we need you to Become a fine food Judge
Five food lovers from across the Northwest have been chosen to help to taste more than 400 of the region’s finest foods, as part of a panel of experts judging the prestigious Fine Food Northwest Awards 2010.
The five foodies, who hail from Cheshire, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Merseyside were selected to help judge the Fine Food Northwest Awards, after entering the ‘Search for a Foodie’ competition on this page.
Forensic scientist Caroline Eames from Lancaster; Royal Mail driver Steven Wilkinson from Cockermouth; mum-of-two, Deanna Thomas from Wilmslow; e-marketing specialist Zoe Redmond from Liverpool and Angela Brand, a retired mum-of-three, from Tyldesley, will take part in a special judging event at Ewood Park in Blackburn on June 2. They will enjoy a day of tasting as part of a team of hand-picked judges, led by Northwest celebrity chef, Nigel Haworth, chef patron of Northcote in Lancashire. Judges will include some of the region’s top chefs, as well as speciality food retailers, food journalists and supermarket buyers.
Caroline Eames from Lancaster, is a senior forensic scientist and has worked for the Government’s Forensic Science Service for the last 23 years, investigating serious crimes. Caroline’s love of food was inspired by her mother, who taught both her and her brother to cook at an early age. She has passed on her passion to her 12 and 17-year-old daughters, who both love cooking.
Caroline has her own allotment, growing her own fruit and vegetables and is always searching for new recipes to create good, wholesome family meals from scratch, using quality ingredients. She believes her career in forensics will be an advantage in helping to judge the Fine Food Northwest Awards.
Along with many other interests, including hill walking, singing in his local church choir, amateur operatics and his three dogs and two cats, Cumbria’s Steven Wilkinson still finds time for his true personal passion – good food. His love of food started at an early age, working in a restaurant at 17, before he embarked on a career in the packaging industry. Never a fan of ready meals, as a young man he learnt how to cook and has never looked back. He has been cooking for his wife and two children for the last twenty years and is passionate about food and quality ingredients.
Zoe Redmond’s interest in food was sparked at the age of five when she says she crept out of bed at what seemed like the middle of night, and discovered her parents eating Indian food. While Liverpool’s Zoe has since pursued a career in marketing and is currently an e-marketing specialist at Shop Direct in Speke, she began an early culinary career in a local restaurant at the age of 13, that later culminated in her studying Hospitality Management.
She spent her twenties working in restaurants across Australia, America, Italy and Guernsey, experiencing other food cultures and cuisines. Now, Zoe is delighted to have returned to her lifelong passion and currently spends three nights a week studying baking and cake decorating and hopes to one-day turn her talents into a future culinary venture.
Wilmslow’s Deanna Thomas, who originally trained in advertising, has been passionate about food from a young age, and realised it was her true calling, after a brief career in a girl band in London. She trained to be a professional chef at South Trafford College and has never looked back.
She now runs Northstar Delicatessen in Chorlton and since having her two children, three-year-old Katie Bo and Robb, who is 22 months old, she is building the catering side of the business, handling dinner parties, supplying birthday cakes for parties and providing picnics. She is also a cookery instructor, teaching and demonstrating to a wide range of different groups, and has already helped to judge entries in a number of local food festivals. Deanna also claims a ‘foodagraphic’ memory and always gives directions by restaurants and food shops.
Angela Brand’s interest in food was originally inspired by her father, who was a keen cook, and loved to make Christmas cake. Her favorite subject at school was domestic science and she was born and raised in Yorkshire market town, which fuelled her interest in local produce and wholesome home cooking. She now grows her own crops at her husband John’s allotment and is a keen supporter of locally grown produce.
Angela, who lives in Tyldesley, has raised three children and her youngest, Alistair, 31, has been inspired by his mum’s passion for food. He has developed a successful career in the restaurant business, now working front of house in a top restaurant in Australia.
The five food connoisseurs will taste and judge in the region of 400 foods, marking them on their quality, taste, texture and appearance. They will find the 50 ‘best’ products to go forward for final judging in ten categories, the winners of which will receive their awards on the evening of June 2. The ten winners of the Fine Food Northwest Awards will form the shortlist for two fine food categories, in the overall Food Northwest Awards.
Pat Foreman, chief executive of Food Northwest, said: “We have had a fantastic response to this year’s ‘Search for a Foodie’, with a very high calibre of entries. The breadth of experience that all of our ‘foodies’ will bring to the table will be a real asset to our judging panel. They will sample products from across the region, experiencing some of the finest foods the Northwest has to offer.”
