British Roast Dinner finalists revealed 2016

The overall winner - to be announced this Sunday (2 October) at the end of British Roast Dinner Week - will receive £10,000 worth of PR support, while each finalist has been awarded £2,500 of PR support.

The regional winners in the competition, which is sponsored by Colman’s and supported by Knorr, showcase the epitome of the very best in pub roast dinners.

The finalists​

An expert judging panel picked the finalists, which are:

• The Granville, Canterbury, South of England
• The Narrow Boat at Weedon, Northampton, Midlands
• The Blue Pig, Manchester, North of England
• Bunch of Grapes, Pontypridd, Wales
• Kyloe Restaurant, Edinburgh, Scotland

This year the judges focused on the sourcing of ingredients, the quality of the cooking and service and the positivity of customer feedback.

A mystery panel of expert judges have already visited each of the pubs to decide on the winner.

Unilever Food Solutions channel trade marketing director Chris Brown said: “The standard of entries this year has been phenomenal, so our regional winners can be extremely proud.

“Hopefully they’ve all got some extra tables around too – previous winners have seen huge spikes in their bookings, following their success in this competition.”

Last year’s winner, the Larwood and Voce in Nottingham, saw their roast dinner numbers shoot up by an average of 100 each Sunday to 270.

‘More people’​

Amelia Balmer, general manager at the pub, said at the time: “We’re very proud – we’re quite well known around Nottingham, but we’re looking forward to this bringing in more people from around the country, which would be brilliant.

Sourcing local produce and maintaining excellent relationships with local suppliers had played a big role in winning the award, she added.

“We’re also well known for our homemade gravy. It’s made with different meat juices, red wine and high quality chicken stock. And we roast our potatoes in goose fat, which makes them extra crispy.

“It’s just years of experience – our chefs have been with us for a long time.”