A GROUNDBREAKING food business that has set the bar in Cumbria for 40 years was recognised with the top award at the 2020 Cumbria Life Food & Drink Awards.
Zeffirellis of Ambleside has been a dining and cinema destination for four decades and the co-owners, Dorothy and Graham Smith, took to the stage to collect the award for Outstanding Contribution to Cumbrian Food & Drink.
The event, which was hosted by the award-winning chef and star of TV’s This Morning Phil Vickery, was held at Kendal College.
Phil Vickery told the audience: “Many customers have been going to Zeffs for decades and it’s even been said that its presence in Ambleside encourages people to move to the town.
It has certainly provided a major boost to the cultural life of the Lake District.”
Students from the college cooked and served the three-course awards meal.
The first awards were for retailers and producers, with Tebay Services winning the Specialist Retailer or Supplier of the Year and being praised for putting Cumbria on the map.
The Lakes Distillery at Setmurthy, Bassenthwaite was named Drinks Producer of the Year.
Other businesses recognised included The Royal Barn at Kirkby Lonsdale, named Pub or Bar of the Year and Foxborough in Carlisle, which won Casual Dining Restaurant of the Year.
There was a double win for Simon Rogan’s L’Enclume in Cartmel, which was named Restaurant of the Year, while head chef Paul Burgalières took home the Chef of the Year award.
Special awards included The Matt Campbell Rising Star Award, named after the much-loved Kendal chef who died while competing in the London Marathon in 2018.
The worthy winner was Robert Simpson, who joined his parents’ organic growing and veg box business, Eva’s Organics at Low Luckens near Carlisle.
The awards, which were organised by Newsquest Cumbria Events, were supported by Kendal College and Booths.
SPECIALIST RETAILER/SUPPLIER
The Bakery at No 4, Kendal
Pioneer Foodstore, Carlisle
Tebay Services
DRINKS PRODUCER OF THE YEAR
Eva’s Organics, Low Luckens
Lakes Distillery, Setmurthy
Shed 1 Distillery, Ulverston
FOOD PRODUCER OF THE YEAR
Bells of Lazonby, Lazonby
Grants Oak Smoked, Maryport
Peace and Loaf Bakehouse, Barrow
PUB OF BAR OF THE YEAR
The Blind Bus Driver, Kendal
The Factory Tap, Kendal
The Royal Barn, Kirkby Lonsdale
DINING PUB OF THE YEAR
The Black Swan, Ravenstonedale
The Dog and Gun, Skelton
The Punch Bowl Inn, Crosthwaite
CAFE OF THE YEAR
Chesters by the River, Skelwith Bridge
Homeground, Windermere
More? The Artisan Bakery, Staveley
Mathilde’s, Grasmere
Yard 46, Kendal
NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR
Base, Bowness-on-Windermere
Levens Kitchen, Levens
Method@Fell, Kendal
CASUAL DINING RESTAURANT OF THE YEAR
The Black Labrador, Underbarrow
Fellpack, Keswick
Foxborough, Carlisle
Shap Chippy, Shap
HOTEL RESTAURANT OF THE YEAR
Allium at Askham Hall, Askham
The Cottage in the Wood, Braithwaite
Hrishi, Gilpin Hotel and Lake House, Windermere
RESTAURANT OF THE YEAR
Lake Road Kitchen, Ambleside
L’Enclume, Cartmel
Old Stamp House, Ambleside
Wabi Sabi, Ambleside
CHEF OF THE YEAR
Ryan Blackburn, Old Stamp House, Ambleside
Paul Burgalières, L’Enclume, Cartmel
Hrishikesh Desai, Hrishi, Windermere
Richard Swale, Allium at Askham Hall, Askham
Ben Wilkinson, The Cottage in the Wood, Braithwaite
Special awards
FOOD & FARMING AWARD
The Park Family, Low Sizergh Barn near Kendal
CUMBRIA LIFE SPECIAL AWARD
Gillian Cowburn
CUMBRIA LIFE READERS’ AWARD
The Little Ice Cream Shop, Hawkshead and Windermere
THE MATT CAMPBELL RISING STAR AWARD
Robert Simpson, Eva’s Organics
OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION TO CUMBRIAN FOOD & DRINK
Zeffirellis of Ambleside
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here