Public voting is now open for the Sussex Food & Drink Awards 2020 and organisers are calling all food and drink lovers across the county to vote for their favourite to win at www.sussexfoodawards.biz before they close on 18 January 2020.
The top ten finalists were announced this week for Sussex Food Producer of the Year sponsored by Southern Co-op; Sussex Farmers Market of the Year sponsored by Harvey’s Brewery; Sussex Butcher of the Year sponsored by RP Meats Wholesale Ltd; Sussex Eating Experience of the Year sponsored by Lloyds Bank Cardnet; Sussex Food Shop of the Year sponsored by Sussex Food & Drink Network; and Sussex Drink Producer of the Year sponsored by Natural PR.
Sussex is blessed with a wealth of amazing food and drink producers and over the last 14 years the Sussex Food & Drink Awards have helped enormously to support and boost local farmers, food and drink producers and the outlets that serve and sell this superb local fare.
A whopping 18,000 public votes were received for the awards last year and the expert judging panel, chaired by local dairy farmer and Nuffield Scholar, William Goodwin, is hoping that even more people will vote this year.
Said William Goodwin, “We say it each year, but what an exciting line up of finalists we have for
2020 and I’m delighted to see some new names as well as those more familiar on the list this year. The festive season is the perfect time of year to get out and about and sample the wonderful products from these amazing Sussex food and drink businesses and I would urge people to try out as many of our finalists as possible.
“The bar is raised higher each year in these unique awards, making the public vote a vital part of the judging process and who makes it through as a grand finalist. It only takes a minute or two and can really make a difference, so please vote for your favourite to win now.”
Entries remain open until 3 January 2020 for Sussex Newcomer of the Year category, sponsored by SRC-Time as well as Sussex Young Chef of the Year, sponsored by Blakes Foods and Young Sussex Farmer of the Year, sponsored by Natural Partnerships CIC in association with Farmers Weekly. The Grand Finalists for Sussex Street Food of the Year, sponsored by Horsham Foodies were revealed last month at the Live Finals and details can be found at www.sussexfoodawards.biz
As well as earning the huge respect and recognition that these awards now carry, Grand Finalists from all ten categories will be invited to attend a BAFTA-style ceremony on 29 April 2020 at the Amex Stadium in Brighton, where the winners will be revealed and guests will enjoy a seven-course Sussex produce banquet, hosted by awards patron Sally Gunnell OBE and Danny Pike from BBC Sussex.
VOTE NOW at www.sussexfoodawards.biz
