THE Taste Cheshire Food and Drink awards are returning for 2022 – and people are being urged to have their say on which Cheshire venues deserve top honours.

Voting opens on Friday, July 15 for the awards, which are making a return after the Covid pandemic hit the hospitality industry hard.

Since 1999 the best restaurants, pubs, producers, and shops in the Cheshire area come together once a year to enjoy a well-earned night off and celebrate the incredibly high standards they have created in local hospitality.

The awards are now the benchmark for customer satisfaction and company achievement and previous winners proudly display their plaques in venues across the county.

The Taste Cheshire awards are unique in that they are voted for by the public in the opening stage. Each category is open for the public to nominate anyone they chose from the local area in each category, they don't have to be a Taste Cheshire member to be considered.

Taste Cheshire CEO Briony Wilson said: "We are absolutely thrilled to be bringing the food and drink awards back to the county.

"We have been asked constantly since lockdown about them and everyone is so excited to once again take a moment to recognise the enormous achievements of food and drink in Cheshire.

"Not only is it a wonderful opportunity to celebrate these passionate and dedicated people, it's also the best night out of the year for the teams!

"We are delighted to have included some new categories this year too, highlighting the changing priorities of the industry, such as the Green Award for Sustainability, the Cheshire Cocktail Champion and Event Venue of the Year.

"Cheshire truly is The County of Food and Drink. At Taste Cheshire we are proud to be able to shout about our venues and producers and to honour those at the pinnacle of their profession with these awards.”

The awards are among the most voted for Food and Drink Awards in the UK, with over 44,000 votes registered in 2019 as customers voted for and nominated their favourite places in different categories.

The process to vote is simple, with everyone encouraged to vote by going online to www.tastecheshire.com and visiting the VOTE page. Voting is free and people can vote for whomever they wish in every category, but only one voting form will register from each computer/email address.

When the voting finishes on August 26, Taste Cheshire will name the four/five nominations in each category who will be mystery dined by a panel of industry judges.

These judges will then complete a report on each venue; the report becomes available to the venue after the winners have been announced, showing how their business was judged. The judging is one of total transparency.

The 2022 winners will be crowned at a dinner on September 28 which will be held at the Pavilion at Chester Racecourse.

Tickets for this event are £65 per person, with a table of 10 costing £620 and include a pre-dinner cocktail and a four-course gala meal provided by Horseradish Catering.

For more information about the awards, sponsorship opportunities or to book tickets for the event, call Briony Wilson on 01244 956 414 or email briony.wilson@tastecheshire.com .