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SAC Celebrates Success in NE Food Awards
David Lamb, George Booth (The Store) Patrick Hughes (opens in new window)
SAC Food and Drink is celebrating the success of the new prize for local independent retailers, presented at the recent “Taste of Grampian”, Food Awards. The new award, which attracted six NE retailer entries, was developed and judged by consultants David Lamb and Patrick Hughes and sponsored by SAC.
The Store based at Foveran and run by Andrew Booth and family was the inaugural winners of the new category which was to raise the profile of the local and independent retailers in the Grampian area who champion local food and drink. The family’s commitment to home grown produce, customer service and attention to detail impressed the judges. They felt the layout, product range, stock availability and overall atmosphere created a winning combination.
This was a hotly contested category. Both judges were full of praise for the retail offerings from all the six finalists. The level of staff knowledge and service was excellent throughout and a real effort had been made to source from a wide range of local suppliers. Judging the category had involved two independent visits.
The Innovation Awards, held at the marcliffe Hotel and Spa in Aberdeen, celebrated their 21st year. They are regarded as a key event in the Grampian Food Forum’s calendar.
Chairman of Aberdeenshire Council’s Infrastructure Services Committee, Cllr Peter Argyle, said:
“The Grampian Food Forum Innovation Awards have become a key highlight of the north-east business calendar and it’s good to see so many companies entered this year. I’m sure the judging was extremely close in each category and would like to congratulate each of the entries for their fantastic selection of goods.”
SAC’s Ceri Ritchie was a judge for the Most Successful Product developed from the winners of the 2010 Awards. This reviews product performance for the first year of its life and compares it with the original business plan. This year the winner was Mackie’s Thick Cut Potato Crisps.