RESTAURATEURS came together for the Nantwich Food Awards to see who could lay claim to being the very best in the town.

The Crown Hotel Ballroom hosted 150 guests at the glittering awards ceremony on Sunday, September 27.

The evening was hosted by Deborah Robb, chairman of the Nantwich Food Festival, and guests included Edward Timpson, MP for Crewe and Nantwich and Andrew Martin, the mayor of Nantwich.

The Food Awards were set up six years ago by the Nantwich Food Festival to give recognition to the food and hospitality businesses of Nantwich and South Cheshire.

Six award categories were up for grabs and this year thousands of votes were cast. Voting opened in June and finished in September the week after the Nantwich Food Festival.

The Food Category winners all received an award they could display in their premises and a bottle of champagne donated by Rodney Densem.

In the Best Café/coffee shop category, Enzo beat off Ginger and Pickles and the Nantwich Bookshop to be crowned champion.

Piste Wine Bar and Restaurant, based in Tarporley, took home the top gong in the Best Restaurant (including Hotel Restaurant) category.

The Yew Tree, based in Bunbury, fought off strong competition from The Leopard and The Thatch, both based in Nantwich, to be crowned top dog in the Best Pub with Food category.

The Leopard had cause for celebration after being crowned Beer Champion.

Best Food/Drink Retailer in Nantwich Town Centre went to H Clewlow Butchers.

Cheerbrook Farm Shop was named Best Food/Drink Retailer in the Nantwich Area.

Steve Huntbach, Nantwich Food Festival Webmaster, said: “Votes were still being cast via the Food Festival website right up to the end.

“We put systems into place this year to prevent duplicate voting, so we know that the results were accurate.

“Some categories had only 3 or 4 votes between the first and second places so it was really exciting right up to the wire.”