Ramsbottom restaurant cleans up in awards
Compere Nigel Barden, Lowry general manager Jason Harding and sponsor Raj Lal Nigel Barden, Residence owners’ Ben Rafferty and Paul Newman, with sponsor, Chris White Nigel Barden, owner Aiden Byrne and partner Sarah Broadley, with sponsor, Laurence McCarthy from the Russell Partnership
RAMSONS restaurant capped a remarkable year of awards by scooping Best Restaurant at the Northern Hospitality Awards.
Already the Good Food Guide’s restaurant of the year 2009, as voted for by Which readers, the Ramsbottom restaurant received a similar accolade from industry judges at a special black-tie dinner at the Hilton, Deansgate last night (Monday, March 30).
Last October, Ramsons’ Abdulla Naseem was named chef of the year at the CityLife.co.uk Manchester Food and Drink Awards. At the 2007 Manchester Food and Drink Awards the restaurant’s owner, Chris Johnson, was given the Outstanding Contribution of the Decade award.
Chris collected his latest Best Restaurant award in front of the cream of the northern dining trade, in town for the allied Northern Restaurant & Bar 2009 expo at Manchester Central.
Over 250 guests celebrated and applauded as the nine awards – Best Bar, Chef, General Manager, Hotel, Newcomer, Pub, Restaurant, Wine Offering and the coveted Special Achievement award – were announced.
The evening was compered by Nigel Barden, compere and food and drink presenter on BBC Radio 2’s Chris Evans show.
The winners are:
Best Bar: Residence Restaurant & Bar, Nantwich
Best Chef: Marc Wilkinson, Fraiche, Wirral
Best General Manager: Jason Harding, The Lowry, Manchester (The Lowry also won Restaurant of the Year last year)
Best Hotel: Clow Beck House, Darlington
Best Newcomer: The Church Green, Lymm
Best Pub: The Kirkstile Inn, Cockermouth
Best Restaurant: Ramsons Restaurant, Ramsbottom
Best Wine Offering: The Angel Inn, at Hetton
Special Achievement: Andrew and Jacquie Pern, The Star Inn, Harome
Thom Hetherington, Managing Director of Moorfield Media, the awards’ organisers said: “This year the standard has surpassed our expectations and the judges have had a really tough job.
‘‘The current economic climate makes award ceremonies such as this all the more important – the industry needs its moment to congratulate the best of its colleagues and peers. The Northern hospitality industry certainly has a lot to celebrate and be proud of.”
This year the awards ceremony moved to the Hilton, where the guests mingled at a cocktail reception and then enjoyed a delicious four-course dinner created by the hotel’s head chef David Gale, a finalist for Best Chef.
*YOU can see a gallery from the bash by clicking on the picture above.
Published: Tue, 31 March, 2009
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