Food & Drink

So, you’ve waited a whole month for the chance to get out and enjoy a slap-up meal again, and with that tantalizing opportunity just hours away, why risk choosing somewhere with surly staff, mediocre menus, or dismal drinks? For inspiration for some of the finest places to dine in the county, look no further than the finalists in this year’s Weetabix Northamptonshire Food and Drink Awards, who are hoping that your vital support will help them see out this challenging year on a high and get 2021 off to the best possible start! Fifteen of the most outstanding pubs and restaurants around the county were announced on the prestigious competition’s two venue category shortlists back in October after being visited by mystery shoppers who assessed them on everything from fabulous food to superlative service and even tip-top toilets, so each promises to offer an experience to remember! The nine finalists..

The past eight months has seen disaster and innovation within the regional food & drink sector, possibly in equal measure.  We have witnessed the rise and fall of our artisan cheesemakers and watched with sadness as our cousins in food service saw their trade plummet overnight. This has been balanced by independent retailers attracting new customers, adopting the internet as a tool to keep them, and unearthing previously unknown suppliers from their area to broaden the retail offer. Suddenly the connection between maker, retailer and consumer has become closer, simpler and more friendly.  And friends rally in a crisis.  The local food & drink sector was relatively close-knit before COVID-19 but that community spirit has led to a unique network of over 20 organisations coming together with the collective aim of becoming a strong face for British food and drink. Providing a voice and support for thousands of SMEs, this..

With just a fortnight to go until the results of this year’s Weetabix Northamptonshire Food and Drink Awards are announced, revealing the county’s best producers, eateries and chefs, more stars of the sector are celebrating their deserved moment in the spotlight! Among them are the six nervous finalists vying for glory in the ‘F&B Achiever of the Year’ category (sponsored by Howes Percival), one which is designed to recognise those individuals who have made, and continue to make, a significant contribution to the food and drink scene in the county. The finalists are (in alphabetical order): Rachael Bradshaw of Hamm Tun Fine Foods Deli, Long Buckby Laurence Conisbee of Wharf Distillery, Towcester Richard Gordon of The Greedy Gordons, Twywell Teresa McCarthy-Dixon of The Swan & Helmet, Northampton Zoe Mee of Mee Farmers, Nassington Dennis Willmott of The Bell Inn, Finedon The impressive sextet were selected from a record number of..

The team behind the Weetabix Northamptonshire Food and Drink Awards is delighted to announce that, following a delay to its spring launch owing to the COVID-19 outbreak, the competition in now underway for its twelfth year! The Awards, which are run by the sector for the sector, are aimed at celebrating all that is great about local produce and drink, recognising excellence within the county’s dining venues and rewarding those who work so hard within the culinary sector. Thanks to ongoing support from its existing sponsors – new headline sponsor Weetabix, Booker, British Pepper & Spice, Daily Bread, Dawn Farms, Heygates Flour and Animal Feed, Howes Percival LLP, Moulton College, Northampton College and Whitworth Bros Ltd Flour Millers - and with continued support from SEMLEP (South East Midlands Local Enterprise Partnership) and Warner’s, the Awards will continue to offer public recognition to the county’s finest eateries and chefs, producers and..

He’s been a professional lookie-like as the A-Team’s Mr T, a visual effects consultant for film and television and even a contestant on such shows as Britain’s Got Talent, Come Dine With Me and The Weakest Link, but these days New Yorker John Lashley is never happier than when he’s in his Northampton kitchen, whipping up the gooiest of tasty treats! And with allergies to both nuts and chocolates, it’s a good job that his latest venture of just a year – the Brooklyn Brownie Co. – has a great unofficial apprentice and taste-tester on hand 24/7 in the form of 12-year old son, Leo! Now, thanks to the launch of a new website and some timely support from FEAST2 (Food Enterprise Advisory Support Team), a scheme which offers access to funding, sector events and mentoring to eligible food and drink businesses, the pair are witnessing a massive boost in..

‘Not all superheroes wear capes’ – so the saying goes – and you certainly need look no further than the county’s food and drink sector to see a wealth of community champions helping in the fight against COVID-19 who would give any Marvel comic strip character a run for their money. So it is that, while the coronavirus outbreak has put paid to their usual competitive format, the Weetabix Northamptonshire Food and Drink Awards are not only continuing to act as a business support hub for the sector, but are also celebrating those who are responding to the ongoing challenges by becoming vital, if impromptu, local food heroes. Among them is James Peck of Burnt Lemon Chefs in Northampton, runner-up in the ‘Chef of the Year’ category in last year’s Awards, who, with fellow ‘New Local Drink’ finalist Benjamin Jelley of Jelley Distilleries at Brixworth, has created a social isolation..

An anonymous £600 donation from the husband of a coronavirus survivor has seen NHS heroes fighting on the frontline of COVID-19 at Northampton General Hospital treated to a slap-up curry. Staff at NGH tucked in to onion bhajis, chicken tikka masala and pilau rice provided by Saffron restaurant in Castilian Street following the cash gift from a man known only as ‘Mr J’. The mystery man sent the cash in a letter to Saffron, thanking the restaurant for its ongoing support of key workers and asking them to use the money to fund hundreds of meals for staff who saved his wife’s life during a three-week spell fighting the virus at NGH last month. The letter stated: “My family and I are so indebted to Northampton General Hospital. My wife was critically ill with coronavirus. She is lucky to come back to her loved ones due to the best care..

What food would you miss most if you lived abroad? Pork pie? Crumpets? Or perhaps a simple plate of baked beans on toast? Well for one Nigerian-born businesswoman, now living in Milton Keynes, going without her favourite childhood treat simply wasn’t an option so she started making her own and has now turned that passion into a thriving enterprise, thanks in part to a project helping food and drink manufacturers in the region. Hannah Jolaoso founded Chicsnacks in December 2017, adding her own unique twist to the  traditional West-African snack, chin-chin – a crunchy, deep fried pastry – and after receiving technical support from FEAST2 (Food Enterprise Advisory Support Team), the scheme which also offers access to funding, sector events and mentoring to eligible businesses, her confidence is growing as quickly as her product range: “When I was little I would help my mum in the kitchen, kneading the dough..

Over the last six years, local breakfast giant Weetabix has supported the celebration of some of our most passionate foodies through its sponsorship of the ‘Local Food Hero’ category in the county’s prestigious annual sector competition. Now, as headline sponsor of the ‘Weetabix Northamptonshire Food and Drink Awards’, that role has become all the more crucial as the company not only helps to support sector businesses facing the toughest of challenges, but also honours those which, through their impressive responses to the crisis, have become stalwarts of their communities. Weetabix Food Company Marketing Director, Francesca Theokli, says recognition of our heroes is vital and indeed, while the awards may currently be operating very differently from their usual format, the company’s commitment to the competition is unwavering: “The Awards were launched twelve years ago to help support and promote the fantastic food and drink sector we have here in the county,..

NHS heroes fighting on the frontline of COVID-19 are being treated to a slap-up curry – paid for by the grateful husband of a woman who spent three weeks battling the virus at Northampton General Hospital. The anonymous man, known only as Mr J, sent a letter to Saffron in Castilian Street, Northampton, thanking the restaurant for its ongoing support of NHS staff throughout the crisis. The letter contained £600 cash and a request to use the money to pay for food to be delivered to doctors and nurses at NGH. The restaurant, which has previously donated dozens of meals to the hospital and offered a 50% discount to all COVID-19 key workers, has pledged to top up the donation to £1,000, meaning staff can look forward to hundreds of chicken tikka masalas arriving at their workplace in the coming weeks. The letter stated: “My family and I are so..

Northamptonshire’s Chef of the Year is cooking 250 meals a day to help feed NHS staff fighting on the frontline of the COVID-19 outbreak. Danny Tompkins, who won the accolade at last year’s Carlsberg UK Northamptonshire Food & Drink Awards, has teamed up with Food4Heroes to provide meals for healthcare professionals battling the global pandemic at Northampton General Hospital. Currently working as Earl and Countess Spencer’s personal chef, Danny has been given permission to use the Althorp kitchens to prepare the food, with a rolling menu featuring home comforts such as Shepherd’s Pie and Chilli con Carne, plus a daily vegetarian option. He said: “These are unprecedented times and we are all having to muck in and do our bit to fight this thing together. The NHS staff bearing the brunt of this awful virus are absolute heroes and if I can provide them with a hot meal to save..

An award-winning Northampton curry house is looking for your coronavirus hero – with a year’s free food waiting for the winner. Saffron, in Castilian Street, Northampton, is reopening on Sunday, April 12 following a temporary closure amid the COVID-19 outbreak and is celebrating by launching its new ‘Hunt for a Hero’ competition. The restaurant is appealing for customers to nominate a key worker who has made a difference in the fight against the global pandemic, and is offering £500 worth of curry to the lucky winner. Managing director Naz Islam said: “Whether it’s a doctor or a nurse, a binman, an ambulance driver or a shop assistant we want to celebrate all those who are putting their lives on the line to keep us safe during this outbreak. “The dedication and commitment of these key workers has been incredible and we want to say thank you to someone who has..

Masterchef semi-finalist Christian Day has teamed up with two of the rising stars of the Northamptonshire food and drink scene to launch a ‘Social Isolation Supper Club’. The former Northampton Saints lock forward, currently competing in BBC 1’s flagship amateur cooking show, will star in a live cookalong jointly hosted by James Peck of Burnt Lemon Chefs and Benjamin Jelley of Jelley’s Organic Vodka via Instagram on Saturday, April 18. Virtual ‘dinner guests’ will be able to order a box containing a pre-prepared three course meal and all the ingredients needed to make three organic vodka-based cocktails designed to perfectly match each course. Masterchef judge and acclaimed food critic William Sitwell will also be joining in the fun live through the social media feed, while guests will be able to get involved by asking questions and giving their verdict on the meal. Benjamin Jelley, brand founder of Brixworth-based Jelley’s Organic..