MasterChef co-presenter Greg Wallace to host Food Manufacture Excellence Awards
Wallace has also fronted Supermarket Shopping Secrets and Inside the Factory: How Our Favourite Foods Are Made.
Places are being snapped up fast for the black-tie awards night, so would-be attendees will need to book fast to avoid disappointment, as the event is just one month away.
Hundreds of the food industry’s brightest and best have already signed up to celebrate the industry’s progress at what is widely recognised as the Oscars of the food and drink processing sector.
100 years of experience
A panel of 11 distinguished independent judges, collectively boasting more than 100 years of experience in the food and drink industry, engaged in a rigorous section process to determine the winners. The process was deftly steered by chairman of judges Iain Ferguson, former chief executive of Tate & Lyle and co-chair of the Food and Drink Sector Council.
The list of finalists has now been published, with a mix of big names such as Coca-Cola European Partners, ABP and Finsbury Food Group – and innovative smaller players, with turnovers under £10m, up for recognition.
The Big-Top themed event, complete with drinks reception, delicious three-course dinner is all set to take place on 7 November at the Hilton on Park Lane Hotel in London.
Sponsored by KDH Projects, Systems Integration, Foodex and Rappor, the event features an impressive array of 55 finalists across a range of 12 food and drink areas. Winners in the main product categories also get a shot at the overall title of Food Manufacture Company of The Year.
Vote for 2018 Business Leader
Voting continues for the 2018 Business Leaders Award, which is presented to the individual readers believe most closely embodies the values of the FMEAs. They should be someone who demonstrates excellence in food and drink processing, providing an example for others to follow and achieving and inspiring a positive impact on their own business and the wider sector.
The six contenders are: Adam Couch, chief executive officer (CEO) of Cranswick, Premier Foods CEO Gavin Darby, Wayne Hudson, Birds Eye UK & Ireland managing director, Adelie Foods Group CEO Martin Johnson, Nestlé UK chairman Fiona Kendrick and Ian Noble, Mondelēz International’s senior research, development and quality director.
To make your nomination, click here. Voting will remain open until 19 October, so there are just nine days left to make your voice heard.
To book your place at the food and drink manufacturing industry’s red letter day, call Jessica Rooke on 01293 610439 or email her at jessica.rooke@wrbm.com.
Greg Wallace's biography
Gregg Wallace is the co-presenter of MasterChef. Previously a fruit and vegetable supplier to restaurants around London, Wallace first met co-presenter John Torode when the latter worked at Quaglino’s.
Having started out with a veg stall at Covent Garden market, Wallace built his business up into George Allan’s Greengrocers, a multimillion pound supplier with more than 500 restaurant clients. His success saw him branch out into the media, hosting Radio 4’s Veg Talk. He also presented Saturday Kitchen, Veg Out, and Follow That Tomato, which won a Royal Television Society award.
Wallace was then asked to co-host the revamped MasterChef programme. The show, in all three of its incarnations, has gone on to be one of the most popular shows on British TV. With versions in more than 25 countries it has been described as the world’s biggest food programme. A passionate advocate of better access to, and knowledge of, good food and cooking rather than concerns like origin, Gregg co-hosts Eat Well for Less? He’s also fronted Supermarket Shopping Secrets and Inside the Factory: How Our Favourite Foods Are Made.
In public speaking engagements, Wallace takes a light-hearted look at British eating and dining habits, and pokes fun at idiosyncrasies from refrigerated sandwiches to pretentious wine waiters. Down-to-earth and chatty, he reveals what goes on behind the MasterChef scenes, the best and worst of the celebrity contestants, and the three questions he’s always asked about the show.
Along with various food and cookery shows Wallace has appeared on everything from Countdown to 8 Out Of 10 Cats and even had a brief run in Strictly Come Dancing. Away from the media as well as owning his own restaurant, Gregg is managing director of Secrett's, an online farm shop and distributor of home-grown produce to the public and restaurants. He is also the owner of Wallace & Co, a stall at the famous Borough Market, and Partridge’s on the King’s Road market.
