The winners of the 2023 GQ Food & Drink Awards have been announced in the April/May issue of British GQ – with Northumberland’s Pine honoured with the Sustainability Award.
This year’s edition of the awards saw record numbers of public votes, with Pine winning against stiff competition from runner-up Apricity; and fellow shortlisted nominees Room 2; Shrub; and Jack Feeny for No Mise En Plastic.
The judging panel included experts from across the hospitality, media and food and drinks industries, including Adam Baidawi (deputy global editorial director and head of editorial content at British GQ); Alexei Rosin (MD for Moët Hennessy in the UK and Ireland); acclaimed chefs Clare Smyth MBE, Monica Galetti, Adam Handling and Thomas Straker; food critic Jimi Famurewa; TV presenter, pastry aficionado and writer Ravneet Gill; and TV presenter George Lamb.
With nine tables set inside a converted cow barn overlooking the rolling countryside next to Hadrian’s Wall, Pine’s ethos captivated GQ’s judges.
Alexei Roisin described it as “an outstanding reflection of the local surroundings and respect for the terroir.” Adam Handling was just as effusive about Cal Byerley and Ian Waller’s food, adding: “Nothing on the plate is unnecessary.”
Pine is one of only a handful of UK restaurants to be recognised with a Michelin Green star for Sustainability, which it achieved alongside its first Michelin star within eight months of opening in 2022. The team successfully retained both stars earlier this year.
Chef patron Cal Byerley and co-owner and front of house manager Sian Buchan said: ‘’This award is huge for us. Pine is all about the food we create, but it’s also about how we source, grow, rear and nurture that produce. We’re hugely conscious of the role that we can play in helping to significantly reduce the impact our business has on the environment, especially through the supply chain decisions we make. But it’s much wider than that, when you start to look at it properly, especially when you begin to realise that you can also play a role in and positively impacting some aspects of community life too through the business decisions you make.’’
