2008 Winners
Best restaurant, sponsored by Christie + Co
Winner: Aqua Eight, Ipswich
This innovative venue offers a contemporary dining environment, combined with exquisite dishes, fused with simplicity. Aqua Eight offers fusion cuisine at its best, with over eighty beautifully prepared dishes and all ingredients sourced locally, this Pan Asian venue is a real and unexpected treat in the middle of our county town.
Finalists: The Boathouse, Sudbury/The Blyth, Southwold
Best food pub, sponsored by The West Wing, Ickworth
Winner: The White Horse Inn, Sibton
In a beautiful location, this attractive and atmospheric pub offers food and drink pertaining to its character. A warm welcome with a relaxed and informal atmosphere ensures that you feel at ease as soon as you walk through the door. Food style is all about fresh home cooked food, using local and seasonal produce wherever possible. The White Horse also offer a “no turning table” policy which means you table is yours for as long as you wish.
Finalists: Castle Inn, Bungay/Triple Plea, Halesworth
Best Informal Dining Venue sponsored by Anglia Kitchens
Winner: The Orchard Room, Thurston
Situated within Harveys Garden Plants this café/restaurant opened in 2007 and has fast gained a reputation for serving freshly prepared, seasonal food, much of which is grown at the nursery or locally sourced. The menu is changed weekly to reflect the produce available, and as such, the team at the Orchard Room are constantly developing and innovating new recipes for their customers.
Finalists: Hall Farm Café, Stratford St Mary/Samford Restaurant, Suffolk Food Hall, Wherstead
Best Delicatessen sponsored by Hamish Johnston Fine Cheeses
Winner: Lawsons Delicatessen, Aldeburgh
Last years winners, Lawsons, continue to offer their customers excellent customer service, an enjoyable shopping experience, exceptional range of freshly prepared food and wide range of carefully chosen local, British and global products. In addition to the more traditional deli service, Lawsons also offer takeaway rolls and hot drinks and provide outside catering for events, make up bespoke hampers and cheese baskets and fill customers dishes for the freezer. Something for everyone.
Finalists: Bistro at the Deli, Saxmundham/Earsham Street Deli, Bungay
Best Farm Shop sponsored by Tastes of Anglia
Winner: Hall Farm Shop, Stratford St Mary
Having celebrated its 6th birthday this year, Hall Farm Shop have grown from an old garage in the farm yard selling potatoes to the whole stable block selling a huge range of their own and local produce. The 350 acre mixed farm has diversified into a food destination, enabling the farming practice to increase. Produce is sourced first for quality, and secondly for locality – if it is in season and available locally, you’ll find it here.
Finalists: Grange Farm Shop, Hasketon/Suffolk Food Hall, Wherstead
Best Tea/Coffee Shop sponsored by Laurence Homes
Winner: Woodlands Coffee Shop, Semer
Situated within Hollow Trees Farm Shop, in just over one year, Woodlands has grown to be an extremely popular destination amongst all ages. Their aim is to provide simple high quality freshly prepared meals using produce from both farm shop and hoe-grown and from specialist independent suppliers. Offering a welcoming range of choices on the menu, all food is wholesome, no chips or fried foods can be found here!
Finalists: Frangipani Coffee House, Woodbridge/The Meare Shop & Tearoom, Thorpeness
Best Baker sponsored by Colne Stoves & esse
Winner: The Cake Shop, Woodbridge
Our 2007 winners, The Cake Shop are long established in Suffolk and are an award winning artisan bakery using hand-crafted techniques passed down by three generations of master bakers. In addition to supplying a wide selection of local restaurants and retail outlets, their shop in the Thoroughfare continues to produce a wide selection of breads and cakes for their customers.
Finalists: Bread, Suffolk Food Hall, Wherstead/The Patisserie, Long Melford
Best Butcher sponsored by BBC Radio Suffolk
Winner: Broxtead Butchery, Suffolk Food Hall, Wherstead
This is a traditional butchery with a progressive and innovative feel, situated within the Suffolk Food Hall, Wherstead near Ipswich. Everything sold in the butchery is locally farmed, the nearer the farm the better. All farmers are met personally and visited to ensure that the animals welfare is paramount. Sausages, bacon, butchers are all made on site, along with kebabs, meatballs and delicious fresh marinades and are currently expanding our ready-meal range which is on sale through the Food Hall.
Finalists: Fivewinds Farm Smokehouse & Butchery, Melton/Orford Butchers, Orford
Producer of the Year sponsored by Waitrose Sudbury & Bury St Edmunds
Winner: Lane Farm Country Foods, Brundish
Having run a pig farm since 1987, in 1995, Ian & Sue Whitehead decided to diversify into pork products – since this point, Lane Farm have developed dry cured bacon, added value pork products such as Suffolk Roast, hams, black pudding, chorizo and Suffolk Salami. Having sold their breeding herd four years ago, Lane Farm now link with a local pig farmer and collect the pigs at 4-6 weeks old and rear and finish them at Lane Farm. All produce is sold through local farm shops, delicatessens, hotels and restaurants, as well as regularly attending Farmers Markets.
Finalists: Aspall, Debenham/Munchy Seeds, Leiston
Suffolk Product of the Year sponsored by Southwold Pier
Winner: Munchy Seeds, Omega Mix
The market for healthy foods and locally sourced products has been the inspiration for Munchy Seeds latest addition to their range – the Omega Mix 30g seed shot. Full of AA grade quality seeds, not to mention being rich in Omega 3, 6 & 9, this new snack pack is equally at home in a Gucci handbag or childs lunchbox.
Finalists: Aspall Cyder
Special Award
Presented to Andrew Page of Orford Butchers
Previous winners
For details of the 2007 winners, please click here and for 2006 winners click here.