The Isle of Wight Pop Up Soup Kitchen is among the likes of Joyce Molyneux, Jamie Oliver and Rick Stein as a winner in the 2017 Observer Food Monthly Awards.
The winners were announced at a ceremony in London last night (Thursday 12 October 2017) with Trevor Blaney (pictured right) of the Pop Up Soup Kitchen bagging the award for “local food hero”.
Make “compassion the new currency”
The Isle of Wight Pop Up Soup Kitchen was awarded the Observer Food Monthly local food hero at the 2017 Observer Food Monthly Awards.
Trev Blaney said,
“I would like to thank the many thousands of people and businesses that have believed in what we’re doing here on the Island for their help and generous contributions.
“Would it not be great if compassion be the new currency on our Island.”
Voted for by readers
The awards, which are now in their 14th year, are voted for by both readers and a judging panel and champion the best producers, restaurants, and retailers in the UK
Observer columnist Jay Rayner and television personality and food writer Nigella Lawson co-hosted this year’s celebrations after Guardian News and Media editor-in-chief Katharine Viner and Observer Food Monthly editor Allan Jenkins introduced the evening.
Observer Food Monthly editor Allan Jenkins said:
“Hereford, Hastings, Sudbury, the Isle of Wight? Observer readers flex their local muscles voting in this year’s Observer Food Monthly Awards, our 14th. Every year they help us uncover brilliant food people, places and stories from all over the UK. The spice company selling 150k packets a year of their late mum’s mix, the one-man pop-up soup kitchen, the country’s best Sunday lunch. It’s the ultimate food-lover’s secret black book.
“The UK’s finest macarons? A tiny shop in Didsbury! Trust me! Our multi-Michelin-starred judges (Tom Kerridge, Sat Bains, Angela Hartnett, et al) were almost fighting over them (Jay Rayner won). We also celebrate the career of Joyce Molyneux one of the first women in the UK to win a Michelin star and there is a one-off Editor’s award for a true one-off: the towering talent that was AA Gill.”
The winners in each category are as follows:
Reader-voted categories
Best restaurant – Pidgin
Best cheap eats – Yard Sale Pizza
Best Sunday lunch (supported by Scotch Beef) – The Bookshop – A Rule of Tum
Best new cookbook – Fresh India, Meera Sodha
Best ethical food project (supported by Visit Sweden) – #CookForSyria
Best independent retailer – Rafi’s Spicebox
OFM local food hero (supported by Marks & Spencer) – The Pop Up Soup Kitchen
Best place to drink – The Crown, Hastings
Best Instagram (supported by California Walnuts) – Jamie Oliver
Best food personality (supported by Grana Padano) – Rick Stein
Judge voted categories
Best producer – Bisous Bisous, Didsbury
Best newcomer in food and drink – temper, London
Outstanding achievement – The Trussell Trust
Young chef of the year (supported by Marks & Spencer) – Tom Adams
Best reader’s recipe – Maryam’s Bakhlava Traybake
Lifetime achievement – Joyce Molyneux
Editors’ Award – AA Gill
The Observer Food Monthly Awards issue is available on Sunday 15 October, free with The Observer.
