Chesterfield celebrated its wide range of high quality food and drink businesses at the town’s popular annual awards ceremony on Wednesday 23 October.
Lombardi’s Italian Restaurant, based on Sheffield Road, took the top honour of Chesterfield’s Restaurant of the Year at the awards, which were held at the Winding Wheel and hosted by celebrity chef Brian Turner
After narrowly missing out on the top award back in 2017, Christina and Daniel Power, owners of Lombardi’s, were delighted to win, saying: “It feels incredible to win this award after being in this business for 18 years. It’s amazing to be acknowledged for what we do – bringing the real taste of Italy to Chesterfield since 2002.
“We are regarded as an institution in the town, but we’re not standing still. We have just expanded the business to create more seating and will create an outdoor seating area next year to meet demand from our customers.”
Casa Hotel, based on Lockford Lane, also had a great night at the awards, which are organised by Destination Chesterfield in association with The Chesterfield College Group.
Casa took home two titles, including Conference Venue of the Year and International Restaurant of the Year for Cocina at Casa.
Attending the awards, Peter Swallow, Chair of Destination Chesterfield and Managing Director of Bolsterstone Plc, the company behind Chesterfield Waterside added: ““Once again the Food and Drink Awards ceremony was a huge success with more people nominating and more businesses and individuals being shortlisted than previous years. The year-on-year growth of the awards is a direct reflection of how the town’s food and drink sector is continuing to grow.”
More than 270 people attended what has become the biggest night of the year for Chesterfield’s food and drink community since it was established in 2012 The awards are also a hands-on learning experience for the College’s hospitality students, who served canapes to guests on arrival at the town’s Winding Wheel venue.
Looking to the burgeoning hospitality sector, the awards also celebrated up and coming stars with a Young Chef of the Year Award and Apprentice of the Year award.
Jake Parkin, winner of the Young Chef of the ear award said: “When I heard my name called out I was absolutely thrilled. I was confident I’d done well in the cooking element of the competition, but to actually win the award means the world to me. The Young Chef of the Year award is the start of my career to eventually become a head chef. The whole experience has been exciting but nerve wracking.”
Chesterfield Waterside will further build on the town’s great food and drink offer, with additional bars, restaurants and cafés at the £320 million development. The site is set to be a hub for entertainment as well as cater for both the daytime and nighttime economies, with events planned around the new canal basin constructed in the Basin Square neighbourhood of the development.
Construction of a number of the elements within Phase 1 of Basin Square, specifically the office block and car park, are set to get underway in 2020.
Chesterfield Waterside provides exciting opportunities for food and drink businesses, offering a thriving mixed-use environment in which hotels, shops, restaurants and bars all have a vital part to play. The development offers space for operators ranging from 1,400 m² (15,000 ft²) to 6,000 m² (64,000 ft²)
For more information on the investment opportunities at Chesterfield Waterside, please get in touch with our friendly team on 01246 260 206.
Or, to see the full list of winners from the 2019 Chesterfield Food and Drink Awards, please visit here.