Yorkshire Meatball Company scoops new business award
The Yorkshire Meatball Company has been named Restaurant of the Year in the Startups Awards 2014.
Believed to be the only specialist meatball restaurant, the outlet was founded in March this year by David Atkinson in Harrogate, North Yorkshire.
The menu features meat (a mix of beef and pork), fish (haddock and smoked chorizo) and vegetarian (chickpeas and fresh coriander) on a variety of different bases, such as mash, root vegetables, greens, pasta, lentils or salad. Accompaniments include Granny's Yorkshire gravy, creamed mustard and mushroom pesto.
The Startups Awards, organised by a website for new and small businesses, recognise operators that have been trading for less than three years.
David Lester, founder of Startups.co.uk, said the restaurant sector in this year's awards was a hard-fought category.
"From the Sugar Supper Club in Northern Ireland to Sosban & the Old Butchers on the Isle of Anglesey, and the Yorkshire Meatball Company in Harrogate, this category demonstrated the excellence and breadth of our restaurant industry in the UK," he said.
Judges for the restaurant category included Iqbal Wahhab, founder of the Cinnamon Club and Roast restaurants; Dale Murray; David Lester of Startups.co.uk; Greg Ingham of MediaClash and Chris Slater of Simply Business.
Big winner at this year's awards, presented at the Kensington Roof Gardens, London, was the Edinburgh-based craft beer business, Beer52, which was named Simply Business Startups Business of the Year, while its founder, James Brown, won the Young Entrepreneur of the Year award.