The Champions
Restaurant of the Year – full details
Ember, Wellingborough, Northamptonshire
Pub of the Year – full details
The Unicorn’s Head, Langar, Nottinghamshire
Food Producer of the Year – full details
Mee Blueberries, Nassington, Northamptonshire
Drink Producer of the Year – full details
Mallard Point Vineyard & Distillery, Essendine, Rutland
Shop of the Year – full details
Clarkes of Queniborough, Leicestershire
Café of the Year – full details
The Deli at 58, Loughborough, Leicestershire
Bakery of the Year – full details
The Welbeck Bakehouse, Welbeck, Nottinghamshire
People’s Choice Award – full details
Hambleton Bakery, Stretton, Rutland
Food Heroes of the Year – full details
The Radmoor Restaurant team, Loughborough
Romail Gulzar, founder of the Leicestershire Curry Awards
AWARDS METHODOLOGY EXPLAINED
How the winners were selected
We asked GFC’s members and readers to nominate “one independent food/drink business that has brought you the most joy over the past 12 months”. Over 7,000 online votes were cast during May and June 2024. The overall vote winner was named People’s Choice Award Champion. We then chose the shortlist using three measures:
- Votes cast (multiple votes from individuals were discarded)
- The popularity of social media activity during the past 12 months
- Our own knowledge
You can see all shortlisted businesses at the ‘full details’ links under each category listed above. Once the shortlist was created, our judges selected the winners.
The judging process
To make their decisions, our judges visited or tried the food & drink of every shortlisted business. They ate – anonymously where possible – at all the pubs, cafés and restaurants.
Ineligible businesses
Businesses that won GFC awards last year were not eligible to be shortlisted this year. Our aim is to showcase a broad range of independents and by not allowing a single business to win an award two years in a row, we go some way to achieving this aim.
Click here to see the 2023/24 winners.
