Entries now open for The Courier Food & Drink Awards in partnership with Barnetts

The Courier’s annual celebration of the very best food and drink offerings in Angus, Dundee, Fife and Perthshire is back.

Yes, entries, are now open for The Courier Food & Drink Awards 2025 in partnership with Barnetts, which celebrate the achievements of eateries and businesses throughout our area.

This year’s awards at the Old Course Hotel in St Andrews were a huge success and put a stamp on the ceremony as a must-attend event for food and drink fans.

Next year’s awards will be at a new venue, the Apex City Quay Hotel & Spa in Dundee, on Wednesday March 26.

The awards, which celebrate and champion local food, drink, and hospitality, will spotlight businesses in 12 different categories.

And five respected chefs from across Tayside and Fife, who will be announced in the coming weeks, will each cook up a course at the dinner.

We will also be revealing an esteemed judging panel shortly.

Record entries

A record number of entries were received for the 2024 edition and it proved to be a hugely difficult job for the judges to decide on winners.

This year’s categories are: Bar of the Year, Brewer of the Year, Chef of the Year, Community Champion, Entrepreneur of the Year, Independent Cafe of the Year, Producer of the Year, Restaurant of the Year, Rising Star, Street Vendor of the Year, Spirit Producer of the Year, Street Vendor of the Year and Sustainability Award.

The host for the awards will also be announced in the coming weeks.

The Editor of The Courier, David Clegg, said the amazing chefs, artisan producers and business owners make the Food & Drink Awards a big highlight of the newspaper’s year.

“The food and drink talent in Courier Country never ceases to amaze me – we are so incredibly fortunate to be living in an area that is absolutely bursting with energy and expertise.

“I love attending the awards and listening to the stories that our amazing food and drink producers, chefs, bar owners and hoteliers have to tell.

Recognising success in hospitality industry

“You also have to remember that it is incredibly tough at times for hospitality and I continually marvel at how these devoted people strive for quality.

“The awards not only recognise the success of businesses in the area, but the individuals behind them who put their blood, sweat and tears into making their companies a success.

“We are so fortunate to have invention in abundance in the food and drink scene locally, so it is only right and proper that we celebrate it.”

The awards headline sponsor and Restaurant of the Year sponsor, Barnetts, are proud to be involved.

“We are delighted to be the headline sponsor of this year’s Courier Food & Drink Awards and have been a supporter of growth of our food and drink community for some time,” they said.

“We believe that the Courier Food & Drink awards are an important part of such growth and the awards celebrate the achievements of Courier Country’s most outstanding businesses and individuals.

“The awards are a brilliant platform for our hospitality arena to showcase and share their success stories and they give us a chance to recognise the innovation and creativity that drives our hospitality forward.”

Special award

Altar, sponsor of the Spirit Producer of the year Award, said: “With a high number of Altar clients operating in the UK spirits industry, we are delighted to sponsor the Spirit Producer of The Year Award.

“This special award is particularly close to our hearts and we wish all nominees the very best of luck.”

Sponsor of the Brewer of the Year Award, The University of Dundee School of Business added: “The University of Dundee School of Business is delighted to be sponsoring these awards, which supports and celebrates the diverse food and drink community across Tayside. Good luck to all nominees.”

Bar of the Year Award sponsor, Diageo, said: “Diageo is delighted to support The Courier Food and Drink Awards and are pleased to be sponsoring Bar of the Year Award.”

Sponsors of Entrepreneur of the Year, The Rookery, added: The Rookery is delighted to support these awards for another year and look forward to rewarding the valuable contributions made by our hospitality industry.”

Visit courierfoodanddrinkawards.com for more information about the awards and to enter.

Entries close on January 12.

The Courier Food & Drink Awards award categories

Bar of the Year sponsored by Diageo

This category is open to independent or hotel bars. Judges will be looking for a bar with a good ambience and knowledgeable staff who have a strong customer focus. An exciting and varied wine and beer list, expertly made signature cocktails and a good knowledge of spirits are essential.

Brewer of the Year sponsored by The University of Dundee School of Business

This category is open to any independently owned brewery business that can demonstrate success in the market.
Judges will be looking for a commitment to locally sourced products where possible, sustainable practices and robust processes and a sound marketing strategy.

Chef of the Year

The Chef of the Year is someone who is dedicated to creating and serving the best food, using seasonal and local ingredients. Above all, we are looking for passion, that magic ingredient that defines true greatness in the kitchen.
Entries should come from all areas of the hospitality business, including hotels, restaurants and pubs.

Community Champion

Through a lifetime of thoughtfulness or by an act of courage or kindness, this individual or group exemplifies the essence of community spirit. Perhaps during tough economic times, you adapt your business to help others in your area. The winner will be someone or a group who has gone out of their way to make a difference and help those who live within their community.

Entrepreneur of the Year sponsored by The Rookery, Carnoustie

This award is open to any food and drink-related businesses based in Courier Country, which have been operating for a minimum of 14 months (as of September 2022). The award recognises a business leader who has shown entrepreneurial focus, strategic planning, innovation, strong leadership and outstanding business performance.

Independent Cafe of the Year

The judges will look for the independent coffee shop that is best able to create an outstanding customer experience — a warm welcome, high-quality coffee and/or tea plus a range of other drinks, tasty food made from fresh, local produce, all served with an excellent level of customer service.

Producer of the Year

Entries are welcome from producers of fruit, vegetables, eggs, meat or drinks, grown, produced or made from sources in Courier Country. Judges are looking for individuals or businesses with the ability and vision to produce and market quality food and drink products in this region. These are growers and producers who are passionate about what they do and who have the talent and skill to grow, develop and market an outstanding and commercially scalable food and drink product.

Restaurant of the Year, sponsored by Barnetts

This venue should be the very best of Scottish hospitality and cuisine; displaying the use of fresh and local ingredients with flair, imagination and expertise. Diners will not hesitate to travel many miles for this dining experience.

Rising Star of the Year

The Rising Star recognises a game-changing newcomer whose vision and passion for food has marked them out as one-to-watch.

Working on their own venture or within an established firm in the food and drink industry, our Rising Star will have channelled their talent for making outstanding food or producing quality food products, into a successful business venture.

While still in the relatively early stages of their career, our Rising Star will be the one calling the shots in their own venture or, as an in-house member of staff.

Spirit Producer of the Year sponsored by Altar

This category is open to any independently owned business within the craft spirits industry that has raised the bar by continually challenging themselves to bring new products to market, develops a good relationship with their customers and can demonstrate a commitment to the local community and sustainable practices shared across the industry.

Street Vendor of the Year

Good food on the go has become an important part of modern living and, as such, the demand for street food and impromptu pop-ups has never been greater. The judges will be looking for someone who’s bringing something unique to the table.

Sustainability Award

This award is for those who have sustainability at the heart of their business. The firm will demonstrate positive moves to operating more sustainably and showcase how they have done so/are doing so.