The Kennet Crayfish Company has been nominated as one of three finalists in the main category “Food Producer of the Year” at the BBC Food and Farming Awards 2024.
‘The Producer of the Year’ category was judged by food journalist Sheila Dillon, the presenter of Radio 4’s The Food Programme and who hosts the annual BBC Food and Farming Awards. Finalists are judged by an expert panel of judges led by chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall. According to BBC Food & Farming Awards 2024, judges are looking for those individuals and businesses who make life better through food. They could be at the cutting edge of innovation, leading on the best environmental practices or bringing communities together.
Andrew Leech, managing director of The Kennet Crayfish Company said: “We are absolutely beyond thrilled with this nomination. The team has worked very hard since Signal crayfish were declared an invasive species and their capture and processing governed by new laws introduced five years ago. These crayfish are delicious to eat but we have had to find investment, develop new bio-secure facilities for their processing and are now having to create a market for them in the UK. Prior to the law change we sold vast quantities of live crayfish to Scandinavia and Eastern European markets.”
“We hope this nomination will help the hospitality and catering sectors, as well as consumers in the UK learn to appreciate the wonderful taste of quality, wild crayfish from the River Kennet, one of only 200 chalk streams in the world, whose nutrient rich waters contribute to the outstanding sweet, delicate flavour. Most crayfish sold in the UK have been imported frozen from fish farms. We believe ours, sold chilled, are genuinely a better tasting, more eco-friendly and sustainable product.” Added Leech
The awards ceremony, where winners in each category will be announced, takes place this year on 2nd December for the first time in Glasgow. The BBC Food & Farming Awards were launched in 2000, to mark the 20th anniversary of Radio 4’s The Food Programme. The mission statement then (which remains true to this day) was “to honour those who have done most to promote the cause of good food”.
