#DFDFA: The Winners of the Dorset Food, Drink and Farming Awards 2020

The Dorset Food, Drink & Farming Awards finalists, nominated by our readers, are all local heroes in our opinion but here are the winners.

We are delighted to announce the winners of the Dorset Food, Drink & Farming Awards 2020, and what tough decisions it was. With news of further lockdown measures, it is even more important that we support local food and drink producers to keep these businesses - great and small - afloat. Due to coronavirus restrictions we have been unable to celebrate this prestigious event with our usual glittering awards dinner for all our finalists and sponsors.

We are delighted that we could still raise their profile and tell you about the fantastic things they’ve achieved through what has been a very challenging year. Our winners will have their trophy delivered by Helen Stiles, the Dorset magazine editor, when it’s safe to do. These awards were all about the local food, drink and farming heroes nominated by you, so thank you for telling us about your local heroes. And finally a big thank you to all our sponsors, they have helped the Dorset Food, Drink & Farming Awards to keep supporting local businesses. Congratulations to all our winners and finalists.

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Best Independent Food & Drink Retailer

Sponsored by Dorset Food & Drink

WINNER

Tom Amery

The Watercress Company, The Wasabi Company, Brace of Butchers & Naked Brace

Tom Amery has been around the Dorset food scene for a while, heading up The Wasabi Company – one of the first farms outside Japan to grow wasabi and winner of multiple Great Taste Awards – and the award-winning Brace of Butchers in Poundbury. He is also the MD of The Watercress Company, the UK’s leading watercress grower, and he has taken this locally grown product into some of Dorset’s NHS hospitals setting up fridges with grab bags of free watercress for staff. He is now working with the NHS to get this superfood onto the menu of hospitals, hospices and care facilities. Tom is an enthusiastic sustainability champion promoting the Plastic Free Dorchester campaign, and he often hosts morale boosting community events such as a lunch for carers, NHS and key workers and individuals who went the extra mile during the early days of lockdown. “He is an impressive individual who is passionate about the health benefits of watercress,” said Helen Stiles, Dorset magazine editor. “Tom is a Dorset trailblazer for all the right reasons.”

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Keep up to date at: foodawards.dorsetmagazine.co.uk | @DorsetMag | #DFDFA