The Vegetarian Society award ceremony took place at London's Magic Circle on October 30 and none of the winners disappeared in a cloud of smoke ñ thankfully.
Best retailer for vegetarian products was won by Fresh and Wild, London who was described as giving value for money, excellent choice with well-informed staff. Other winners included: Get Real! Ambledon Pies for best vegetarian meal, Cauldron Foods Lincolnshire sausages for best meat or fish substitute and there were joint winners for best vegetarian café or restaurant with Quince & Medlar of Cumbria and Manna, London scooping the honours.
The society's chief executive Tina Fox said: “This year's winners are to be congratulated on reaching extremely high standards of customer satisfaction, in terms of products, services and understanding of vegetarian requirements.”
The vegetarian sector is one of the food and drink industry's biggest growth areas. The retail market of dedicated vegetarian products has been valued at £470 million by Key Note market intelligence and looks set to continue to grow. Founder of the vegetarian guides Alex Bourke told the audience at the awards that there are more than 4 million vegetarians in the UK with 250,000 joining them each week.
