If you’ve followed foody social media this week, you might have noticed that the Edinburgh Restaurant Awards were announced on Monday night. Amy and I were there.
All the winners gathering for the final photo.
The awards are arranged by Edinburgh Evening News and is in its second year. The public is asked to submit suggestions on a variety of categories and then a panel of judges evaluates the nominations. This year, the panel included Gaby Soutar, Scott Smith, Victor Contini, David Livingstone and yours truly. The judging process was two-fold: we evaluated all the nominations to get a short-list and then met to discuss categories where there was no clear winner. It was a privilege to be part of judging panel and I was delighted to also be asked to present one of the awards.
Look! Name tag. (My name: easier to spell than to pronounce.)
I really enjoyed the evening but award ceremonies are funny events. Everyone wants to know whether they won their category and have to sit politely waiting, waiting, waiting. The winners were announced after drinks, speeches, dinner and entertainment. By then, everyone was on tenterhooks. There was a lot of energy in the room.
Amy and I were at one of the tables with easy access to the stage, with host Arlene Stuart and other presenters: Victor Contini, Sean Murphey, Laura and Miguel from Fhior, to mention a few. On the bus home, I checked for photos of the event and was oddly pleased to see the back of my head in a lot of them. Oh, vanity!
And the winners are
From the judging, I have a list of places to visit in the next few months, from cafés to restaurants or street food places that look intriguing. Watch this space! Meanwhile, here’s a list of this year’s categories and winners.
Best Café/deli
The Bearded Baker
46 Rodney Street
Best Seafood
The Fishmarket
23A Pier Place
Best customer Service
Pizzeria 1926
85 Dalry Road
Best Street Food
Ola Kala
202 Morrinson Street
Best Family Friendly
Akva
129 Fountainbridge
Best Value for Money
Wedgwood
267 Canongate
Best Vegetarian/vegan
David Bann
56-58 St Mary’s Street
Chef of the Year
Paul Wedgewood
Sommelier of the Year
Stuart Skea at Fhior
Hidden Gem
Spitaki
133-135 East Claremont Street
Best Newcomer
The Little Chartroom
30 Albert Place
Best Pub Grub
The Bridge Inn
27 Baird Road, Ratho
Fine Dining Restaurant of the Year
21212
3 Royal Terrace
Restaurant of the Year
Fhior
36 Broughton Street
Rack of lamb and boulangere potatoes. I can’t imagine what it’s like to be in the kitchen, knowing you’re cooking for 130 people, some of which are Edinburgh’s very best and brightest chefs.
See pictures from the night – I’ve learnt something about angles and photographers that I can apply the next time I’m having my photograph taken on a stage. Next time. Oh yes.
