Mark Hix, Michel Roux Senior and Niamh Shields win at the Observer Food Monthly Awards 2011

The winners for the 2011 Observer Monthly Awards were announced last week at a ceremony in London with Mark Hix,

Picture of Mark Hix: (C) Jason Lowe

Michel Roux Senior and Niamh Shields, amongst the winners.
The awards, now in their eighth year, celebrate the best in British food and produce, from independent producers to the UK’s most revered chefs.  

The winners for 2011 are:

Lifetime achievement: Michel Roux Senior

Picture of Michel Roux senior (C) MARTIN BRIGDALE

Best restaurant (sponsored by Speyside Glenlivet): Dinner by Heston Blumenthal

Food personality (sponsored by Weber Barbecues): Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall

Best cookbook (sponsored by Harvey Jones Kitchens): Plenty, Ottolenghi

Best place to drink: Mark’s Bar, Hix Soho, London

Picture of Mark Hix, Nick Strangeway and the staff at Mark’s Bar (C) OFM/ Phil Fisk

Best producer: Johnny Pusztai at J. T. Beedhams & Sons, Nottingham

Best newcomer: Maltby Street, London

Outstanding contribution: Tristram Stuart, author of Waste: Uncovering the Global Food Scandal

Young chef of the year: Paul Foster, Head Chef, Tuddenham Mill, Suffolk

Best Sunday lunch: Bull & Last, Kentish Town, London

Best food blog:Eat Like A Girl

Best ethical restaurant (Cafédirect): The Ethicurean, North Somerset

Best independent local retailer: The Cheese Shed, Bovey Tracey, Devon

Best cheap eats: Koya, London

Reader’s cocktail: Bittersweet Addiction by Simon Amster

Reader’s recipe (sponsored by Bordeaux Wines): Chicken and Pistachio Curry by Maria Kuehn

Allan Jenkins, editor of Observer Food Monthly (OFM), said: “At a time when everyone is tightening their belts it is inspiring to see Observer readers vote in their thousands to celebrate their food heroes. We are proud, too, to support people, places and producers making a difference in their community.”

For more information on the awards visit: www.observer.co.uk/foodawards