When it comes to winning awards for fine dining, very few can compete with the bulging trophy cabinet of a world-famous double Michelin-starred chef. So who better than Marcus Wareing to be dishing up the prizes to the county’s best restaurateurs in the Northamptonshire Food and Drink Awards 2009?

Marcus, who has recently been voted ‘Best Chef’ by a leading European restaurant review website, will be the special guest at the ‘Celebration of Northamptonshire’ dinner being held at Althorp on 9 October and will present the awards to the title winners of ‘Restaurant of the Year’ and ‘Pub or Bar Restaurant of the Year’ for 2009.

The awards, devised by Northamptonshire Enterprise Limited, were set up to celebrate good practise among the county’s eateries.

Said Marcus “I’m absolutely delighted to be involved with these new awards. It’s a tough challenge getting all the ingredients together to create the perfect dining experience and it’s only right and proper that we should honour those who work so hard to achieve it!”   

2009 has proved to be a momentous year for the chef himself, with his restaurant ‘Marcus Wareing at the Berkeley’ being awarded two Michelin stars, voted number three in Restaurant Magazine’s Top 100 Restaurant awards and making a dramatic entry at number 52 on the San Pellegrino world restaurant awards list. The chef, who can count A-List celebrities Kylie Minogue, Sharon Stone, Madonna, Robert De Niro and Kevin Spacey among his customers, is also publishing his latest book ‘Nutmeg and Custard’ later this month.

Food lovers will also have seen Marcus regularly demonstrating his kitchen skills on television, having appeared on BBC TV’s ‘Great British Menu’ – where his dessert of egg custard tart and Garibaldi biscuit was served at the Queen’s 80^th birthday banquet – and as a guest on James Martin’s ‘Saturday Kitchen’.

The finalists in the two categories were chosen after assessment of their entries by a select panel of judges, including Catering Manager at Northampton College Mike Coppock and David Kennedy, Chief Executive of Northampton Borough Council.

Those vying for the title of ‘Restaurant of the Year’ are:

Greens Restaurant and Bar, Northampton
Murrays at Whittlebury Hall, Whittlebury
Oundle Mill, Oundle
The Church Restaurant, Northampton          
The Vine House Hotel and Restaurant, Paulerspury 

While the ‘Pub or Bar Restaurant of the Year’ shortlist is: 

The Olde Red Lion, Kislingbury
The Red Lion, Sibbertoft
The Saracen’s Head, Little Brington
The Walnut Tree Inn, Blisworth
The White Swan, Harringworth 

Said Jeremy Medley, Head Chef and General Manager of Oundle Mill, “Marcus is an outstanding chef.  His involvement is a great coup for the Northamptonshire awards.  This shows how important these awards are to businesses in the county.”

Members of the public can still show their support by logging on to www.letyourselfgrow.com and selecting their favourite eatery from the shortlist by following the details on the website.  Voting will be open until 27 September.  The winners and runners-up in each category will be chosen by the expert panel taking into account public support and the results of the ‘mystery shopping’ of each of the ten venues.

Kate Dent, Head of Tourism at Northamptonshire Enterprise Ltd said “We’re thrilled that Marcus Wareing is on board, his association is yet another in a long line of exciting developments for these awards and for Northamptonshire’s food and drink establishments, further proof of the county’s quality offering receiving the praise and recognition it deserves.”

Tickets are now available for the ‘Celebration of Northamptonshire’ dinner at Althorp on 9 October priced at £90. Now in its third successive year, the dinner and charity auction event is aimed at celebrating all that is great about Northamptonshire – set against the stunning backdrop of one of the county’s finest historic homes. More details are available at: www.celebratenorthamptonshire.co.uk