The Menu Food and Drink Awards are to make a welcome return at the beginning of October to celebrate the incredible talent across Tayside and Fife.
After The Courier was forced to cancel the event back in 2020 as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, this year’s glittering awards ceremony will be held at the prestigious Old Course Hotel in St Andrews on October 6.
Now in its fifth year, the aim of the event is to celebrate the work and effort of the region, and it was clear from this years entries that Courier Country has this in abundance.
Championing local food and drink hospitality, the highly-anticipated awards will shine a light on Tayside businesses across 13 different categories.
The ceremony will not only celebrate the winners, but will also showcase five delicious courses from five top chefs in the area.
These chefs will include Martin Hollis, executive chef at The Old Course Hotel in St Andrews, Praveen Kumar, chef owner at Tabla Indian Restaurant in Perth, Derek Johnstone, head chef at 18, the flagship restaurant of the newly refurbished Rusacks Hotel in St Andrews, Ian Syme, the Fairmont St Andrews’ executive chef and Dean Banks, owner of the Haar Restaurant in St Andrews.
A total of five judges, Eniola Adeniyi, Julia Bryce, Martha Bryce, Jamie Scott and Brian Stormont, were in attendance to go through each entry for the awards in fine detail, with the standard at an impeccable level.
Judge Martha Bryce, of Sound Bite PR, described the judging process as a “great privilege”.
She added: “At Sound Bite PR, we work with a huge variety of food, drink and hospitality businesses and this year’s entries to the awards showed real diversity across this sector.
“The last few years have been incredibly turbulent, so it was heartening to see so many exciting newcomers, alongside resilient businesses that are continuing to innovate and grow.
“We’re fortunate indeed to have such a vibrant food and drink scene on our doorstep!”
Menu editor, Brian Stormont, said: “The standard of entries this year was incredible.
“It was an honour to be involved in the judging process.
“There are so many exciting things going on in the hospitality industry in Tayside and Fife and they deserve to be recognised at the awards which will be an amazing night.”
The Menu Food and Drink Awards finalists are as follows:
Bar of the year
- Casa Dundee
- Pillars Bar and Salty Dog Lounge
- The Barrelman
- The Tully by Ballintaggart
Brewer of the Year
- Ovenstone 109
- 71 Brewing
Chef of the Year
- Andrew Moss – The North Port Restaurant
- Jordan Clark – The Grandtully Hotel by Ballintaggart
- Tom Tsappis – Killiecrankie House
Entrepreneur of the Year
- Hayley Wilkes – The WeeCOOK Kitchen
- Lynsey Harley – Modern Standard Coffee
- Praveen Kumar – Authentic Indian Cuisine
Craft Distiller of the Year
- Highland Moon
- The Perth Distillery Co
Food/Drink Visitor Destination of the Year
- Clootie McToot Dumplings
- The Perth Distillery Co
- The Pickled Peacock
Independent Café of the Year
- Fisher and Donaldson
- The Tickled Trout Café
- Wee Bear Café
- Zest (St Andrews)
Newcomer of the Year
- Angus Grill and Larder
- Killiecrankie House
- The Boar’s Head
- The Crusoe
Producer of the Year
- Clootie McToot Dumplings
- Pittenweem Preserves
- The Dundee Gin Company
- The WeeCOOK Kitchen
Restaurant of the Year
- Eolas Restaurant at Murrayshall Country Estate
- Little’s Restaurant
- The Grandtully Hotel by Ballintaggart
The North Port Restaurant
Street Food Vendor of the Year
- Heather Street Food
- Rico’s Pizza Shack
- The Shack
- Ox and Anchor
Sustainability Award
- Framedrum Venison
- The Little Green Larder
- Zest
Dundee Bairns, Kitschnbake and The Little Green Larder are up for the Community Champion Award.
A single ticket can be purchased for £125 plus vat, which will include complimentary canapes and a drink on arrival and a four-course collaboration dinner.
Tables of ten cost £1,125 plus vat, and can be purchased on the DC Thomson Events website.
You can purchase tickets at www.dctevents.com/event/the-menu-food-and-drink-awards
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