TV's Matt Tebbutt: hosting Top 50 Gastropubs is great honour
The full list was revealed at an exclusive awards ceremony held yesterday (Monday 30 January) at the Hermitage, Hitchin, Hertfordshire.
Tebbutt said: “When I got asked to host the event, it was an easy one to decide and it is a great honour.”
He explained that things have changed since he started in the trade almost two decades ago.
The trade has changed
He added: “When I started in the industry 16 years ago, the state of pubs was very different.
“It was just at the time when young guys were moving out of fancy London restaurants, setting up their own places and building a name for themselves in surroundings they could afford, which is exactly what I did.
“To see that grow and progress to the level it is now, it’s totally different but it is great to still see and be a part of.”
Yorkshire pub the Star Inn, Harome, was named the best gastropub in the country at this year’s Top 50 Gastropubs Awards.
More than 20 new entries
Kent pub the Sportsman, Seasalter, which topped the list in 2015 and 2016, came in at second place and Somerset pub the Pony & Trap, Chew Magna rose from fifth to third.
The Swan Inn, in Chiddingfold, Surrey, took home Newcomer of the Year while the Treby Arms, Sparkwells, in Devon, run by Masterchef: The Professionals 2012 champion Anton Piotrowski, won the specialist award for Best Front of House Team.
The list includes 24 new entries, including double-Michelin-starred chef Daniel Clifford’s Essex gastropub the Flitch of Bacon, Little Dunmow and Great British Pub Awards Best Food Pub 2016 finalist the Compasses Inn, Crundale, Kent.
Gastropub Chef of the Year was won by Rob Taylor, co-owner of the Compasses Inn, Crundale, Kent.
