It’s the Big Night – Food Manufacturing Excellence Awards

Good luck to all the shortlisted firms in this year's food manufacturing Oscars

Tonight is the big night when food and drink manufacturers across the UK will discover which firms have won gold.

The Food Manufacturing Excellence Awards – the Oscars of the food and drink manufacturing sector – will take place tonight (November 5) at the Hilton Park Lane in London.

At a glittering gala dinner − hosted by TV celebrity chef Simon Rimmer who presents Channel 4’s Sunday Brunch – we celebrate the best of the best in UK food and drink manufacturing.

Watch out for our special coverage of the awards night, featuring videos, articles and tweets.

Meanwhile, congratulations to all the shortlisted candidates taking part in this year’s awards.

The shortlisted candidates are:

•Ambient Company of the Year: Burts Chips; Greencore Grocery; Mars Food; and Moguntia Food Ingredients

•Bakery Company of the Year: Allied Bakeries; Butt Foods; and Walker & Son

•Cakes and Biscuits Company of the Year: Border Biscuits; Rich Products; and American Muffin

•Beverages Company of the Year: Britvic Soft Drinks; and Solution Sciences

•Chilled and Fresh Company of the Year: Greencore Northampton; Hazeldene; Mash Direct; and Raynor Foods

•Ice Cream Company of the Year: Fredericks Dairies; and R&R Ice Cream

•Frozen Company of the Year: Green Gourmet; Iglo Food Group; and Lewis Meat and Pasty Co

•Protein Company of the Year: Adams Foods; Dawn Meats Group; Lossie Seafoods; Taste Tradition; Young’s Seafood

•Environmental Initiative of the Year: Coca-Cola Enterprises; Kelly’s of Cornwall; Premier Foods; Young’s Seafood; and United Biscuits

•Training Programme of the Year: Bakkavör – Hitchen Foods; Britvic Soft Drinks; Fairfax Meadow; Greencore Grocery; and Tillery Valley

•Small Company of the Year: Butt Foods; Mash Direct; Moguntia Food Ingredients; and Raynor Foods

In addition to 11 company manufacturing awards, trophies will also be for:

•Food Manufacturing Company of the Year, selected from the winners of the eight individual sector categories

•Judges’ Special Award will be made to the company which the judging panel believe deserves recognition for one particular area of its activities.

•Personality of the Year

Candidates in the Personality of the Year Shortlist are:

•Judy Buttriss, director general, British Nutrition Foundation

•Michael Clarke, ceo, Premier Foods

•Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, TV personality, chef and fisheries campaigner

•James Lambert, chief executive R&R Ice Cream

•Levi Roots, food entrepreneur

•Perween Warsi, food entrepreneur

You can tweet comments before, during and after the big night by using the twitter handle #FMEA12.

Good luck, once again, to all the shortlisted firms and individuals.