Nominate your favourite food and drink businesses in Suffolk before the deadline on February 17.

Entries are officially open for the prestigious Eat Suffolk Food and Drink Awards 2019. Founded by Suffolk Magazine and the East Anglian Daily Times to celebrate the hard work, dedication and skill of our county’s food and drink professionals, these awards recognise the crème de la crème of the industry, from chefs, to pubs, cafés, restaurants, farmers and producers.

Last year a record amount of entries flooded in, and this year we want to see even more, with a cut-off date of February 17.

All the categories and criteria for the 13 awards can be found at online. And once the votes have been counted, our expert judges will create a shortlist of businesses, putting them through a rigorous process involving either announced or unannounced visits, interviews and more, which will enable them to select their four finalists, one of which will be the winner of their category.

Businesses and individuals can enter themselves, and members of the public can enter their favourites.

The winners will be announced at an evening ceremony at Milsoms Kesgrave Hall on April 29.

Categories for the awards, which are headline sponsored by the East of England Co-op, are:

Family Dining Award - sponsored by Greshams Ipswich Best Coffee Shop/Tea Shop - sponsored by Castlemeadow Care

Best Independent Food and Drink Retailer – sponsored by Suffolk Magazine

Restaurant of the Year – sponsored by Bidfood

Young Chef of the Year – sponsored by Bidfood

Field to Fork – sponsored by Ashtons Legal

Beer Quality Award – sponsored by Woodforde’s Brewery

Pub of the Year – sponsored by G + G Gallo Enterprises

Pride of Suffolk – sponsored by Montage Communications

Outstanding Customer Service – sponsored by EADT

Chef of the Year – sponsored by Fisher and Woods

Best Newcomer – sponsored by Larking Gowen

Suffolk Food and Drink Hero - sponsored by the East of England Co-op

Entering or being nominated can make such a differences to local businesses says Brendan Padfield, owner of the winning Restaurant of the Year 2018, The Unruly Pig: “There is no doubt that the EAT Food and Drink Awards made a very real difference to our business. That’s not just in terms of more customers on seats, though that was certainly one result. “Perhaps more importantly, the award gave a tremendous sense of pride to the whole team. Being able to say you are the best in the county is a great feeling and thus this award has certainly had a positive impact on recruitment and retention. The irony is that I was not even going to bother to enter as I thought we had little chance of winning. What a mistake that would have been! I am now so proud and so grateful to the Eat Suffolk Food and Drink Awards.”