Food magazine reader award winners 2013

Reach beyond the fact that Waitrose was named retailer of the year and the are some good names among the winners at the Food Magazine reader awards 2013.
In its second year, the food Reader Awards received thousands of votes as South West consumers flew the flag for the places where they love to eat, drink and shop across the region. From best-kept secrets to foodie household names, consumers named the best foodie pubs, cafes, retailers, restaurants, hotels, local drinks, local chefs and local food products as well as their local food hero.

Jo Rees, editor of Food magazine, said: “Last year we launched the food Reader Awards and they were a great success. This year it’s gone up a notch with readers voting in their thousands, an increase in the number of categories to 10 in light of it being food’s 10th birthday this year and we’ve also created a sophisticated online voting mechanism.”
The winners of the food Reader Awards 2013 were announced at a glittering ceremony at the Royal Albert Memorial Museum in Exeter on January 7, 2013.
The awards ceremony also celebrated food magazine’s 10th birthday, with a special cake designed by Kate Shirazi of Cake-A-Doodle-Do. The magazine started life in a spare bedroom in Devon and has grown to cover the whole of Devon, Cornwall, Somerset, Bath, Bristol and Gloucestershire.

From across the West Country, the winners are:

Local Food Hero
Winner: Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall
Runners-up: Michael Caines MBE, Nathan Outlaw, Ben Prior, Emily Scott

Best Restaurant (sponsored by Total Produce)
Winner: Ben’s Cornish Kitchen. Marazion, Cornwall
Runners-up: Oliver’s, Falmouth; The Muset, Bristol; Wild Garlic, Nailsworth; Seagrass Restaurant, St Ives

Best Foodie Pub (sponsored by Salt Media)
Winner: The Sea Trout Inn, near Totnes, Devon
Runners-up: The Jack in the Green, Exeter; The Ferryboat Inn, Falmouth; Fisherman’s Arms, Plymouth; Victoria Inn, Penzance; The Gurnard’s Head, Penzance; St Kew Inn, Churchtown

Best Cafe (sponsored by Frobishers)
Winner: Porthminster Beach Cafe
Runners-up: The Coffee Den, Pylle; Bel Green, Exeter; Duchy of Cornwall Nursery Cafe, Lostwithiel; Relish, Wadebridge; Cafe Ode, Shaldon; Rock Salt Cafe, Plymouth; Twentysix Cafe,; Teignmouth/Dartmouth; Toast, Honiton; Woods Cafe, Cardinham

Best Chef (sponsored by the Regency Wines)
Winner: Emily Scott, The Harbour Restaurant
Runners-up: Ken Symons, Oliver’s; Ben Prior, Ben’s Cornish Kitchen; Jethro Lawrence, The Muset; Lee Groves, Seagrass Restaurant

Best Drink
Winner: Tribute, St Austell Brewery
Runners-up: Luscombe Drinks
Orchard Pig, Bridge Farm Cider, Camel Valley Vineyard, Sharp’s Brewery

Best Foodie Product (sponsored by Michelmores)
Winner: Cornish Sea Salt
Runners-up: Marshfield Ice Cream, Pieminister Pies, Yeo Valley Yoghurt, Riverford Veg Boxes, Sharpham Cheese, Cornish Yarg, Kernow Sausage
Best Foodie Hotel (sponsored by Darts Farm)
Winner: Watergate Bay Hotel
Runners-up: Gidleigh Park, Chagford; The Magdalen Chapter, Exeter; Combe House, Honiton; Driftwood Hotel, Portscatho

Best Retailer
Winner: Waitrose
Runners-up: Darts Farm, Topsham; The Cheese Press, Torquay; Pipers Farm Shop, Exeter; Jon Thorner’s, Somerset; Riverford Organics, Buckfastleigh

Best Food Blog
Winner: Bristol Bites
Runners-up: Country Wood Smoke, Wuthering Bites, Can Be Bribed With Food, Canapes, Cupcakes and Cocktails

Thanks to Emma Stephens for sending through the following about one of the winners, Emily Scott.

Emily Scott of The Harbour Restaurant in Port Isaac, Cornwall, was named Best Chef at the food Reader Awards 2013.
Sponsored by Regency Wines, the award recognised Emily for her beautifully crafted food, turning local ingredients – in particular Cornish seafood – into pared back, elegant dishes.
Food is what Emily loves and she is passionate and driven. She creates dishes that follow season to season. Emily composes her menus daily based on the produce available and at its best. Emily expresses herself through the way she cooks and in her kitchen is where she feels most at home. Emily loves nothing more than delighting others through food, bringing friends and family around a table. Emily has 3 children Oscar, Finbar and Evie who constantly amaze and inspire her.