The Yorkshire Event Centre at the Yorkshire Showground outside Harrogate was the setting for the Welcome to Yorkshire White Rose Awards on last week. eviivo were in attendance as sponsors of the B&B Guest Accommodation of the Year category at the event, one of the largest and most prestigious tourism awards in the country. It was certainly a grand evening out, with 900 guests in black tie and evening finery, and all looking fantastic.
Outside the venue a fire eater and stilt walker set the ‘wow’ tone for the evening. Inside for the drinks reception, a vintage tractor and hay bales acknowledged the rural side to the county of Yorkshire while a collection of tents, all rescued from the Leeds festival and decorated with fairy lights, were a nod to the cutting edge culture to be found in the cities.
After drinks, guests were seated in the main auditorium to enjoy an excellent meal of Yorkshire ingredients. The starter of Nidderdale trout and smoked salmon really was delicious, the roast fillet of Yorkshire beef was very well received and the desserts had the approval of Nancy Birthwhistle, winner of the Great British Bake-off, who was in the audience. Also present were members of the cast of Emmerdale and on stage, Harry Gration and Amy Garcia from BBC’s Look North expertly conducted the proceedings.
Obviously, despite the food, drink and celebrities, the awards were really the main attraction. We were rooting for two of our customers who were up for awards – The Carpenter Arms near Thirsk in the Restaurant with Rooms category and The Wold Cottage near Driffield in the B&B category. The standard of all of the finalists was extremely high, as was the energy and excitement at the event as nominees’ names were called out. There were a number of Highly Commendeds in addition to the overall awards, giving the judges the freedom to recognise just a few more Yorkshire businesses, which ranged from small, artisan food producers and small attractions to large business venues and world class events.
It was fantastic moment when The Wold Cottage was announced as B&B of the Year. Looking at their website, it’s easy to see why and I certainly hope I’ll mange to get there for a stay some time. A full list of winners can be seen by clicking here. On awards night, I was staying at the Cavendish B&B in Harrogate , a clean and friendly 16 room eviivo property overlooking the lovely Valley Gardens and just moments from the centre of this attractive Regency town. It was a late night and I was certainly glad of my comfortable bed!
In the morning I heard the White Rose Awards featured on the local radio news. I’m not surprised – there was much to celebrate and be proud of across the county. Click here to see what BBC Look North had to say about the event.