Pictured above: Midcounties Co-operative Award for New
Business - Suzanne Virdee, Mohammed Sadique of Balti Towers and
Andy Creswell of Midcounties Co-operative
Balti Towers, Halesowen, has scooped a business award at the
prestigious HEART of ENGLAND fine foods (HEFF) Diamond Awards and
secured a valuable mentoring package from The Midcounties
Co-operative.
The winners of the fourth annual HEFF Diamond Awards were
revealed at the Gala Dinner which took place on Saturday (21 May)
at the Hilton Birmingham Metropole. The HEFF Diamond Awards
celebrate the fantastic food and drink available in the heart of
England region.
A new award for this year was the The Midcounties Co-operative
Award for New Business which was aimed at recognising the region's
start-up food and drink producers.
Balti Towers, which produce a range of quality curry sauces,
were finalists for this award along with Lodge Farm Kitchen,
Herefordshire, Cotswold Gold, Worcestershire, Mum's Stuff,
Shropshire and Asiri Foods, Worcestershire.
The idea behind this award was to find a new business which
reflected The Midcounties Co-operative's strong ethics; the
environment, animal welfare, sustainable sourcing polices, working
with the local community. The businesses were also judged alongside
the quality of the product, production methods, business plan and
achievements to date.
Balti Towers were announced as winners on the night and will
benefit from an extensive 12 month business and mentoring package
from The Midcounties Co-operative to help them grow their
business.
Midcounties Co-operative judges said: "We were impressed with
what we considered to be a great product and commended the hard
working team for their customer service skills and their work with
the local community. We recognised this business would
benefit greatly from the mentoring we could offer to move their
business forward."
Mohammed Sadique from Balti Towers, said: "I'm over the moon,
I'm delighted to have won this award and to have the support of
HEFF and Midcounties Co-operative. I'm excited for the future and
seeing how the expertise and mentoring from Midcounties can help to
move our business forward."
The Diamond Awards also included the ten product categories of
Bakery; Condiments and Preserves; Confectionery; Dairy; Desserts;
Drinks; Fresh Produce; Meat; Poultry and Game; and Prepared Foods.
In addition there were the Special Diamond Awards of GROW,
INNOVATE and EXCEL. These Special Diamond Awards recognise business
achievement rather than a product.
The evening was hosted by BBC Midlands Today's Suzanne Virdee
and guests enjoyed a mouth-watering six course locally sourced menu
prepared by some of the region's top chefs. The Brigade of Chefs
was headed up by HEFF's Development Chef Ed Warren alongside Paul
Taylor, Executive Chef at Hilton Birmingham Metropole and three
chef lecturers from University College Birmingham; Mathew
Shropshall, Bernhard Schumacher and Paul Russell.