier League for locally produced food and drink. “

Over 350 leaders in the food, drink and farming industries gathered for what is now dubbed ‘the Sussex foodie event of the year’, with all tickets sold out. Guests were treated to a wonderful ‘Sussex bubbly and ale reception’, sponsored by Harvey & Son and Carr Taylor, followed by a stunning seven-course banquet. The menu featured an array of Sussex goodies including: Sussex duck; locally caught lemon sole; roast cutlet and braised breast of Sussex lamb; treacle tart with Willetts farm ice cream; a selection of local cheeses and Sussex ground coffee with Sussex bubbly truffles.

Winners were announced in a BAFTA-style presentation, hosted by Danny Pike of BBC Sussex. The consistency of standards in Sussex was highlighted with second time wins for Shoreham for Best Sussex Farmers Market, sponsored by Harveys Brewery, and The Sussex Produce Company in Steyning for Best Sussex Food/Farm Shop, sponsored by the South Downs National Park Authority and Collabor8. Phil and Steve Hook of Longleys Farm in Hailsham were also second time winners in the Sussex Farmer of the Year category sponsored by Knill James Accountants.

The Foragers in Hove won the Best Sussex Eating Experience, sponsored by Mayo Wynne Baxter; and Bramptons Butchers in Brighton’s Kemp Town was awarded Sussex Butcher of the Year, sponsored by Natural Farms.

Sussex Food Producer of the Year, sponsored by the Southern Co-operative, was awarded to High Weald Dairy in Horsted Keynes; Wobblegate pure apple juice in Bolney came out on top in the Drink Producer of the Year, sponsored by the Sussex Food & Drink Network; and the much coveted title of Sussex Young Chef of the Year, sponsored by Natural PR, went to 24-year-old Paul Peach who works at the Horse Guards Inn in Tillington.

Paula Seager, MD of Natural PR which runs the awards, said: “Tonight has been a wonderful celebration and we are so proud that these awards have played a part in building the reputation of Sussex as one of the best food destinations in the country and home to some of the most creative and exciting producers of exquisite food and drink.

“As ever, the awards would not be possible without the support from all our wonderful sponsors and the many great organisations and individuals involved and we hope that we can continue to make these awards a success for many years to come.”

For more information on all the winners and the awards please visit www.sussexfoodawards.biz

Sussex Food & Drink Awards 2011/12 Winners:
Best Sussex Farmer's Market – sponsored by Harveys Brewery
Winner - Shoreham
Runners up – Lewes & Steyning

Sussex Farmer of the Year sponsored by Knill James
Winner – Phil and Steve Hook, Longleys Farm, Hailsham
Runners up - Jenny & Trevor Passmore, Church Farm, Coombes, Lancing, Robin and Kevin Ashby, Willetts Farm, Blackham

Best Sussex Food/Farm Shop sponsored by the South Downs National Park and Collabor8
Winner – The Sussex Produce Company, Steyning
Runners up – Cheese Please, Lewes & Sharnfold Farm Shop, Stone Cross, Nr Pevensey

Sussex Food Producer of the Year sponsored by the Southern Co-operative
Winner – High Weald Dairy, Horsted Keynes
Runners up – Caroline’s Dairy, Sidlesham, Nr Chichester, Daylands Farm, Ashurst

Sussex Drink Producer of the Year sponsored by the Sussex Food & Drink Network
Winner – Wobblegate pure apple juice, Bolney
Runners up – W J King Brewers, Horsham & Highdown Vineyard, Ferring

Best Sussex Eating Experience sponsored by Mayo Wynne Baxter
Winner – The Foragers, Hove
Runners up - Simply Delicious, Bognor Regis and Tottington Manor, Edburton, Nr Henfield

Sussex Young Chef of the Year sponsored by Natural PR
Winner – Paul Peach, the Horse Guards Inn, Tillington
Runners up – Craig Holden, the Mill House, Ashington and Rob Lightbody, Jeremy’s Restaurant, Borde Hill Gardens, Nr Haywards Heath

Sussex Butcher of the Year sponsored by Natural Farms
Winner – Bramptons Butchers, Brighton
Runners up - S K Hutchings, Partridge Green & Westdene Butchers, Brighton

Sussex Foodie News Christmas

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Brighton Food Fest wins Sussex Business Award

The Brighton & Hove Food and Drink Festival team won the award for leisure and tourism at the Sussex Business Awards last night [December 2nd] held at the de Vere Grand, Brighton.

Organisers, including Nick Mosley from Brighton Visitor, Paula Seager from Natural PR, Adam Style from Style Accountants and Andrew Kay from Latest7 collected the trophy from Ruth Badger, who was made famous when she participated in The Apprentice tv show.

The festival, now in its ninth year, has grown from strength to strength and now brings £4.1 million into the local economy by attracting thousands of visitors to the city and boosting local food and drink businesses, as well as providing many fun foodie events for the local community to enjoy.

Said Paula Seager, MD of Natural PR, who promotes the festival: "It's terrific to be recognised for our work on this event, which is run entirely by volunteers and we are all particularly proud of Nick Mosley, our director, who has taken the awards to a new level this past year."

The team's Spring Harvest 2012 festival will be in April - seewww.brightonfoodfestival.com for more details.

Sussex food partnership deal signed

The Southern Co-operative has contributed £5,000 and signed a three-year agreement with Chichester College to work together on boosting the local food and drink industry in Sussex.

At a ceremony at the Brinsbury Campus of Chichester College, Principal Shelagh Legrave and Chief Executive of The Southern Co-operative, Mark Smith, agreed to work together through the Centre of Excellence for Regional Food & Drink, opened earlier this year.

“As an independent co-operative with stores only in the South of England, we seek to offer a genuine regional alternative to national food retailers. As part of this we are committed to supporting local food and drink producers wherever we can and we will be investigating the feasibility of setting up a regional food hub to assist with local produce distribution,” said Mark Smith, CEO of The Southern Co-operative.

“The college has created a great concept in the Centre of Excellence and I am sure there is much that we will be able to do together to build on this to the benefit of the whole local food sector in Sussex.”

Cllr Roger Paterson, Cabinet Member for Economic Development at Horsham District Council and Governor of the college, attended the ceremony, lending his support to the scheme.

“We have a thriving food and drink industry in Sussex and we want to do everything we can to support Brinsbury's new Centre of Excellence For Local Food & Drink, and to promote the skills training it provides for both its students and the region's food and drink community. It’s also great to be working with The Southern Co-operative, which has such strong environmental and community principles.”

Said Shelagh Legrave, Principal of Chichester College, “We created the Centre of Excellence for Regional Food and Drink to help bring together and provide special support for the industry and are already providing unique networking and experience sharing opportunities, supported by well-known regional food industry expert Hilary Knight.”

“Working with The Southern Co-operative, we also want to focus on developing vocational training, both for our own students and for adults already working in the industry and we are very excited to be moving forward together on this today.”

Food produced in Sussex is already available at selected Southern co-operative stores in Sussex and will be featured in a new store development in Hove opening in December.

2010/11 Sussex Food & Drink Awards finalists announced

Finalists for the Sussex Food & Drink Awards 2011/12 have been announced by judges following their deliberations held at the American Express Community stadium in November.

Twenty four of the county’s best food and drink heroes have made it through to make a tasty final line up and will find out if they won at the Sussex foodie event of the year, the Sussex Food & Drink Awards banquet, on 26^th January at the American Express Community Stadium, for which tickets are now on sale.

Said Clive Beddall OBE, Chairman of the Judges: “The awards continue to grow in popularity with a record number of people, close to 11,000, 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.”

The finalists are:

Sussex Food Producer of the Year sponsored by the Southern Co-operative:

· Caroline’s Dairy, Sidlesham, Nr Chichester, West Sussex – last year’s winner

· Daylands Farm, Ashurst, Nr Steyning, West Sussex

· High Weald Dairy, Horsted Keynes, West Sussex

Sussex Drink Producer of the Year sponsored by the Sussex Food & Drink Network:

· Highdown Vineyard, Ferring, Nr Littlehampton, West Sussex

· W J King Brewers, Horsham, West Sussex

· Wobblegate Apple Juice, Bolney, West Sussex

Best Sussex Food/Farm Shop sponsored by the South Downs National Park Authority:

· Cheese Please, Lewes, East Sussex – winners last two years

· Sharnfold Farm, Stone Cross, Nr Pevensey, East Sussex

· Sussex Produce Company, Steyning, West Sussex – finalist last two years, winner three years ago

Sussex Butcher of the Year sponsored by Natural Farms

· Bramptons Butchers, Brighton – finalist four years ago

· S K Hutchings, Partridge Green, West Sussex – finalist last year and 4 years ago

· Westdene Butchers, Brighton, East Sussex – finalist 2 years ago

Best Sussex Eating Experience sponsored by Mayo Wynne Baxter Solicitors

· The Foragers, Hove, East Sussex – finalist three and four years ago

· Simply Delicious, Bognor Regis, West Sussex – finalists for the last two years

· Tottington Manor, Edburton, Nr Henfield, West Sussex

Sussex Young Chef of the Year sponsored by Natural PR

· Craig Holden, The Mill House Hotel, Ashington, West Sussex

· Rob Lightbody, Jeremy’s Restaurant, Borde Hill Gardens, Nr Haywards Heath, West Sussex

· Paul Peach, The Horse Guards Inn, Tillington, West Sussex

Sussex Farmer of the Year sponsored by Knill James

· Robin and Kevin Ashby, Willetts Farm, Blackham, East Sussex.

· Steve and Phil Hook, Longleys Farm, Hailsham, East Sussex – winner three years ago

· Jenny & Trevor Passmore, Church Farm, Coombes, Lancing, West Sussex – last year’s winner

Best Sussex Farmers Market sponsored by Harveys

· Lewes Farmers Market, Lewes, East Sussex – finalist last year

· Shoreham Farmers Market, Shoreham, West Sussex - finalist for past four years and winner three years ago

· Steyning Farmers Market, Steyning, West Sussex

The Sussex Food & Drink Awards banquet is to be held for the first time at the American Express Community Stadium on 26^th January 2012. The move to this fantastic new venue has been made by organisers, Natural PR, to ensure that demand for tickets can be met as last year’s event was a sell out.

This black tie event promises to be the best yet, starting with a Sussex bubbly and ale reception sponsored by Harveys, followed by a seven course banquet made from the very best local produce by executive chef Fred Tobin and sous chef Neil Paton, including fish, fruits, cheeses and other Sussex goodies.

Said, Paula Seager, MD of Natural PR which organises 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.”

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.

Sussex Foodie News November 2011

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Sussex Feast at Royal Pavilion Ice Rink

The Royal Pavilion Ice Rink in Brighton was last night granted five-year planning permission and will open its twinkly gates to people in Sussex from November 12 to January 22, with an exciting new food and drink offer, open to skaters and non-skaters.

Feast restaurant and bar, includes a Champagne and oyster bar, mobile cocktail bar and a succulent menu, including great family food by day and something more indulgent and extravagant by night.

The cosy and relaxed area overlooking the ice rink has some novel Christmas party offers for families, friends or businesses to enjoy, from £25 per head, with cheese fondues, warming homemade soups, oyster feasts, sharing platters and even the opportunity to have a whole roast piglet feast!

The bar will have a selection of local Sussex ales, premium lagers, ciders, and freshly made Royal Pavilion cocktails and a comprehensive wine list and people are welcome to come and simply have a drink, snack or eat a full meal at this unique ‘pop up’ restaurant and bar.

Feast has been created by Temple and Shian, best known for their Oyster Boys and Mussel Men at festivals, collaborating with top drinks events company Peppermint and they aim to surprise and enchant visitors to the ice rink this Christmas.

See www.feastbrighton.co.uk for more info and to book tickets to ice skate, go to www.ticketmaster.co.uk