Van Zeller in Harrogate has today been named as the North East regional winner in the prestigious The Good Food Guide Readers’ Restaurant of the Year Awards.
A record 44,500 food-loving members of the public(1) put forward their favourite restaurants, pubs and cafés from around the UK for the annual awards. The Good Food Guide award judges have sifted through all the nominations to pick the winners and celebrate some of the best dining experiences around the country.
Natasha Anderson (Waitress), Rebecca Darling (Front of House Manager), Tom Van Zeller (Chef Patron), Neil Bentinck (Sous Chef), Ben Holland (Commis Chef) and Richard Sharp (Chef de Partie)
To qualify for these esteemed awards, aimed at championing local neighbourhood eateries, restaurants needed to be independently run and offer regional or local produce where possible(2). Van Zeller fought off stiff competition from others in the region to win the award for the North East.
Chef Patron Tom van Zeller was delighted to be named as the winner, said:
van Zeller is absolutely thrilled to have picked up such a prestigious award from The Good Food Guide. In these challenging economic times, my wonderful team has proved that all the hard work, dedication and commitment they put in every day is recognised as the very best in the North East. Given that the award is based on consumer feedback I am particularly proud and wish to say thank all of my customers who have voted for us.
Elizabeth Carter, Consultant Editor of The Good Food Guide said:
Tom van Zeller is firing on all cylinders, delivering smart, contemporary dishes full of vibrancy, bold strokes and ambition. Coupled with an extraordinary attention to detail, this is a chef aiming for the top.
Van Zeller is one of ten regional winners from around the UK, one of whom will go on to be named as the overall The Good Food Guide Readers’ Restaurant of the Year. The winner of this revered award will be announced on 20th June 2012.
The regional winners were:
East of England – Maison Bleue, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk
London – Charlotte’s Place, Ealing
Midlands – The Bluebell, Henley-in-Arden, Warwickshire
North East – Van Zeller, Harrogate
North West – Grenache, Walkden, Manchester
Northern Ireland – Mourne Seafood Bar, Dundrum, Belfast
Scotland – Ubiquitous Chip, Glasgow
South East – Jeremy’s Restaurant, Haywards Heath, W Sussex
South West – The Swan, Wedmore, Somerset
Wales – Y Polyn, Carmarthen
All ten regional winners will appear in The Good Food Guide 2013 which publishes on 10th September 2012.
