Edge & Son claims top prize at Farm Shop & Deli Awards 2018

Following over 5,000 consumer votes, the awards, held at Birmingham’s NEC, saw 13 category winners and nine regional winners revealed after a rigorous judging process for the awards’ fifth year.

The coveted accolades celebrate the best specialist independent retailers in the UK, with judges looking for the most impressive levels of service, product knowledge, initiative, innovation and community involvement.

The judges praised the outlet highly, with one stating, “A lot of butchers could learn a thing or two from Edge & Son. I love their dedication to ‘nose to tail’ eating as well as the education of staff and customers.” Another judge complimented the retailer’s “substantial growth, dynamic work in joining the local food hall and its integral service to the community”.

Callum Edge of Edge & Son was elated with the victory. He said, “This is such a fantastic award for our shop! There’s nothing easy about this line of business - that’s the reason 80 per cent of butchers have closed - but our team work very hard at a hard business.

“These awards really do make a big difference, and they hopefully go some way in showing our customers how much we’re trying.”

The Goring Grocer in Reading, Berkshire, also won big, taking three awards home including Newcomer of the Year, Delicatessen of the Year and South East regional winner.

The North West dominated this year’s awards with four winners from the region. As well as Edge & Son, the other lucky three were Filbert’s Bakery in Lancaster, which won Baker of the Year; Fishmonger of the Year Fyne Fish in Cockermouth, Cumbria; and The Courtyard Dairy in Austwick, North Yorkshire, which took home the prize for Cheesemonger of the Year.

Other regions that saw double wins include the Midlands with Farm Shop Large Retailer of the year and the regional award going to Denstone Hall Farm Shop & Café near Uttoxeter, Staffordshire and North East with Online Business of the Year and regional award going to Farmison & Co, Ripon, North Yorkshire.

Nigel Barden, chairman of judges said, “Many miles have been covered in search of the finest food and drink retailers in the UK. There are some truly talented, imaginative and passionate food purveyors within our shores, who we should celebrate and support. The Farm Shop & Deli Awards provides the perfect platform for bringing them to our attention, including those selling their wares solely online.”

Farm Shop & Deli Awards 2018 – full list of category winners and commended entrants:

Baker of the Year

Winner: Filbert’s Bakery (Lancaster)

Commended: Bondgate Bakery (Otley) / Hambleton Bakery (Oakham) / Hobbs House Bakery (Tetbury) / Jervaulx Abbey Tearooms (Ripon)

Butcher of the Year and North West winner

Winner: Edge & Son (Birkenhead)

Commended: Cunninghams Butchers and Food Hall (Kilkeel) / Low Howgill Butchers & Deli (Appleby-in-Westmorland)

Cheesemonger of the Year

Winner: The Courtyard Dairy (Austwick)

Commended: Love Cheese (York) / Paxton & Whitfield (Chelsea Green, London)

Delicatessen of the Year and South East winner

Winner: The Goring Grocer (Reading)

Commended: Chandos Deli (Bristol) / No2 Pound Street (Wendover) / The Hungry Guest (Petworth) / The Norfolk Deli (Hunstanton) / Thornham Deli (Hunstanton)

Farm Shop – Large Retailer of the Year and Midlands winner

Winner: Denstone Hall Farm Shop & Café (Nr Uttoxeter)

Commended: Becketts Farm (Wythall) / Chatsworth Estate Farm Shop (Bakewell) / Farmer Copleys Ltd (Pontefract) / Mainsgill Farmshop (Richmond) / The Udder Farm Shop (East Stour)

Farm Shop – Small Retailer of the Year

Winner: Welbeck Farm Shop (Worksop)

Commended: Blair Drummond Smiddy Farm Shop (Stirling) / Cedarbarn Farm Shop (Pickering) / Etherington’s Farm Shop (Redruth) / Fordhall Organic Farm (Market Drayton) / Rhug Farm Shop (Corwen) / The Gog Farm Shop (Cambridge) / The Lambing Shed Farm Shop and Café (Knutsford) / Three Trees Farm Shop & Cafe (Swindon) / Waterloo Cottage Farm (Great Oxendon)

Fishmonger of the Year

Winner: Fyne Fish Ltd (Cockermouth)

Commended: Dabs ‘n’ Crabs (Great Yarmouth) / Latimers Seafood Ltd (Sunderland) / The Fresh Fish Shop Ltd (Haywards Heath)

Food Hall of the Year

Winner: Webbs (Driotwich Spa)

Commended: Delifonseca Dockside (Liverpool) / Fodder (Harrogate) / Great Cornish Food Store (Truro)/ Ludlow Food Centre (Ludlow)

Greengrocer of the Year

Winner: Rafters (Driffield)

Commended: Oakchurch Farm Shop (Hereford)

Market of the Year

Winner: West Malling Farmers Market (West Malling)

Commended: Lenham Country Market (Lenham)

Newcomer of the Year

Winner: The Goring Grocer (Reading)

Commended: Blair Drummond Smiddy Farm Shop (Stirling) / Great Cornish Food Store (Truro)/ Love Cheese (York) / Low Howgill Butchers & Deli (Appleby-in-Westmorland) / The Lambing Shed Farm Shop and Café (Knutsford)

Online Business of the Year and North East winner

Winner: Farmison & Co (Ripon)

Commended: Eat Great Meat Limited (Wortley) / Farmer’s Choice Free Range (Fareham)

Village Store / Local Shop of the Year

Winner: FINK (York)

Commended: R Campbell & Son Limited (Leyburn)/ Shropshire’s Own (Shrewsbury)

Regional awards also went to:

East Anglia: The Gog Farm Shop, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire

Northern Ireland: Cunningham Butchery and Food Hall, Kilkeel, Down

Scotland: Blair Drummond Smiddy Farm Shop, Blair Drummond, Stirling

South West: Hobbs House Bakery, Tetbury, South Gloucestershire

Wales: Rhug Farm Shop, Corwen, Denbighshire