The Bildeston Crown goes for Tourism Gold for the second year running
VisitEngland announced the short list for The Enjoy England Awards for Excellence 2010 this week (see press release below) and The Bildeston Crown is once again delighted to be a finalist. Last year the Suffolk inn picked up a Silver in the hotel category but this year sets its sights on gold for “Taste of England”.
The Bildeston Crown is one of 46 national finalists to be selected from over 100 regional winners and is the only representative for Suffolk. There is only one other finalist from the Eastern region- BeWILDerwood, Hoveton, Norfolk shortlisted for the large visitor attraction. In addition, The Bildeston Crown is the only finalist to be able to claim that it was also in the line-up for last year, albeit different categories
The Bildeston Crown Chef Chris Lee is delighted that once again the twelve bedroom hotel and three AA rosettes restaurant is being recognised as a tourism leading light:
“Silver in 2009 for “hotel” and the journey there via the Suffolk and Eastern region awards was just amazing. We thought long and hard about whether we should enter again but as food is the very heart of what The Bildeston Crown stands for, we could not resist going for the “Taste of England” award. After all how many hotels or restaurants can truly say that have their very own farm just down the road providing the very best lamb and fantastic red poll beef. Now that is using local food and celebrating the Taste of England!”
Owner, farmer and businessman, James Buckle is equally jubilant: “We are absolutely thrilled to be on our way to Brighton for yet another annual St Georges Day awards ceremony. It seems appropriate that last year we were about being a “hotel” and providing excellence in terms of accommodation and service. This year it is all about our great tasting food. The fact that we have been finalists for both categories in such quick succession is a credit to the hard work of Hayley and Chris Lee and their achievement in making both sides of the business such a notable success.”
The Bildeston Crown will learn whether it is a Gold or Silver this year at the award ceremony in Brighton on the 23rd April.
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THE ‘BEST OF ENGLISH’ ARE SET TO BATTLE IT OUT
AT THE 2010 TOURISM AWARDS
VisitEngland announces short list for The Enjoy England Awards for Excellence 2010
New “Where Else but England” award celebrates eccentricity
Some of the best tourism businesses in England have been unveiled today as finalists in the 2010 Enjoy England Awards for Excellence, sponsored by The Caravan Club. The classic, quirky and often ‘off the beaten-track’ 2010 finalists include a secluded touring holiday park set in 12 acres of lush countryside in Cornwall, an eccentric farming museum in the West Country, an unusual safari lodge in Kent and Blackpool illuminations. www.enjoyengland.com/excellence
The quality of green tourism businesses is also on the up this year as it was revealed that the sustainable tourism award category has become one of the most popular categories for entrants. Contenders include an eco restaurant, delicatessen and cookery school offering local organic food and fine dining in Bristol, a four-star spa hotel on the Yorkshire coast and a family, working stone farm cottage set in a country garden near Holy Island in Northumberland.
This year an extra award has been launched to celebrate those events or experiences that are truly unique to England; The “Where Else but England” award (twitter @wherebutengland) *. Open to the public, regional voting is being undertaken now and entrants could include crowd pleasers such as gravy wrestling in Lancashire through to asparagus fortune telling in Evesham. Organisers are calling for people to vote at a regional and national level from now until April.
All 46 national finalists announced today were selected from over 100 regional winners submitted by regional tourist boards and were rigorously assessed by independent assessors and a team of judges to make it through to the national final. All the winners will be unveiled at a glittering awards ceremony held in the Corn Exchange at The Brighton Dome on 23 April in celebration of St George’s Day.
Other finalists span a large range of attractions, accommodation, tourism experiences, websites and tourist information centres from historical gems such as the authentic Jewellery Quarter in Birmingham and Ripley Castle in Yorkshire, to high-profile attractions such as the Imperial War Museum North in Manchester. A dramatic country family home with its own Victorian outdoor theatre, 200 year old converted self-catering cottages in the Peak District and an affordable boutique B&B in Lancaster are also in the line up for the awards, as are a number of committed and charismatic individuals who have been recognised for their outstanding service and contribution to English tourism
VisitEngland chairman Lady Cobham and chair of the judging panel said: “Our tourism awards really showcase the wealth of high quality and affordable holiday experiences on offer in England today. The judges were impressed with the huge, continued investment made by tourism businesses across all categories in spite of the recession. These finalists demonstrate how successful that commitment to quality has been. “
The finalists were selected by a board of tourism industry judges including the Gold winner of the hotel category in 2009, Sue Williams, and travel journalists Alison Rice and Sally Shalam. Also on the judging panel was Brian Richardson, executive secretary of The Caravan Club who said: “Once again, The Caravan Club is delighted to support these prestigious awards which recognise excellence across the whole spectrum of English tourism. Each year we are faced with an ever-tougher challenger as standards continue to improve and we feel that the results reflect the very best that England has to offer. The Caravan Club is itself a major player in the domestic tourism economy and has always been synonymous with quality, so I am thrilled to have the opportunity to recognise and reward quality businesses.”
The Bildeston Crown wins “Taste of England Award”
Head Chef Chris Lee and owner/farmer James Buckle picked up the award for “Taste of England” at October’s black tie dinner award ceremony at The West Wing at Ickworth, near Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk.
The awards celebrate the best of English tourism – and are known throughout the industry as the ‘Oscars’ of tourism. The winners go through to the national tourism awards.
“Food is what The Bildeston Crown is all about,” says Chris “And how many hotels or restaurants can say that have their very own farm just down the road providing the very best lamb and fantastic red poll beef. Now that is using local food!”
James Buckle is also delighted with the win: “When I bought the Bildeston Crown almost six years ago, I did indeed have this “field to plate” vision. I have huge admiration for Chris and his team and I truly believe that he can also achieve his dream which is to bring the first Michelin star to Suffolk”
This is the second consecutive EET win for The Bildeston Crown. Last year it won the “Best Small Hotel” category.
Link: http://www.eet.org.uk/TemplateView.aspx?sec_id=2862&art_id=7281
The Bildeston Crown Circular – Download the latest edition now!
Please click the link below to read the latest edition of our publication The Bildeston Crown Circular.
The Bildeston Crown Circular Winter 2009
View this pdf to see a summary of what has been happening in and around the Bildeston Crown and what is coming up.
Owner is new Sheriff in town
2 April 2009
The Bildeston Crown’s owner, James Buckle took up the gauntlet to be the county’s new High Sheriff, when he was sworn in by Judge Neil McKittrick on the 1st April.
The Office of High Sheriff is at least 1,000 years old having its roots in Saxon times before the Norman Conquest. It is the oldest continuous secular Office under the Crown. The High Sheriff’s duties include attendance at Royal visits to the County. James was delighted to be part of the welcoming party when Her Majesty visited Bury St Edmunds on Maundy Thursday. James looks forward to his year in office: “It will give me an opportunity to see what happens under the skin of Suffolk and hopefully allow me to give a little back to the community”
The Hairy Bikers visit The Bildeston Crown
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24 August 2009 – Update:
Chris Lee took on The Hairy Bikers …and won!
The Hairy Bikers’ Tour of Britain – a new series in which Simon King and Dave Myers get on their bikes to find the best of each county’s larder and meet the local producers who are keeping traditional recipes alive, started tonight on BBC2.
In this first programme of the tour, which was filmed last February, the duo start with Suffolk. Si and Dave cook a traditional county favourite at Snape Maltings, collect flour from a working water mill, and then pit their new-found knowledge against our Chris in a cook-off. Restaurant diners decide who has created the dish that best defines Suffolk and Chris emerges as the winner with eight out of the nine votes.
Chris’ winning dish is now on The Bildeston Crown menu and you can also view the recipe at http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/database/roastedbreastofduckw_92120.shtml
Or read more on the BBC Suffolk website
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13 February 2009
Motorcycle-riding cookery experts The Hairy Bikers visited The Bildeston Crown, while filming part of their forthcoming BBC series. The series follows Simon King and Dave Myers on a tour of the British Isles, during which they will source ingredients unique to each county and go on to cook the local signature dish.
At each stop the bikers have a “cook off” with a well-known local restaurant chef, in which they compete to create a new dish from the county’s produce. For Suffolk, independent production company Cactus TV, which is behind the programme , chose The Bildeston Crown and chef Chris Lee to take up the duo’s challenge.
John Bonny, an associate producer with Cactus TV, explains the format: “We’re visiting 28 counties across the UK, discovering and celebrating the local produce available. We’re using local producers and sourcing ingredients to create a mixture of traditional and modern recipes that reflect the county’s cuisine and sense of identity.”
The Bildeston Crown is well known for being a champion of local food with dishes like Head to Toe Nedging Pork, Semer Lamb and Suffolk Beef Stew using owner James Buckle’s red poll beef as regular dishes on its menus. The Bildeston Crown chef, Chris Lee was delighted that he asnd The Bildeston Crown had been selected for a visit: “It has been great fun to work with Si and Dave. I share their passion for great local produce and truly believe that modern food is at its best when traditional methods are treated with a creative twist.”
To learn what was cooked and who actually won the “cook off”, you will have to wait until the summer when the programme will be screened on BBC2.
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