The Good Food Guide is inviting submissions for its highly regarded Readers’ Restaurant of the Year awards, with this year’s nomination period opening on Monday 4 February 2013. The awards celebrate great food and service at independent restaurants, pubs and cafés from around the country, all of whom can encourage their diners to nominate them (details below).
The annual awards invite the public to nominate their favourite neighbourhood dining establishments across ten different UK regions, with the criteria that restaurants should be independently run and offer regional or local produce where possible. Ten regional winners will be announced based on the public nominations before The Good Food Guide judges declare their overall Readers’ Restaurant of the Year 2014.
Elizabeth Carter, Consultant Editor, The Good Food Guide, commented:
‘We are very proud of The Good Food Guide Readers’ Restaurant of the Year awards; they are such a great way to celebrate the top-notch neighbourhood eateries we have around the country.
‘The dining-out public are at the heart of these awards and we want to hear from them about where they really love to go when eating out. We want to let those restaurants know how much they are appreciated by their diners and give them the credit they deserve.’
Boost for the winning businesses
As well as providing a fantastic way for people to recognise their favourite restaurants, the awards often provide a welcome boost to the businesses who win. Many winning restaurants report uplift in bookings, takings and staff morale as a result of an award from The Good Food Guide.
With over 44,500 nominations received last year there is no doubt how popular the awards are with the public. Last year, Van Zeller in Harrogate clinched the coveted top-spot to win the overall award of The Good Food Guide Readers’ Restaurant of the Year 2013.
Encourage your customers to nominate
To take part in the awards restaurants can encourage their diners to nominate them online, at The Good Food Guide, or by making official postcards available in their restaurants during the nomination period – 4 February until 14 April 2013.
The ten regional winners will be announced at the end of May and the overall winner of The Good Food Guide Readers’ Restaurant of the Year 2014 will be announced in late June.
Winners of the Readers’ Restaurant of the Year awards will go on to feature in the 2014 edition of The Good Food Guide which will publish in September 2013.