Marketing Derby Food and Drink Awards nomination period extended

People have been given more time to vote for their favourite places to eat and drink after the nomination period for the Marketing Derby Food and Drink Awards was extended.

Nominations were due to close on Friday – but this has now been extended to 12noon on Monday 29 July.

Launched on 28 June, the awards are designed to shine a light on Derby’s brilliant food and drink businesses, recognising and celebrating the very best places to eat and drink across the city.

The awards have been designed to allow as many food and drink businesses as possible to enter, with 11 categories including Best Café, Best Pub, Best Bar and Best Country Pub / Restaurant – and, course, Restaurant of the Year.

There is a new category for this year – Best Curry – and a new award – the Innovation Award, the winner of which will be chosen by Marketing Derby.

And an award will be presented on the night recognising Outstanding Achievement.

So far, more than 3,500 nominations have been received.

Christopher Tebbs, inward investment executive at Marketing Derby and Food and Drink Awards lead, said: “Due to the large number of nominations we’ve received already, we’ve decided to extend the public nomination period to ensure everyone has the chance to nominate their favourite establishments.

“We’ve already received over 3,500 nominations from the public, nominating their favourite pubs, bars, cafes and restaurants across the city and county.

“The quality of nominations we’ve received so far have been amazing. This really shows how many fantastic food and drink establishments we have in Derby.

“In recent years it has been particularly tough to run a successful food and drink business. This is why it’s so important to help shine a light on the sector through our annual awards and recognise all their hard work.

“We encourage everyone to nominate their favourite establishments and tell us why they think they should be a finalist – reaching the shortlist truly means so much to each and every business.”

This year, the public, the business community and the food and drink outlets themselves are invited to make nominations.

Once the nomination period closes, judges will round them down to a shortlist of finalists, who will be announced in August.

The winners will then be revealed at a vibrant awards ceremony, which will take place at The Chocolate Factory on Monday 7 October.

Last year, to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the Marketing Derby Food and Drink Awards, a special Food and Drink Guide was produced.

Due to the success of the publication, a new, updated guide will be published, featuring all the 2024 winners.

This will be distributed on the night of the awards and included with future copies of Marketing Derbys Innovate Magazine.

This year, the awards has also attracted a top line-up of partners, including The Chocolate Factory, Denby Pottery, Royal Crown Derby, Sky Recruitment, Derby College Group, Ocean King, Balls2 Marketing, Spaceman Marketing, NK Motors, the University of Derby, and Pro Technical.

For more information about the awards visit https://www.marketingderby.co.uk/food-and-drink-awards/ .

To nominate visit https://forms.gle/hiDJVY3kTP9sqT4H7 .

You can also get all the latest news about the Marketing Derby Food and Drink Awards by following @‌DerbyFoodAwards on ‘X’ (formerly Twitter), @‌derbyfoodawards on Instagram, and Marketing Derby Food and Drink Awards on Facebook.