It’s going to be a night to remember for the deserving winners of this year’s Hi Life Awards or HILDAs as they are fondly known in the industry on Friday 3rd February 2012. Thousands of votes have been cast both in the post and online by Hi-Life members across the country and the category finalists can now be revealed.
This delicious roll-call of food super-heroes and heroines who work tirelessly all year round to make eating out such a delight for the great British public clearly demonstrates that Hi-Life members not only have great taste but are only too happy to support their favourite chefs and restaurants so they win the much-prized accolade.
The ultimate winners will be announced by TV presenter and journalist, Paul Ross, at a glittering gala dinner at The Midland Hotel, Manchester where the UK’s favourite dining club, (www.hi-life.co.uk) hosts its eleventh annual awards dinner sponsored for the second year by Secured Mail.
The short-listed entries are as follows:
Best Newcomer
- Paris House, Milton Keynes
- Bem Brasil, Manchester
- Sapporo Teppanyaki, Liverpool
- The Grill at the Seacroft, Holyhead
- The Fine Dining Restaurant, Priest House Hotel, Derby
Best Restaurant Group/Chain
- Living Ventures
- Prezzo
- The Living Room
- Pizza Hut
- Loch Fyne
Best Dining Atmosphere
- Wheeler’s of St. James’s The Kings Arms, Haslemere
- Michael Caines Restaurant, ABode Chester
- Rhubarb Food Design, London
- Panoramic, Liverpool
- Sanguine Hospitality, Dartmouth
Best Ireland Restaurant
- The Cloth Ear
- CoCo
- No. 27 Talbot Street
- Cafe Novo
- Apartment
Best Scotland Restaurant
- Al Dente Restaurant
- Monteiths
- Zucca Restaurant
- A Room in Leith
- Howgate Restaurant & Bistro
Best Yorkshire & North East Restaurant
- The Olive Tree (Rodley Lane), Leeds
- van Zeller Restaurant, Harrogate
- The White Room at Seaham Hall, Seaham
- Clocktower at Rudding Park, Harrogate
- As You Like It, Newcastle Upon Tyne
Best North West Restaurant
- Grenache, Manchester
- The Red Cat, Chorley
- The Walled Garden, Preston
- Stock Restaurant, Manchester
- The Villa, Preston
Best South England Restaurant
- Squid Ink Restaurant, Looe
- Wheeler’s of St. James’s The Kings Arms, Haslemere
- Cafe Spice Namaste, London
- The Tramshed, Bath
- Seagrass Restaurant, St. Ives
Best Platinum Restaurant
- Panoramic, Liverpool
- Pecks Restaurant, Congleton
- The London Carriage Works, Liverpool
- Middlethorpe Hall, York
- Michael Caines Restaurant, ABode Chester
Best Chef
- Christopher Cleghorn, ABode Chester
- Phil Fanning, Paris House
- Tom van Zeller, van Zeller Restaurant
- Nigel Smith, The Villa
- Enzo Mauro, Stock
Best Telegraph Subscriber Dining Club Restaurant
- The Gardeners Arms, Tewkesbury
- 39 Prime, Reigate
- The Living Room, Manchester
- Crab & Lobster, Thirsk
- Howgate Restaurant & Bistro, Penicuik
Best Overall Restaurant
- Crab & Lobster, Thirsk
- The Walled Garden, Preston
- Michael Caines Restaurant, ABode Chester
- Room, Manchester
- The French, Midland Hotel, Manchester
Hi-Life currently has over 3,500 restaurant partners throughout the UK and over 200,000 members of their Club including Platinum Members all of whom enjoy 2 for 1 dining on an annual basis.
As well as Award host Paul Ross, American singing sensation, Gwen Dickey of Rose-Royce fame will also entertain guests on the night. She will perform some of her classic R&B singles including “Car Wash,” “I Wanna Get Next to You,” “Wishing on a Star”, “Love Don’t Live Here Anymore” and “I’m Going Down” to name but a few. Other surprise performers are set to thrill along the way too.
New elements for 2012 include:
- leading table-setting supplier Duni is not only sponsoring the Best Dining Atmosphere category but also mystery shopping the top five nominees in the category
- a filmed ‘cook-off’ in the Best Chef category sponsored by Dawnvale. Judged by Matthew Norman former British Press Awards winner as both Columnist and Food and Drink Writer of the Year and Daily Telegraph Food critic as well as Elizabeth Carter (Editor of the Good Food Guide) and one lucky Hi-Life member,Owen Roberts (who was selected from a HI-Life Facebook competition).
Said Lisa Lund, Commercial Director of Hi-Life,
“What a great way to start the New Year – a treasure trove of superb chefs and restaurants that fly the British flag for outstanding cuisine and superlative service. The short-listed nominees feature well-known foodie favourites and some new rising stars and that’s how we like it – as with every industry the benchmark has got to continually improve and be challenged and it all adds to the excitement on the night itself. The atmosphere is always electric and the camaraderie is second to none. With just under a month to go now to the actual awards, we are in full swing with the final preparations and we can’t wait for the night itself.”
The Hi-Life Awards is a flag-ship national event for the restaurant industry so it goes without saying that we pull out all the stops to make it bigger, better and more fun every year.
This year the event will be raising funds for the Five Stars Appeal.
There are still a small number of tickets to the event available – costing £75 each they include a champagne reception, four-course meal and fabulous entertainment. Tickets can be obtained by e-mailing awards@hi-life.co.uk or call Stacy on 01253 608910