Community Competition

2022 winner: David Smyth, Catering Production Manager of Antrim Area Hospital in Northern Ireland

David has led the way for hospitals in Northern Ireland to take part in the national food celebrations, creating a promotion titled ‘Celebrating Northern Irish food during British Food Fortnight’. He inspired other Trusts to get involved and his colleagues in other hospitals to join the Love British Food Hospitals Working Group. He bought Dexter beef farmer Sean O’Neil on board with all the activities providing an invaluable contribution to the discussion on local supply chains. 

Alexia Robinson, founder of Love British Food says: “David has been the most remarkable leader in inspiring people and the results speak for themselves.”

David Smyth said: “It is a pleasure to be involved with Love British Food and Celebrating Northern Irish Food during British Food Fortnight. What can I say but thank you so much. I will proudly display the plaque in our restaurant. The catering team will be delighted with this news.” 

2021 winner: Victoria Buob-Aldorf, Bartholomew School in Oxfordshire for the most wonderful British Food Fortnight school menus throughout the two weeks. Victoria also organised learning activities for pupils to inspire them to cook at home; and she involved the whole school and parents in the event.

2020's winner is Flo Osborne, 89, from Dovercourt, Essex.

During lockdown Flo made more than 100 pies for the elderly and vulnerable in her community.

Flo went above and beyond for her community. Thank you Flo!

2019 Somerset villages Great Harvest Trail

2018 the county of Hampshire: local food promoters, Hampshire Fare, worked with Hampshire Country Council Catering Services to organise British Food Fortnight menus and wonderful educational activities in 400 schools across the county. It was a tremendous endeavour and one that has inspired other local authority catering services. It is a beacon of how to put local food on school menus and make it exciting and educational for pupils. It was achieved through the inspiration and endeavours of two inspirational women whose vision extended across a whole county. 

2017 Ginger & Spice Festival: a 4-day event celebrating the history and heritage of the town of Market Drayton and its links with the Gingerbread Man.  The aim was to bring the local community together to discover, explore, re-connect and celebrate their unique culinary heritage, as well as promote and celebrate their local produce. It was such a success, the festival has taken place every year since.

2016 City of Bath & NE Somerset Local Food Partnership: an inspired programme of celebrations, activities and events during the Fortnight with more than 30 local businesses getting involved. Food festivals, cooking courses and a British Breakfast for all participating schools using local produce were just some of the activities that took place throughout the city during British Food Fortnight.

2015 City of Peterborough: celebrated food and the unique role that agriculture has played in the development of the city. A series of events filled the city centre with the sights, sounds, tastes, smells, songs and dances of the countryside finishing with an open-air British food lunch in the Cathedral square attended by hundreds of people sitting at long tables recreating a modern-day harvest feast. Most notably, Peterborough’s city centre food and craft market was reinstated after 50 years providing a wonderful legacy from the competition.

2014 Emsworth market town, Hampshire: they created a food festival, not for outside visitors, but for the town itself. What they achieved was astonishing; two weeks of events with local producer markets, foraging walks, themed lunches, films about the town’s oyster heritage and tastings. Students from nearby colleges took over the Brookfield Hotel to prepare a three course Great British Menu. A food mountain was built in the centre of town and all the food was donated to the Beacon Food Bank. Winning the British Food Fortnight competition has inspired the town to expand the celebrations every year since and the whole town and surrounding area now celebrate British Food Fortnight every year. The vision of one man, Alistair Gibson, Emsworth Food Festival is now the benchmark against which we judge all other food festivals. What they achieved is truly astonishing. There is a fun film of it here: https://emsworthonline.co.uk/Emsworth%20British%20Food%20Fortnight.html

2013 The village of Haslington, Cheshire: our first winner and proof that small communities can also be winners. The whole community were hands-on in organising a weekend of harvest celebrations that truly gave a modern-day interpretation of the tradition of harvest festival. Farm animals were bought into the centre of the village, there was a farmer’s market on the village green, there was a whole village debate about food and farming led by local farmers and the local MP and a grand finale harvest celebration with local producers and the WI.