Winners of Suffolk Food & Drink Awards 2024 revealed at celebration ceremony

Jayne Lindill, editor of Suffolk Magazine, reveals the winners of the Suffolk Food & Drink Awards 2024, held at Snape Maltings last night.

The Suffolk Food & Drink Awards are always a bit special. Food and drink is not just a necessity of life, it’s part of our culture and a successful food and drink industry is vital to our county’s economic wellbeing.

Jayne Lindill, editor of Suffolk Magazine, on stage at the Suffolk Food & Drink Awards 2024 (Image: Matthew Potter Photography and Videography)
Yet it’s so easy to take it for granted. That’s why it’s always an enormous pleasure to be able to recognise, with these awards, the people who make our food and drink industry so great – who pour their passion and pride into the products they make; the ingredients they grow; the pub or restaurant, tea shop or café they open every day.

The winners are listed below, and you can find out more about them in a special supplement that will go out with the paper and on the website on Friday, May 3.

This year’s awards are extra special – because it’s been five years since were able to celebrate together like this.

The Suffolk Food & Drink Awards 2024 made a welcome return last night (Image: Matt Potter Photographer and Videographer)
The last time we held the Suffolk Food & Drink Awards was in 2019. It was a glittering occasion, and we were looking forward to building on it, with big plans for the following year. But come spring 2020, things were very different.

With the world in lockdown, we had a dilemma; the awards were judged, we had some fabulous winners, but a party was out of the question.

So, instead, between lockdowns, I spent a day racing around the county with a photographer, dropping in on winners to hand over trophies and Champagne, posing for photographs which went live on social media.

It was great fun, actually, but not the same as being in a room together, catching up with old friends, meeting new people, sharing stories, raising a glass to the winners. We were two meters apart. There was definitely no hugging.

That was then, this is now, and while I don’t really want to dwell on Covid, I do want to acknowledge the enormous effort it’s taken to get to these awards.

The impact of the pandemic on the food and drink industry has been seismic. Recovery has been long and difficult. And the world has changed – the way we live our lives, how and where we spend our money.

But our amazing businesses have adapted and survived. Throughout it all, they’ve flexed and found ways to do things differently.

The awards were a chance to celebrate Suffolk's fantastic food and drink industry (Image: Matt Potter Photographer and Videographer)
I’d like to acknowledge on behalf of everyone who appreciates local food and drink, what our finalists and winners have achieved, and say “thank you”.

These awards wouldn’t be possible without the support of our sponsors, of course, and they also deserve our huge thanks, not just for jumping on board this year but, in some cases, for sticking with us even when we had to press pause for a while.

I’d like to thank Jon Matthews and Thomas Ridley Food Service, our headline sponsor. Jon has been a wonderful supporter, giving his time generously to judging and simply being a great ambassador for the awards.

Thanks also to our category sponsors, who’ve also given their time to help judge – Pier communications, Suffolk New College, The Hotel Folk, Veni – the Visitor Economy Network Initiative – and our beer partner, Woodfordes Brewery.

I must also thank our expert judges – we couldn’t do it without them.

Suffolk Magazine and the East Anglian Daily Times are all about celebrating the best of life in the county, and local food and drink are at the core of that. We will continue to champion it at every opportunity.

Keep an eye on the awards website at suffolkfada.co.uk for details on the 2025 awards.

The very best of Suffolk food and drink were recognised at the awards (Image: Matt Potter Photographer and Videographer)

The winners

Best Coffee Shop/ Café  

Winner: The Greenhouse Café

Best Newcomer   

Sponsored by Pier

Winner: ACRE Farm + Bakery

Best Suffolk Producer  

Sponsored by The Hotel Folk

Winner: Fen Farm Dairy

Chef of the Year  

Winner: Joey O’Hare – Husk

Field to Fork

Sponsored by Suffolk New College  

Winner: Sunshine and Green

Food and Drink Retailer of the Year  

Winner: Black Dog Deli Foods

Food/ Drink Experience

Winner: Husk

Front of House Experience   

Winner: The Fox and Goose

Pub/Bar of the Year  

Winner: The White Horse, Badwell Ash

Restaurant of the Year

Sponsored by The Visitor Economy Network Initiative (VENI)  

Winner: The Lion

Outstanding Achievement

Sponsored by Thomas Ridley Foodservice

Winner: Sam and Clare Fairs (Hillfarm Oils)