Heston Blumenthal and Delia Smith may be the new faces of Waitrose but it was Antony Worrall-Thompson who joined the upmarket retailer in scooping a prestigious Brammy Award.
Waitrose, Compass and Reynolds were among the winners of the 17th annual Brammy Awards, in which Worrall-Thompson was named Best Bramley Media Chef, at The Ivy in London last week.
Each year the Brammys recognise and reward excellence by retailers, manufacturers and foodservice companies in using and promoting Bramley apples.
Waitrose scooped the award for Best Bramley Retailer, based on its exceptional year-on-year sales figures. Waitrose was the clear winner after successfully attracting and maintaining new customers through launching a new polybag Bramley product in September, which encouraged consumers to buy more Bramleys per shopping trip.
Waitrose fruit buyer David Mitchell said: “We have worked hard this year to champion the Bramley and we are delighted to have been able to introduce more of our customers to this iconic variety. We also have more exciting plans already in place for the coming autumn.”
The Chairman’s Award was awarded to Reynolds Catering for the company’s record year as it put significant marketing and sales effort behind Bramleys, including featuring a “Meet the Grower” article that was mailed out to 4,000 customers.
Compass Group UK & Ireland was named Best Bramley Foodservice Company, as well as scooping the Best Bramley Foodservice Product prize. Regional sourcing manager Jane Wakeling, said: “Compass is fully committed to supporting locally grown produce and strongly believes in purchasing and promoting produce that is in season. We are delighted to receive these two Brammy Awards which recognise not only this commitment to sourcing great local produce but also the ability of our chefs to develop amazing recipes with seasonal ingredients.”
Adrian Barlow, chairman of the Bramley Apple Campaign, said: “The standard of entrants this year was the best ever and it made the final judging very interesting indeed. This has been an exceptional year for the Bramley and we have seen a significant increase in sales of fresh product. All the winners have recognised the Bramley’s exceptional qualities as our premier cooking apple and demonstrate excellence in their particular fields.”
Antony Worrall-Thompson said: “I have to say how delighted I am to receive the award for this year's Best Bramley Media Chef. I'm gathering quite an orchard of Bramley awards, and this is greatly appreciated. The Bramley apple is one of my best-loved ingredients and deserves to be part of our recipes, and part of our heritage."
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