Friday, October 7 saw the return of the Cotswold Life Food and Drink Awards, where finalists, sponsors and celebrities gathered together to show appreciation, and party like only the Cotswold food and hospitality industry can
The annual awards began life in a small marquee at Beaufort Polo Club in the summer of 2002 – established to celebrate and reward the rich and varied Cotswold food, drink and hospitality industry, and this year’s celebration was no exception.
From those early days, the aim was to support the farmers, the producers, the restaurateurs, the chefs, pubs, cafes, cake shops, delis, bakers and butchers of this incredible area and, 20 years on, we feel they deserve our thanks and acknowledgement more than ever.
On the night, inside the Hatherley Suite at Hatherley Manor, our sponsors were in attendance, giving us the chance to thank them for their continued support, including our headline sponsors Frank Smith & Co Solicitors, and category sponsors: Co-op Foodmarket; Straight To The Sauce; Royal Agricultural University; NFU Mutual; Cotswold RAW; Wotton Auction Rooms; Root Group; Gloucester Services, part of the Westmorland Family; Wellness Interiors; Challinor Hitchcock-Yoo; Malvern College, and The Downs Malvern. The night was charmingly and skilfully presented by Emma Samms MBE and Simon McCoy, who was celebrating his birthday, and trying to keep it quiet!
Our gratitude also goes to our judges, who had the joyful – but difficult – decision of whittling down the nominations to get to a finalists’ list: Susan Bradley, Katie Davies, Sharon Martin, Frank Smith, and Tom Wells.
Until the next one, please do get out there and show some love to our Cotswold food and drink businesses, and I hope to see you in 2025!
Candia McKormack,
Cotswold Life editor
Twitter: @CotsLifeEditor
COTSWOLD LIFE FOOD AND DRINK AWARDS 2024: THE WINNERS
![Chef of the Year Brett Russell of Number Four at Stow, sponsored by Straight to the Sauce, with Cotswold Life's Stacey Hawkins]()
Chef of the Year Brett Russell of Number Four at Stow, sponsored by Straight to the Sauce, with Cotswold Life's Stacey Hawkins (Image: Simon Pizzey)
Chef of the Year: Brett Russell of Number Four at Stow
‘I was nominated for four different awards when I owned my previous restaurant Tierra & Mar in Cirencester, so I’ve been to the awards multiple times and it’s always a great night, but to finally win was an amazing feeling. It’s always an honour to be amongst all of the amazing hospitality businesses that were nominated; it’s proof that the hard work and dedication that I have at Number Four is appreciated. We have a great team who, with general manager Eddie, keep pushing forwards to create an amazing experience for all our customers. My love and passion for the industry is always growing, and I want to thank Cotswold Life for this push in my career, and hopefully I will see you all again in the future.’
‘We are thrilled and truly honoured to be named Best Restaurant of the Year. This award reflects our passion and dedication to showcasing the finest sustainable, seasonal, and locally-sourced seafood and produce. From our team in the kitchen and on the floor to our incredible customers, thank you for supporting our vision and helping us create a community built around quality and flavour. Thank you for recognising our commitment to fresh, responsibly sourced ingredients, and the importance of sustainability. The awards ceremony was a fantastic celebration, filled with wonderful people and inspiring stories from the Cotswolds’ food community. We were honoured to be there with so many great representatives of what the Cotswolds has to offer. It was an evening to remember!’
‘After celebrating two decades at The Red Lion this year it was very exciting to have been nominated for an award. To win not only ‘outstanding service’ but also ‘pub of the year’ was the icing on the cake. We had only planned to stay at The Red Lion for a couple of years, now 20 years on and still loving what we do is a testament to the hard work of our amazing RL team and support of our fantastic customers. Thank you to everyone who voted for us and the team at CLFDA for recognising all that the Cotswolds has to offer.’
‘We are incredibly honoured to be named Cotswold Life’s Café, Coffee or Teashop of the Year. This achievement is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our entire team. Over the past 14 years, we have crafted our café into a welcoming destination, catering to the needs of our visitors with delicious breakfasts, lunches, and afternoon teas, all made with local produce… becoming a destination in itself. With so many fantastic cafés in the area, this recognition truly means the world to us. Thank you for celebrating our passion and commitment to creating a memorable experience for our visitors.’
‘We are absolutely thrilled to have won the Cotswold Life Food & Drink Award 2024. This award celebrates Cotswold food and drink businesses who are supporting our local and farming community, which is what we are so passionate about. We want to say a huge thank you for the continuous support - it means the world to us.’
‘Winning this award is a remarkable achievement that recognises not only the exceptional customer service offered by our fantastic team, but also the warm and welcoming atmosphere that we have created at The Red Lion, which keeps people coming back again and again.’
‘Winning Best Drinks Producer at the CLFDA feels like our Christmas present has arrived very early this year! We are very proud and want to thank everyone who nominated us as it means such a lot. These local awards celebrate the very best local producers, and we were so pleased to be shortlisted. The 2024 season has been a tough one weather wise, so to win the award was the icing on the cake. We are a very small team of three and we do not use a lot of machinery as most of the work in the vineyard is done by hand by us (including pruning and harvest). Between us we undertake all of the vineyard work itself, Tour & Tastings, events sales, marketing etc. It was wonderful to see this recognised in the award.’
‘We are so proud to have been announced as the winner of the Best Food Product/Producer. To be recognised by Cotswold Life is wonderful for us a producer as it puts us on the map amongst some of the best food and hospitality companies in this very special part of the UK.’
‘All of us at the Little Bakery Company are so delighted to receive this prestigious award for our branch Bakery on the Water. Over the past year, our bakery has focused intensely on quality, service and experience improvements. It was so rewarding to see that our collective, hard work was recognised against such high-level finalists and leapt out of our seats in ecstasy when we heard our name! We are so grateful to the team at Cotswold Life magazine for hosting the Food & Drinks Awards and gala dinner and creating an evening that will forever be truly unforgettable.’
‘We are absolutely thrilled to win the Cotswold Life Food & Drink Awards Butchers of the Year. This award is a true testament to the dedication and hard work of our incredible team, many of whom have been with us for over 30 years. As third-generation owners of Jesse Smith & WJ Castle, we couldn’t be prouder of the family values and commitment that have driven our business forward. We’re excited about the future of this industry and remain optimistic, seeing so many families continue to support and appreciate British butchery traditions.’ — John & David Hawes
‘After learning about being accepted as the finalist for smallholder of the year 2024, I was very humbled to attend the event. This, in itself, was a very rewarding achievement being a “new” young farmer. I was elated to hear my name called in the category I was entered in, and it was a great honour to accept the renowned award. I was blown away with some of the comments made by the judges, and it really does make it all so worthwhile.’
Farmer of the Year: Jonathan Crump of Jonathan Crump’s Gloucester Cheeses, Standish. Sponsored by Frank Smith & Co Solicitors
‘Being nominated and shortlisted for this award was a great honour in itself, but to win was absolutely amazing. We are not large or progressive farmers, just a family running a low input/low output traditional Gloucestershire farm with our rare breeds. Winning will most definitely help us showcase and promote our cheese and other products locally, here in the Cotswold region.’
Outstanding Contribution: Jonathan Crump. Sponsored by Wellness Interiors
‘To win the award at the end of the night was most certainly the icing on the cake and completely unexpected. To be honoured in this way is wonderful. Cotswold Life do a fantastic job promoting all us producers and farmers in the region every month, as well as hosting these great awards. So, thank you very much; it means the world to us.’
Full coverage of the Cotswold Life Food and Drink Awards 2024 will be in the December issue of Cotswold Life, (on sale November 22)
