Select Lincolnshire Food & Drink Awards winners announced

The annual Select Lincolnshire Food, Drink and Hospitality Awards celebrated some of the county’s most outstanding businesses on February 3.

Over 200 people attended the event at the White Heather in Caenby Corner, which saw 14 awards handed out, including the People’s Choice Award.

The People’s Choice category attracted more than 1,600 votes from members of the public – over 1000 more than last year.

Awards also included the Venue of the Year, which was sponsored by Lincolnshire Business Magazine.

Guest speakers at the event included Lincolnshire chef Rachel Green, who opened the awards with a story of Lincolnshire’s feasting history, and Lincolnshire County Council Tourism Development Manager Mary Powell.

Mary spoke about how the 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta has brought Lincolnshire businesses together as well as the £22 million restoration of Lincoln Castle before announcing the winners whilst Councillor Colin Davie presented the awards.

Gillian Richardson, Business Development Manager at Select Lincolnshire for Food, said: “The awards are here to help the businesses celebrate what they do for the county. If there wasn’t awards, all of the work that they do would just be done and no one would know about it.

“Some of the businesses have been run for decades by families and they are carrying on their traditions. I think it inspires other people too.

“Young businesses are coming through with new products, just in local little villages. They pop up and you just think ‘Wow, they have put something into this.’”

Councillor Colin Davie, Executive Member for Economic Development, said: “We’ve had some fantastic winners this year, proving yet again that Lincolnshire’s food and drink is some of the best in the world. My congratulations go to the winners, and Select Lincolnshire will continue to do all it can to spread the word about all the county has to offer.”

The winners

• Grower of the Year – Strawberry Fields, Stickford, Boston
• Producer of the Year – Uncle Henrys, Grayingham, Gainsborough
• Retailers of the Year – Manor Farm Shop, Swineshead, Boston
• Wholesaler of the Year – Pocklingtons Bakery, Withern, Alford
• Self-Catering of the Year – Elms Farm Cottages, Hubberts Bridge, Boston
• B&B of the Year – Caxton House, Skegness
• Hotel of the Year – Oaklands Hall Hotel, Laceby, Grimsby
• Caterer of the Year – The Farm Kitchen, Sleaford
• Venue of the Year – Hemswell Court, Hemswell Cliff, Gainsborough
• Teaching Establishment of the Year – Lincoln Minster School, Lincoln
• Pub of the Year – Seacroft Holiday Estate- Bar, Mablethorpe
• Restaurant of the Year – Harrison’s Restaurant, Barton Upon Humber
• Tea Room of the Year – The Old Stables, Horncastle
• People’s Choice Award – Mountain’s Boston Sausage, Boston

Scott Palmer and Daniel Mountain, Directors of Mountain Boston Sausages were named as the winners of the People’s Choice award.

Daniel said: “It is the consistency, the quality of service and the level of product that we provide. People know what they are going to get when they come into the shop, how the sausage is going to taste and that it tastes the same every time.”

Shaun Lees, Managing Director of Hemswell Court and winner of the Venue of the Year award said: “We pride ourselves on quality, providing good quality service and having a five star venue. We always tailor to our customer’s needs which I think is a key ingredient to any successful business and we were very honoured to win it for the second year running.”

Subscribe to our Lincolnshire Business magazine newsletter for more photos from the event coming out in the new issue this Friday.