The Guild of Fine Food’s annual Shop of the Year awards, an accreditation scheme which recognises and promotes excellence in independent retail, has announced its shortlist for 2018. Out of 150 entries, 42 independent retail outlets around the UK are now in the running for awards including Best Delicatessen, Best Farm Shop or Garden Centre with Food Hall, Best Grocer, Village or Community Shop and Best Specialist Cheese Shop.
Having had a written entry reviewed by a panel of respected industry experts, these shortlisted independent retailers, which include London-based Bayley & Sage, Farndon Fields in Market Harborough and Suffolk-based Slate, will now undergo two further rounds of judging this summer; an announced visit from one of the judges and a mystery shop by Shopper’s Anonymous.
Shop of the Year Shortlist 2018:
Delicatessen
- Aubrey Allen, Leamington Spa
- Bayley & Sage, Battersea, London
- Bloomfields Fine Food, Highworth, Wiltshire
- Broad Bean, Ludlow
- Delifonseca Dockside, Liverpool
- Fillet & Bone, Chipping Campden, Gloucestershire
- Hunters of Helmsley, North Yorkshire
- Indie Füde, Co Down, Northern Ireland
- Mmm…glug…, Newcastle upon Thyne
- No2 Pound Street, Aylesbury
- The Goring Grocer, Reading
- The House of Bruar, Perthshire
- Thomas of Helmsley, North Yorkshire
Farm Shop or Garden Centre with Food Hall
- Bowland Food Hall, Citheroe, Lancashire
- Cranstons Cumbrian Food Hall, Penrith, Cumbria
- Eggs to Apples Farm Shop, Etchingham, East Sussex
- Farmer Copleys Ltd, Pontefract, West Yorkshire
- Farndon Fields, Market Harborough, Leicestershire
- Hockey’s Farm Shop, Fordingbridge, Hampshire
- Keelham Farm Shop, Bradford, West Yorkshire
- Macknade Fine Foods, Faversham, Kent
- Newton Farm Foods, Bath
- Roots Farm Shop, Northallerton, North Yorkshire
- Taylors Farm Shop Ltd, Lancashire
- The Lambing Shed Farm Shop, Cheshire
- Tortworth Estate Shop, Wotton-Under-Edge, Gloucestershire
Grocer, Village or Community Shop
- Andreas of Chelsea Green, London
- Godfrey C. Williams & Son, Cheshire
- Heath Stores, Horsmonden, Kent
- Lotts & Co, Dublin
- The Hungry Guest, West Sussex
- The Seasons, East Sussex
- Turnips of Borough Market, London
Specialist Cheese Shop
- Androuet, Lamb Street, London
- Cheeses of Muswell, London
- Fauvette, Penarth, Wales
- George & Joseph Specialist Cheese Shops, Leeds
- Paxton & Whitfield, Chelsea Green, London
- Slate, Suffolk
- The Cheese Lady, Haddington, East Lothian
- The Cheese Society, Lincoln
- The Pangbourne Cheese Shop, Reading
Previously forming part of the Great Taste accreditation scheme, Shop of the Year has evolved to apply an even more rigorous and robust judging process dedicated solely to retail. Celebrating delis, farm shops, cheesemongers and more, Shop of the Year offers independent retailers a chance to achieve a stamp of approval with real integrity, much like Great Taste does for food and drink products.
From overall shopping experience and financial performance to staff training opportunities and environmental initiatives, the panel of judges, which includes Edward Berry of The Flying Fork, Stuart Gates, who has worked for both Harrods and Fortnum & Mason, award-winning retailer Tracey Colley and Georgina Mason from Gonalston Farm Shop, will rate, score and feedback on every aspect of the shops before agreeing on an overall category winner.
On Thursday 20 September, Shop of the Year 2018 will reach an exciting finale when the world of fine food gathers at No. 42 Southwark Street, the Guild of Fine Food’s London base, to find out the winners of Best Delicatessen; Best Farm Shop or Garden Centre with Food Hall; Best Grocer, Village or Community Shop; and Best Specialist Cheese Shop.
Facts and figures about Shop of the Year 2018:
- Shop of the Year recognises and promotes excellence in independent retail.
- Previously forming part of the Great Taste accreditation scheme, Shop of the Year is now a stand-alone accreditation, offering independent retailers a recognised stamp of approval from industry experts.
- 150 independent retail outlets entered the first Shop of the Year and 42 were named in the shortlist.
- Shop of the Year is judged by a panel of experts with a proven track record of success in independent retail.
