free from eating out awards

23 November 2015

Oscar & Bentleys Winner of Free From Eating Out Awards 2015
Antony Worrall Thompson and Phil Hooper of headline sponsors, Sodexo, presenting the trophy to Sarah Ormond Smith, Katherine Durio and Mark Kennet of Oscar & Bentleys in Canterbury

Eating out when you have allergies is a massive hurdle to overcome. It takes a lot of trust and questions to be able to have the confidence to order at a restaurant or cafe. For this very reason I have followed to Free From Eating Out Awards with great interest. 

PRESS RELEASE

Canterbury restaurant triumphs at second national FreeFrom Eating Out Awards

Antony Worrall Thompson presented the FreeFrom Eating Out Awards silver salver of excellence to Sarah Ormond Smith of the Canterbury restaurant, Oscar & Bentleys at a presentation ceremony at Food Matters Live today. The awards are sponsored by Sodexo.

Oscar & Bentleys, second time winner of the Restaurant category at the FreeFrom Eating Out Awards, was praised as ‘faultless’ by the incognito judges who ate there. ‘The restaurant exudes excellence and competence – everything is fully thought through, the staff are friendly and inspire total confidence – and the food is beyond excellent! Nothing is too much trouble and they were not even fazed by the prospect of catering for a guest with nine life threatening allergies!'

Runners up for the accolade were:

2 Oxford Place, Leeds
'From the very first phone call to the friendly farewell from all the staff as we left – this was the ultimate free from experience.' 

Eden Food Service (School caterers)
‘As corporate members of the Anaphylaxis Campaign you would expect Eden to provide a comprehensive service for the 60,000 children that they care for – but they really go over and beyond.' 

The Royal Oak, Marlow
'Oh yes please! There is a world of difference between catering for an allergy with a roast with no gravy, and coming up with a delicious dish that meets multiple needs without compromise on flavour. The Royal Oak hits the nail on the head.’

"Great entries to the awards again this year. As the food service world has started to get its head around food allergy and intolerance, so the number of outlets that can offer really exciting ‘freefrom’ meals has grown. We were literally overwhelmed with fish and chip shops offering excellent gluten-free evenings this year while the range of gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free and nut-free dishes on offer in cafés and restaurants around the country is positively heart warming!!" - Awards Director, Michelle Berriedale-Johnson

"We are delighted by the ongoing success of these awards. It is so important that food service is able to take on board the new allergen regulations so that they can cater safely for the growing number of people who have to live on restricted diets." - Wan Mak, Head of Nutrition and Dietetics at awards sponsors, Sodexo

The FreeFrom Eating Out Awards are run by the same team as run the very successful FreeFrom Food Awards (now in their 9th year) and the FreeFrom Skincare Awards (now in their 5th year). 

Categories for the The FreeFrom Eating Out Awards are as follows

  • Cafés, coffee shops, tea rooms
  • Fish & Chip shops
  • Pub Restaurants
  • Restaurants
  • Corporate Hospitality and venues
  • B&Bs and guest houses
  • Schools, colleges and universities 
  • Food Manufactured for food service

For the complete list of Winners and Runners Up visit FreeFrom Eating Out Awards 2015


21 June 2015

2015 Free From Eating Out Awards are now open for entry
(Press Release)

The 2015 Free From Eating Out Awards, after an extremely successful launch last year, open for entry today, June 8th. The awards, which are sponsored by Sodexo, were inspired by the new EU allergen regulations which require all food service outlets to know, and be able to tell their customers about, any of the 14 major allergens in their offer. 

Initially, the food service industry was appalled by these new ‘regs’ but, six months in, they are realising that far from being a burden, being allergen-aware can open up untapped, exciting and lucrative new markets. And what better a way to attract customers who either need or want to eat ‘freefrom’ than to win a ‘freefrom' award!!

The Free From Eating Out Awards are run by the team who already run the highly successful Free From Food Awards, now in their ninth year and a vital fixture in the ‘freefrom’ year.

Says Wan Mak, head of Nutrition and Dietetics at Sodexo: 
“After such a successful launch last year, we are delighted to be sponsoring these awards for the second year. We believe they will help to raise awareness of the need to provide accurate information for allergy sufferers and those with other dietary restrictions. We feed over a million customers a year and we think it is so important that they all can eat out in safety and with confidence.”

Says Michelle Berriedale-Johnson, director of the awards: 
“We were really delighted with the response to last year’s awards and the level of dedication shown by many of our entrants. We look forward to an exciting second year and are hugely grateful to Sodexo and all of our sponsors for helping us to drive awareness forward.”

Categories for the 2015 awards will include as last year: 
• Cafés and teashops – sponsored by Can I eat there?
• Pubs and pub restaurants – sponsored by Green’s Gluten-free Beers
• Independent restaurants and restaurant chains – sponsored by Riso Gallo
• Hotels and guests houses – sponsored by Caterlyst
• Schools, colleges and universities – sponsored by Thomas Ridley Foodservice
• Foods manufactured for food service

Plus new for this year:
• Street food and takeaways – sponsored by Genon Laboratories
• Fish and chip shops– sponsored by Glebe Farm
• Corporate hospitality and catering – sponsored by Nairn's

Entry to the 2015 awards opens today, 8th June, and closes on 28th August. Entry forms are all to be found on the awards site.

A shortlist will be published on 7th October. The presentation of the awards by awards’ patron, Antony Worrall Thompson, will take place at the Food Matters Live event at Excel on 17th November where there will also be a ‘cook off’ between some of the winners of last year’s awards!!

29 May 2014

Vegan cooked breakfast

When a press release for the 'Free From' Eating Out Awards arrived in my inbox, it couldn't have come at a more appropriate time. I spent the Bank Holiday weekend away from home and the hotel breakfast was what I like to affectionately call "allergy roulette". I admit, I didn't want to cause a fuss, we rocked up at the end of service, so I made do based on my instincts rather than identifying myself as "the weird customer with allergies". Funniest moment was asking the Wait Staff if dairy free milk was available and getting the response "no, but we have soya milk". Bless, I will say that English probably wasn't their first language so I guess things got lost in translation, which I can forgive to a certain extent. A Vegetarian cooked breakfast was available so I did some guess work and adapted it to Vegan (dairy & egg free). First attempt at this breakfast had to be returned as I was served bacon and sausages. The Continental breakfast buffet was a no go zone. Unlabelled cereals, what a headache, I would have had to ask staff to show me ingredients for ten cereals to determine which ones I could eat and frankly I can't be bothered with that. I declined toast because these days milk keeps sneaking up on me in bread.

This experience certainly wasn't a one off and it is why I will follow the 'Free From' Eating Out Awards with great interest. My experience at the hotel was a prime example of the frustrations when trying to enjoy a meal away from home. Those who have allergies/intolerances are often faced with limited choices on menus and the food service industry lacks understanding about food allergy and coeliac disease.

The awards are being launched to coincide with the build up to the new Food Information Regulations (FIRs) coming into force in December 2014. These will require all food service outlets to provide accurate information about any of the 14 major allergens in the food that they serve. The 'Free From' Eating Out Awards are designed to raise awareness of the opportunities offered to food service providers by the growing numbers of those either needing, or choosing, to eat ‘free from’. The new awards will celebrate not only imaginative and exciting gluten, dairy and egg free menu offerings but good allergen awareness, both in the kitchen and front of house.

Perhaps you know of a good place to eat that caters for allergies and coeliacs, may be you should encourage them to enter these awards? Tell them to visit Free From Eating Out Awards site and follow the links. The awards open for entry on the 27th May and close on the 31st August. Categories include: Restaurants and hotel restaurants, Pubs and pub restaurants, Cafés, coffee shops and ‘take-aways’, Guest houses and B&Bs, Schools, Not for profit services: hospitals, prison services & the military, Food manufactured for food service. A shortlist will be published in mid September. The presentations will take place on November 19th at the Food Matters Live Event at Excel.

Sarah x

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