The winners of the 16th BBC Food and Farming Awards have been announced at a prestigious ceremony held in Bristol.
Some of the country’s best-known chefs, food writers and broadcasters including Yotam Ottolenghi, Ken Hom, Jancis Robinson, Diana Henry, Mitch Tonks, Angela Hartnett and Stefan Gates came together to celebrate the annual awards, dubbed the ‘Oscars of the food world’.
Presenter of BBC Radio 4’s The Food Programme, founder and host of the Awards, Sheila Dillon said: "As always we were looking for great food—that’s transforming society.
"And we found people and organisations doing that in their thousands. There’s a new generation out there who find the good food business more appealing than technology or media or finance and they’re making it their life’s work. What a wonder!”
The winners of the 2016 awards come from across the UK, and include Best Drinks Producer, Hallets Real Cider based in south Wales, made by former engineer Andy Hallett.
Drinks writer and judge Fiona Beckett described it as the most beautiful cider she’d tasted, adding that it provides serious competition to good wines and so deserves a place on the nation’s dinner tables.
The BBC Cook of the Year Award went to Dee Woods a volunteer cook at the Granville Community Kitchen in London.
Dee serves free meals and teaches cooking skills to her neighbours on an inner-city estate. The judges Allegra McEvedy and Stefan Gates both agreed her food really was changing lives.
The winner of a new category, The Future Food Award, went to Our Cow Molly, a brand created by a family of Sheffield dairy farmers who were convinced the city’s baristas would pay more for their super-fresh, “Made in Sheffield” milk.
Judge Julia Glotz, Managing Editor of The Grocer magazine described it as a model that could help save many more of the UK’s struggling dairy farmers.
The Best Street Food Takeaway, announced Live on BBC1’s The One Show was awarded to Gourmet Goat based in Borough Market, London, which was set up to celebrate a much neglected meat by serving it “Mediterranean style” at their street food stall.
Welsh finalists scored a hat-trick this with a record three awards, including Best Food Market and Best Food Producer, as well as the Best Drinks Producer Award.
'Incredible local food'
Ken Hom, who presented the Best Food Producer Award to Charcutier producers Illtud Llyr Dunsford and Liesel Taylor said: "It’s a real treat to be at the BBC Food & Farming Awards this year and meet such a fabulous group of finalists and taste their produce.
"The Awards offer a fantastic opportunity to open people’s eyes to the array of incredible local food that’s on offer to them right across the UK."
At the ceremony, Tony Hall, Director General, BBC presented the Derek Cooper Outstanding Achievement Award to Joan Morgan for her work as a leading global authority on apples and pears - their history, varieties and flavours.
The awards ceremony was broadcast live on the Mark Forrest show across the BBC Local Radio network on 28 April.
On Sunday 1 May a “two-course” BBC Radio 4 Food Programme special will tell the stories of this year’s winners, starting at 12.30pm and continued at 1.30pm.
A special highlights package recorded at the awards ceremony will also be broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on Monday 2 May at 3pm. BBC1’s Countryfile will also report on the Awards on Sunday 8th May.
