SOME of Yorkshire’s finest food businesses have been celebrated at one of the top dates in the region’s foodie calendar.

Businesses from towns and villages across Richmondshire and Hambleton gathered at the Flavours of Herriot Country Awards on Friday, held at the Garden Rooms at Tennants of Leyburn.

The food and hospitality awards are now in their fifth year and have quickly earned a reputation for the high standard of contest.

Winners were announced in categories including specialist retailer of the year, best breakfast, farm shop, pub food and restaurant.

The judging panel was chaired by Elaine Lemm, a Yorkshire-born former chef- restaurateur turned national food writer. She led a panel of other food writers and food industry experts, including acclaimed chef Lionel Strub, from Eastern France, who has worked in Michelin-starred restaurants for more than 30 years.

This year saw an additional category, The James Herriot Award, for The Best Yorkshire Pudding Served with a Sunday Roast, to mark the 100th anniversary of James Herriot author Alf Wight.

It was won by the Horseshoe Inn at West Rounton, where the judges concluded the Yorkshire Puddings were exceptional, adding “not only were they the tallest, they were delicious and came alongside an excellent, traditional Sunday lunch."

Jim Wight, Alf Wight’s son, said after the awards: “It’s very appropriate because he did love Yorkshire Puddings. He was born in Glasgow and was used to Scottish food and when he came to Yorkshire he discovered a different diet down here and was often served Yorkshire Puddings when he stopped at farms for lunch.

“He would have approved of this award.”

Other winners included the Josh Murray, a chef at The George at Wath, who was named Young Professional Chef of the Year.

Local Product of the Year was Woundales’ Dexter Beef, from Woundales Farm at Knayton, which the judges selected for the quality of the meat and the commitment to the welfare of the animals.

Richmondshire MP Rishi Sunak presented an additional award at the end of the ceremony for best community initiative. It went to the George and Dragon at Hudswell, near Richmond.

The pub is run by the community when Hudswell's existing pub closed down two years ago and now includes a Post Office, village shop library, community allotments and free internet access. This year it was named CAMRA’s Yorkshire Pub of the Year.

Landlord Stuart Miller, who runs the pub with his father Keith and brother Sam, said: “The pub really is the centre of the village and is very friendly. Everyone who comes to the pub ends up chatting to everyone else in the pub. It’s fantastic to get this award. We really weren’t expecting it.”

Mr Sunak paid tribute to the growing international reputation Yorkshire had for its countryside, hotels, B&Bs and pubs, which enabled the county to now attract twice as many annual visitors as the Eiffel Tower. He told the audience that Yorkshire now boasts more Michelin starred restaurants than any other English county outside London and had more than Greece and Norway.

He said: “More than ever before, Britain is a food superpower, with one in eight Britons are employed in the food industry, making an economic contribution of over £100bn every year.

"We now famously export cheese to the French, wine to the Italians and chicken tikka to the Indians and as the UK undergoes a culinary renaissance, there is no doubt that Yorkshire is its Da Vinci.”