The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Fabulous dining on our doorstep
“We were all incredibly proud – to receive an accolade like this was fantastic recognition of everyone’s efforts and will help pave the way to grow and build our business in future.”
Paul believes the awards raise the profile of all the amazing food and drink on our doorstep, feeling that attracting and nurturing younger talent is vital.
“These people will be tomorrow’s leaders, creatives, workers and thinkers,” he said.
“We need to encourage shared learning, the passing on of skills and the exploration of innovation and development of new skills.”
Sam Larg and Kate Carter of the Cheesy Toast Shack in Kingsbarns won Street Vendor of the Year 2018.
“Winning was just great and made us feel really powered up,” Kate said.
“We’ve had a lot of people mentioning it – Courier readers are definitely paying attention to street food and what’s going on in their local area for food and drink.
“I would definitely recommend that people get their entries in to get their name on the map.
“It made us more recognisable and it was such a great night with lots of lovely people from across all the different categories.”
Who can forget the beaming smile of Lewis Pickett when he was announced as the winner of New Talent/Rising Star?
“It was fantastic to be part of the first-ever Menu Awards,” Lewis said.
“It meant so much to me to win the award and now I’m trying as hard as I can to get as much experience in the industry as possible.”
Now working at the Aboukir Hotel in Carnoustie, Lewis added: “I’m learning a lot and seeing customers walking away happy is a really good feeling.”
Urging as many young people as possible to enter 2019’s awards, he said: “It’s definitely well worth it and great to be a part of such a brilliant evening.”
The Farm to Fork Award 2018 was won by Claire Pollock of Ardross Farm Shop near Elie.
“We were absolutely blown away win an award like this,” said Claire.
“It was a fantastic night and it highlighted other businesses I didn’t know about who I’d like to work with.”
Julie Lewis of The Adamson, St Andrews, won Mixologist/Sommelier of the Year 2018, and the thrill of the awards night is still fresh.
“We really loved the inaugural Menu Awards and were so excited to win,” she said.
“It made a big impact on our business – it’s a real accolade.”
For more information, visit www. themenufoodanddrinkawards.co.uk to