Cheshire Life Food & Drink Awards trophies were handed out across 11 categories at the black-tie dinner hosted by BBC presenter and Cheshire Life columnist Beccy Wood. Following a drinks reception with sparkling wine produced from grapes in Carden Park’s own vineyard, editor Joanne Goodwin welcomed guests to the awards (the first since 2019), by praising the food and drink industry for its resilience and can-do spirit, exemplified by the finalists who were chosen from the hundreds of entries.
Blair McKerchar of drinks producer of the year, micro-roastery Lost Barn Coffee Roasters, said: ‘We had no idea we were going to win especially when we saw the calibre of the other people up for this award. We thought we were just coming for a great night out; then when they called us up onto the stage we were absolutely blown away.’