NEWS RELEASE
Date: May 14 2014
For immediate use
Two Herefordshire businesses celebrate success at prestigious food and drink awards
Two Herefordshire businesses reigned triumphant at a glittering event on Saturday that announced the winners of HEART of ENGLAND fine foods (HEFF) prestigious Diamond Awards.
Now in their seventh year, the awards have become a firm fixture in the calendar for the region's specialist food producers, retailers and hospitality providers many of whom attended the packed event at the Hilton Birmingham Metropole at the NEC.
In the hotly contested bakery and confectionery category Sue Gilmour Chocolates claimed the top prize for their Salted Lemon Dark Chocolate. She wasn’t able to attend the awards ceremony but commented afterwards: “We were very sad that we weren't able to attend on Saturday but were absolutely thrilled and very proud to learn that we had won this award. As a relatively new business, this will be key to helping build confidence in our brand and help highlight the quality of our products.”
Meanwhile, picking up the special ‘EXCEL’ Diamond Award, was Hopes of Longtown the independent village store in the village of Longtown which had been announced at the end of April as a finalist in the Retailer of the Year category. Missing out on the Retailer award, which went to Shropshire’s Own near Shrewsbury, Jenny Hope was nonetheless delighted with their prize: “Having missed out on the retailer award, we were happy to just enjoy the evening and its atmosphere and savour the fabulous meal that we were served. With the EXCEL award being one of the last to be announced we were shocked to hear our name read out, although obviously delighted too. It is fitting that the award recognises our use of social media as our Facebook and Twitter accounts have gone crazy since Saturday evening and we've connected with some organisations following our success that we couldn't have dreamed of without such channels.”
Speaking at the event which was hosted by BBC’s Sarah Falkland, Chief Executive of HEART of ENGLAND fine foods Karen Davies MBE, said: “The finalists in our seventh Diamond Awards highlight just how strong the food and drink sector is in the heart of England, it certainly made the process very hard and the judges had some tough decisions to make. The winners who have been announced tonight should feel extremely proud of their award, along with all the finalists who should celebrate their achievements. We look forward to continuing to promote the very best of food and drink from the heart of England.”
Notes to Editors
HEART of ENGLAND fine foods (HEFF) promotes and raises awareness of food and drink within the heart of England including Shropshire, Staffordshire, Herefordshire, Worcestershire, Warwickshire and Birmingham and the Black Country, Cheshire and Oxfordshire. Through an extensive programme, the organisation helps the region’s food and drink businesses to develop and create profitable and sustainable markets for their products.
Projects managed by HEART of ENGLAND fine foods are part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund/p>
Sunday Mail 'You' magazine - 18th November 2012
The three chocolate bars in the Gardening Gift section.
Front page and short story inside. That's Sue in the middle of the cover.
Turn to page 10 for the full article.