FOOD-LOVERS across the city are being invited to nominate their favourite pubs, restaurants and cafes for Derby's prestigious Food and Drink Awards.
The contest, which is now in its sixth year, is an opportunity for culinary businesses to showcase their expertise and gain honourable recognition.
And organisers of the annual awards are urging people to put forward their votes, as the nomination period officially opens today.
There are eight categories open for nominations and a special website has been created – www.derbyfoodanddrinkawards.com – from which voting forms can be downloaded.
All nominations must come from establishments within the city of Derby boundary, excluding the Best Out of Town and Excellence in Customer Service categories.
The categories for the awards are: Best Newcomer, Best Pub, Best Bar, Best Out of Town, Best Café, Best International and Restaurant of the Year.
There is also the Derby Telegraph Excellence in Customer Service category, where judges will be looking for an "outstanding level of customer service" with evidence of continuous staff training and customer feedback processes.
Marketing Derby managing director John Forkin said: "The Derby Food and Drink Awards go from strength to strength and are now firmly established in Derby's awards calendar and are keenly awaited and hotly contested.
"Marketing Derby are proud to co-ordinate these awards to help shine the light on the very best that Derby has to offer."
Stuart Baddiley, owner of Restaurant Zest, said: "We were absolutely thrilled to have won the Restaurant of the Year award for the second year running last year.
"It's great to have the team's hard work rewarded and particularly as the nominations for the shortlist come from customers.
"The Derby Food and Drink Awards themselves have added a real credibility to the food and drink offer for the city and are a great showcase for small independent businesses.
"They demonstrate just how far Derby has come in the last few years in terms of its food and drink offer and we'll be working hard to see if we can make it a hat-trick this year!"
Nominations close on August 31, after which finalists will be announced for each category.
The judging period will take place from September 8-21.
And the winners will be announced at a prestigious awards ceremony on October 20 at The Roundhouse.
For more information and to make your nomination, visit www.derbyfoodanddrinkawards.com.
