It's the first awards presented by KM Media Group, showcasing culinary experts and community champions across the county.
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00:00 Welcome to the all-new Kent and Medway Food and Drink Awards. We're here at the
00:04 famous Spitfire Ground, the home of Kent cricket here in Canterbury and as you
00:09 can hear and probably see behind me there's a room full of nominees
00:12 excitedly preparing, they're mingling, talking amongst other food and drink
00:17 businesses here in the county. Now it's the first time the KM Media Group have
00:21 hosted and presented their very own culinary celebration just like this one.
00:26 When nominations opened last year members of the public were actually invited to
00:30 vote and nominate those unsung food heroes and those that they want to see
00:35 up on that award stage tonight. From chef of the year to street food pop-up of the
00:40 year and even food bank of the year, 12 different categories in total and the
00:45 idea is to celebrate the county's best right from across the hospitality
00:50 spectrum. So this of course includes food banks as I just mentioned they're
00:54 helping a lot of people get through a really tough financial time at the
00:58 moment and get through those mounting costs but also those key hotels and
01:02 restaurants that we've seen survive through the pandemic and now thrive and
01:06 come out the other side. It's something Sharon Marriott, she's one of the
01:10 organizers here, was explaining to me when we were setting up for the awards
01:14 earlier on. So we've tried to make the awards sort of fit the area in terms of
01:20 the produce and the available outlets. So we have everything from hotel of the
01:26 year, restaurant of the year, we've got chef of the year, food producer of the
01:31 year, beverage producer of the year, you know there's a really wide range and
01:34 we're hoping that we're providing something for everybody because they
01:38 really were hit hard during Covid times. Some recognition now for those that you
01:43 know have thrived in that in that marketplace is absolutely without doubt
01:48 the right time.
01:51 Well as you heard there a lot to look forward to later this evening and really key for the
01:56 hospitality industry but also Kent's economy as well. Now the day is of course
02:01 finally here, people are getting louder and louder behind me, finalists probably
02:05 getting quite nervous now since it was announced back in January that the
02:10 finalists that would be up for that award tonight. Now a panel of industry
02:14 experts have decided the county's rising stars, those unsung food heroes and
02:19 trendsetters right across the county. I'll be bringing you a roundup of the
02:24 awards tomorrow but keep an eye out maybe your vote, your food hero will be
02:29 up on that stage tonight.