Independent Restaurateur of the Year
You only have to look at the past three recipients of the Independent Restaurateur of the Year Catey to see the sort of quality the award demands. Annie and Germain Schwab won in 1999; Terry Laybourne in 1998; and Paul Heathcote in 1997. All are Michelin starred (the Schwabs have two); all are centres of culinary excellence outside London; and all three give much more to the industry than their cooking.
For Annie Schwab at Winteringham Fields in Winteringham, Lincolnshire, her contribution to life beyond the restaurant was acknowledged before she and Germain won the Catey last year as she was awarded an MBE in January.
This was followed by a second Michelin star for the restaurant later the same month. The tributes didn't stop there either as, at the end of the year, Winteringham Fields was voted Restaurant of the Year by the Yorkshire Post newspaper.
A triumphant year
But for an unpleasant burglary just before Christmas, it would have been an annus mirabilis. The latest members of staff at the Lincolnshire restaurant are a security man and a guard dog.
Nevertheless, Annie, who looks after front-of-house, and Germain, who cooks, left for their regular Christmas break in Zermatt well satisfied with 1999. The couple met 23 years ago in this elegant Swiss mountain resort, returning to Annie's birthplace of York and in 1988 setting up their restaurant-with-rooms in Winteringham.
When they do go to Zermatt, just as when they undertake their annual tour of Michelin-starred restaurants on the Continent, Winteringham Fields is shut. The couple are unequivocally hands-on, to the extent that Germain has not missed a service since the restaurant opened. No Germain, no food.
Like Annie Schwab, 1998 winner Terry Laybourne, proprietor of 21 Queen Street in Newcastle, has been awarded an MBE. His restaurant also stands out in a city where there are no other Michelin stars and has therefore set standards for others to follow.
Laybourne's restaurant is currently up for sale, but wherever he goes after 21 Queen Street, the restaurant will have left an indelible mark on the history of cooking in the city.
The reputation of both Laybourne, the Schwabs and Paul Heathcote before them mean that the winner of the 2000 Independent Restaurateur of the Year Catey has some hard acts to follow. But if you know someone who you feel is a good candidate for the award, please obtain a nomination form from Sarah Sutton Tel. 020 8652 8349. If you wish, you may enclose a supporting statement of no more than 200 words on a separate sheet.
Closing date for nominations is Friday 3 March and judging will take place on Tuesday 2 May at the London Marriott County Hall.
