Proud to win ‘Specialist Food Retailer of the Year’
From left: sponsors Jonathan Robb and Mark Whitehead, of Hawkshead Relish, Specialist Food Retailer of the Year winners Cranstons (Peter Potts, Rob McManus, Hazel Feddon), and Simon Rimmer – JENNY WOOLGAR PHOTOGRAPHY
We were ecstatic to receive the Specialist Food Retailer of the Year Award at the 2024 Cumbrian Food Awards. The event was held at Kendal College on Thursday, 14th March, and honoured the amazing food and drink businesses our County is blessed with. The host on the evening was Simon Rimmer.
The Cumbrian Food Awards, which have been running for 3 years, celebrate what Cumbria has to offer, with 13 categories ranging from ‘Drinks Producer of the Year’ and ‘Food Producers of the year’ to ‘New Business of the Year’ and ‘Sustainable/Ethical Business of the Year’, as well as awards for the Cumbrian hospitality Industry; ‘Café of the Year” “Chef of the Year’ and ‘Restaurant of the Year’ to name a few.
The event was held at Kendal College, with food being prepared and served by a team of students, under the watchful eye of Richard Axford – the head of faculty – and his team. Kendal College is renowned for its Hospitality and Chef courses. The awards allow the student chefs to cook for some of the best chefs in the county, and the hospitality students to showcase their skills to the Cumbrian business owners in attendance.
The first category to be announced was ‘Specialist Food Retailer of the Year,’ which was sponsored by Hawkshead Relish, the Cranstons team were ecstatic to be announced as the winner! The judges praised our Cumbrian Food Hall as “a destination that champions more than 100 Cumbrian producers,” and went on to highlight the “long-term strategy of sourcing, producing and supplying high-quality produce with provenance”.
Our Cumbrian Food Hall manager, Rob McManus, said; “I was so proud to accept this award on behalf of my team, who work incredibly hard to deliver the quality and service that our customer’s know and love. We have had a busy year with a complete refit of the shop, but the team have been fantastically supportive throughout, it is great for us all to receive this recognition,”
Whilst Cranstons took home the trophy the judges praised our fellow shortlisted finalists for their superb contribution to Cumbrian’s food scene. A Days Walk, a ‘Farm Shop Experience’ based between Cartmel and Ambleside, which is a haven of Cumbrian produce and Grasmere Gingerbread which has been making bespoke gingerbread to a secret recipe since 1854, and has grown to world-wide fame.
Our Senior Retail Area Manager, Peter Potts, said; “We are very proud to be part of Cumbria’s foodie success story. We are passionate about bringing the best of the region’s food together in our Food Hall’s; showcasing locally farmed meat and produce from over 100 local food & drink producers. Our suppliers deserve a big thank you for their dedication to quality and locality. Customers see our shop teams hard at work, behind the scenes our production and office teams are also extremely dedicated. I would like to thank our whole team for their hard work and dedication”