The shortlist for the prestigious Farm Shop & Deli Awards 2019 has been announced with winners due to be unveiled at Farm Shop & Deli Show Monday 8 April at the NEC, Birmingham. The 2019 judging panel of industry experts met up last November in London for a day of evaluation and deliberation. Secret visits and mystery shops followed over the next three months to finalise the shortlist, before the announcement today (1 March) of the category contenders for the 2019 Farm Shop & Deli Awards, in partnership with The Grocer. Winners will be revealed live at the Farm Shop & Deli Show, 3.30pm on Monday 8 April 2019.
Chair of Judges Nigel Barden, Co Chair of Judges Elaine Lemm, Ashleigh O’Mahony, Food Trends Reporter at The Grocer and, joining the panel for 2019, Georgina Wald, Corporate Communications Manager for Fuller, Smith & Turner are just some of the 2019 Farm Shop & Deli Awards judges who faced the difficult task of whittling down the category finalists this year.
Recognising and rewarding specialist retailers
Returning for the sixth year, the awards, which are sponsored by Garofalo pasta, commend retailers’ success in speciality sectors and regions respectively. Category awards are up for grabs across 11 different specialisms including Butcher of the Year, Delicatessen of the Year, Farm Shop of the Year and Online Business of the Year, which has tripled in the number of entries received for 2019.
The 12thAward up for grabs is ‘Newcomer of the Year’ and it’s positive to see that the number of young businesses entering the awards continues to grow year on year and, for 2019, champion seven of the nine award regions from across the UK and Northern Ireland. With more established companies also competing in the awards, there is certainly a diverse representation from the entire sector and the judges have a fantastic range of entrants to cast their eye over.
Supporting the awards
Over the past six years the standard of entries has continued to rise in each of the 12 categories, making the judges’ deliberations in November, and the secret visits to confirm the shortlist, an integral part of the process. Regardless of the number of entries a category may receive, the judging process ensures that the best contenders are supported and celebrated, regardless of how many finalists the awards may end up with. The organisers have absolute confidence in its hard working judges and their final decisions and thank them for supporting the awards with such integrity.
Chair of Judges and Food & drink journalist & broadcaster, Nigel Barden, says: “I am delighted to continue to be involved with the Farm Shop & Deli Awards. It’s a fabulous initiative for the sector and offers the best way to recognise and reward excellence for the UK’s local, artisan and high street speciality retailers. These awards are so important for the industry. One really big factor is the quality of judges. They’re really right across the board from retailers, from producers from food and drink journalists.”
Co chair of judges, Elaine Lemm, adds: “I feel these awards are so important to the industry. The farm shops and delis are a very specialised sector of retailing in this country and this is a chance for them to have their voice heard, and really to get it out to the public just how important these businesses are.”
This year there are 50 businesses shortlisted as category finalists, which include nine who are also potential ‘Newcomer of the Year’ winners. The regional winners, who represent the very best retailers that stand out among their local competition from across nine UK regions, will be selected from the category finalists and also announced live at the awards ceremony at Farm Shop & Deli Show, 3.30pm on Monday 8 April – as well as the coveted Farm Shop & Deli Retailer of the Year.N
Full list of finalists for 2019 Farm Shop & Deli Awards
Baker of the Year
Bondgate Bakery (Otley) / Hobbs House Bakery (Tetbury) / Lovingly Artisan (Kendal) / Mayfield Farm Bakery (Harlow)
Butcher of the Year
Aubrey Allen (Leamington Spa) / Battlefield1403 Butcher (Shrewsbury) / Elderslie Butchers (Elderslie) / Hugh Black & Sons Butchers Ltd (Bathgate) / Surrey Hills Butchers (Oxshott)
Cheesemonger of the Year
Cheese Etc, The Pangbourne Cheese Shop (Reading) / The Cheese Lady (Haddington) / The Cheese Shop (Chester) / The Little Cheesemonger (Rhuddlan)
Delicatessen of the Year
Bayley & Sage (Battersea) / Broad Bean Delicatessen (Ludlow) / Forest Deli Ltd (Coleford) / Giddy Grocer (London) / Ginger Whale Delicatessen (Cleckheaton) / Guzzl (London) / MacFarlane’s Delicatessen (London) / The Bees Country Kitchen (Chorley) / The Olive Tree Deli (Mold) / Thomas of Helmsley (Helmsley)
Farm Shop – Large Retailer of the Year
Cannon Hall Farm Shop (Barnsley) / Chatsworth Estate Farm Shop (Bakewell) / Cobbs Farm Shop & Kitchen (Hungerford) / Newlyns Farm Shop (Hook)
Farm Shop – Small Retailer of the Year
Battlefield1403 Farm Shop (Shrewsbury) / Eggs To Apples Farm Shop (Etchingham) / Minskip Farm Shop (Boroughbridge) / Parc Y Bocs, Burns Farm Shop (Kidwelly) / Tori and Bens Farm (Kings Newton) / Waterperry Farm Shop (Oxford) / Welbeck Farm Shop (Worksop)
Fishmonger of the Year
Fyne Fish (Cockermouth) Ltd (Cockermouth)
Foodhall of the Year
Bakers & Larners of Holt (Holt) / Cunninghams Butchers & Food Hall (Newry) / Delifonseca Dockside (Liverpool) / Shrewsbury Market Hall (Shrewsbury) / Webbs Garden Centre (Droitwich) / Weetons Food Hall (Harrogate)
Greengrocer of the Year
Andreas of Chelsea Green (London)
Newcomer of the Year
Bayley & Sage (Battersea) / Broad Bean Delicatessen (Ludlow) / Forest Deli Ltd (Coleford) / Giddy Grocer (London) / Guzzl (London) / Minskip Farm Shop (Boroughbridge) / The Cheese Lady (Haddington) / The Little Cheesemonger (Rhuddlan) / Waterperry Farm Shop (Oxford)
Online Business of the Year
Farmers Choice Free Range Ltd (Fareham) / Farmison & Co (Ripon) / Milk and More (Aldershot) / World products ltd t/a indianmart (Markfield)
Village Store / Local Shop of the Year
Campbell’s of Leyburn (Leyburn) / FINK (York) / Good Food (Catford) / Helperby Stores Deli & Café (York)
Regional winners will be selected from the above finalists and announced at the show, 3.30pm on Monday 8 April as well as the overall ‘Farm Shop & Deli Retailer of the Year’.
The Farm Shop & Deli Show runs from Monday 8 April through to Wednesday 10 April 2019 and visitors can register for free at www.farmshopanddelishow.co.uk.