Winners Announced for the 1st Annual UK Caribbean Food Awards

The winners have been announced in the first annual UK Caribbean Food Awards, in association with Just Eat, showcasing the very best in the industry – from top restaurants, food and drink products, and business owners and entrepreneurs.

WINNERS 2023:

National Restaurant:
Rogers Kitchen

National Takeaway:
Jen Jen’s Caribbean Kitchen

National Bakery:
Sunrise Bakery

African Eatery:
Oshos Grill

Latin American Eatery:
Sabor Dominicano UK

Caribbean Grocery Outlet:
Dees Imports Ltd

Caribbean Inspired Beverage – non Alcoholic:
Ne.grill

Caribbean Inspired Beverage – Alcoholic:
Auntie Sam’s Rum Tump

Caribbean Rum Cake:
Essence of Cake

Caribbean Street-Food Trader:
Happy Hill Kitchen

National Vegan/Vegetarian Eatery:
The Guava Kitchen

Outstanding Chef:
Dexter Thomas – Soul Chef Kitchen

Media Personality:
Andi Oliver

Founders Choice/ Lifetime Achievement:
Rustie Lee

Brenda Emmanus and Fredi Nwaka hosted the awards on the night. Brenda is a Broadcaster and Journalist, who has worked across TV, radio and television; Fredi is an award-winning film producer, director, actor and ex rapper.

The awards for this fast-growing industry – now worth more than £100 million in the UK – have been set up by the founders of The Caribbean Food Collective which connects, promotes, and supports UK based Caribbean Food & Drink businesses and is a voice for the UK based Caribbean Food & Drink sector.

Dawn Burton and Marsha Barnett both also run individual catering businesses – Caribburton and JerkShack – and believe the industry needs a prestigious awards ceremony of its own.

Dawn said: “We are thrilled by the calibre of entries we received, in this, our first year. We would like to thank all those who nominated and entered”.

“The awards are to celebrate the hard work and be a platform for many of the hundreds of Caribbean food businesses some which have been in operation for over 30 years, with little to no business guidance or networking, there is a lot of work to be done but the awards ceremony is a good positive place to start”.

Marsha added “Judging these entries was an extremely difficult job. We would like to thank our judges for their time and knowledge in choosing our finalists”.

Victoria Gold, UK & IE Marketing Director at Just Eat UK, Gold sponsors of the awards said: “Just Eat is enormously proud to support the first UK Caribbean Food Awards. Small locally loved food businesses are often the unsung heroes of their community. They are working tirelessly to navigate a challenging economic climate while also serving delicious food day in day out. It’s only right that their achievements are celebrated on a national stage.”

To find out more about the Caribbean food awards click here. For more relevant industry news and updates click here.