Nigel Barden is a beloved British food and drink broadcaster, best known as the main food correspondent for BBC London and a familiar presence on radio alongside presenters like Simon Mayo and Chris Evans . He champions British ingredients and artisanal food producers, serving as a judge for prestigious awards such as Great Taste, World Cheese, and returns as the Chair of judges for the Farm Shop & Deli Retailer Awards . A down‑to‑earth cook rather than a chef, Nigel brings passion, wit, and authenticity to his work, whether on-air, at events, or hosting tastings and festivals .

Elaine is a Yorkshire born former chef-restaurateur turned national food and travel writer and voted one of the Top 50 Food and Drink Journalists in the UK. She writes for many leading food titles, newspapers and websites including BBC Good Food, Spruce Eats and Food 52 and is the author of four books.  Elaine says her primary consideration when judging is that it is imperative to take each entrant judged on their merits and what they do, regardless of size, turnover, large or small.

Sangita and the team at Delilah Fine Foods in Nottingam, were our winners of the title; Retailer of the Year 2025, and we are delighted to have Sangita join us on the judging panel. Delilah Fine Foods is an independent fine food and wine merchant founded by Sangita in July 2005, when she opened the first deli in a small shop on Middle Pavement in Nottingham. The deli has since grown into a larger flagship located in a former HSBC bank on Victoria Street, offering a vast selection of artisan products, café-style seating, and a signature food bar. 

Matt joined Fieldfare as MD in October 2020 and has a wealth of experience within the food industry, having spent the past twenty years working across confectionery, meals, seafood and bakery. Matt is extremely proud of the brands success in the Farm Shop & Deli Product Awards for the and he is passionate about the role unique propositions, such as Fieldfare’s loose premium frozen foods, have to play within independent stores. Matt confesses to having a bit of a sweet tooth and Fieldfare chocolate twists are a family favourite in his household. Luckily Matt loves running too!

Alex was raised in an entrepreneurial family behind the creation of the multi-award-winning Black Farmer brand. With over a decade in the FMCG sector, he has developed expertise in commercial strategy and leadership across supply and retail. Since joining the family business in 2024, Alex has been driving its growth while championing diversity, innovation, and resilience in British food and farming. We are delighted to welcome Alex to the judging panel for the 2026 awards!

Andrew Burton, Associate Director at Pleydell Smithyman, brings over three decades of experience, championing the growth of independent rural enterprises across the UK. With deep expertise in strategic business planning and operational support, he has worked closely with garden centres and farm shops across the UK to help them thrive in a competitive landscape. Driven by a genuine passion for specialist retail and catering, Andrew combines a keen commercial instinct with a visionary approach to business development. His insight, dedication, and strategic foresight make him an invaluable addition to this year’s judging team.

Anthony Johns, and his wife Sue, own and actively run 2 thriving delis & grocers, a vibrant café and a popular beach hut in the coastal Devon villages of Appledore & Instow. In 2015 Johns of Instow won the Independent Retailer of the Year at the Farm Shop and Deli Awards and we are delighted to have their expertise on our judging panel.

Arthur Howell is a butcher from Wells-next-the-Sea, Norfolk. He runs two butcher’s shops in Wells-next-the-Sea and Burnham Market, an abattoir, a delicatessen, a bakery unit and bakery, and also has a small farm. Arthur has been a long-standing member of the Farm Shop & Deli Retailer Awards family after winning the title of Retailer of the Year in 2016. We are delighted that he and his lovely wife Liz will be joining us on the judging panel again this year to bring their extraordinary knowledge and insights to the panel.

Carla Mills is a Buying Manager for Booths, with over 20 years’ experience in food retail. With expertise in strategic sourcing and category development, Carla has extensive knowledge across fresh foods including bakery, dairy and fresh produce. She is passionate about bringing high quality products and brands to Booths customers, developing local and regional suppliers, and building strong and lasting supplier relationships.

Lovingly Artisan are our Farm Shop & Deli Retailer of the Year 2024 winners, and we are thrilled to have husband and wife team, Aidan Monks, and Catherine Connor, join our judging panel once again. Lovingly Artisan is a creative sourdough bakery dedicated to crafting exceptional sourdough bread and artisan bakes using time-honoured techniques and the finest local ingredients. At the heart of Lovingly Artisan is the stoneground mill, just a stone’s throw away from where they bake a variety of 13 different sourdoughs in their wood-fired oven. They use ancient and modern grains grown locally, then milled intuitively for flavour and their nutritional value. Lovingly Artisan is often acknowledged for its boundary-pushing and innovative baking approaches, often pioneering and sometimes reintroducing old and historical methods that preserve flavour, enhance keeping qualities whilst influencing the textures and structures of what they call the humble loaf.

Claire Mortimer is a co-founder of Fabulous Farm Shops, an extensive online directory featuring farm shops throughout England. The platform's goal is to list every farm shop in the country and has recently expanded efforts to include shops in Scotland, Wales, and Ireland. We are thrilled to have Claire join us on the Farm Shop & Deli Retailer Awards judging panel.

Debbie Edge was the previous proud joint owner of Edge & Son in Birkenhead with her husband Callum and winner of the 2018 Farm Shop & Deli Retailer of the Year. She will be looking for a business that really understands their business ethics and is passionate about the environment, their local farming and‘ real food’ producers, their team and business community.

Eleanor O’Brien, the Managing Director of National Craft Butchers (NCB), joined the organization in 2018, bringing a wealth of experience in operations, retail, and hospitality management. Eleanor was the winner of the Woman in Meat Awards Trade Body category in 2021 and we are thrilled to have her on our judging panel again this year.

As Head of Marketing at Cotswold Fayre since April 2024, Emma is delighted to be joining the judging panel at Farm Shop & Deli. With a career spanning over 25 years in the food industry including marketing and NPD roles with the manufacturing, retailing and wholesale sectors, across a wide variety of categories and channels, she is excited to bring her passion and enthusiasm for the speciality fine food and premium independent retail sector to the judging process.

With over 30 years’ hospitality management experience Grahame entered the speciality & fine food sector when he and business partner Richard Fennell (now Commercial Director at The Gorgeous Food Company) opened their delicatessen in 2008. Whilst owning the deli, Grahame and Richard were asked by one of their suppliers if they could support them with some wholesale distribution, and the duo started wholesaling tea to cafes, coffee shops and other delicatessens. In 2013 they decided to sell the deli to concentrate on wholesale distribution and The Gorgeous Food Company was born. Ten years later with a range of over 1700 products, The Gorgeous Food Company is going from strength to strength supplying delicatessens, farm shops and independent food stores across the UK.

James and the team behind Cunningham's won both the Best Retailer Northern Ireland (Large) and overall Retailer of the Year in the Farm Shop & Deli Retailer Awards 2023! Cunningham's butchers in Killkeel, Northern Ireland, are a family owned business extending back four generations.

John Gill has been involved in selecting, procuring and retailing great food and drink for 18 years with Booths. In this time John has experienced the arrival and emergence of some wonderful food and drink brands and is always keen to support and encourage new and exciting products to market. With a wealth of experience in food and drink awards judging, John can’t wait to get involved again in the Retailer Awards.

Co-Founder & Director at Diverse Fine Food (@diversefinefood), New Zealander, Ironman, Sport Enthusiast, Food Judge, Seed Fund Mentor and always searching for amazing Artisan products! Mark has a background working for global manufacturers with well know global brands over the past 30 years. Mark is an experienced judge of several industry awards including Great Taste Awards, Nourish Awards and the Farm Shop & Deli Product Awards. He brings extensive experience from the food & beverage industry with the latest insights and eye for quality and innovation.

Matt has been involved in the food retail sector for 16 years – Initially as a cheese shop and deli owner and now as the Sales Manager at award winning distributor Cress Co, serving independent fine food retailers in the UK. Matt spends a lot of his spare time in the kitchen fuelling his passion for food and cooking from scratch. Matt will be using his specialist industry knowledge to recognise and reward innovation, quality, and exceptional service among the amazing farm shops and delis across the UK.

A seasoned industry and awards judge Nicki is the co-founder and Director of Diverse Fine Food. Nicki has spent over 15 years in the F&B industry as a food buyer and has a special interest in great branding, origin and ethics. Nicki is a has been a Dragon on the Farm, Shop & deli Show's Dragons Pantry for the past 9 years sharing her passion for new producers and insight to help new brands flourish. Nicki is an experienced judge of several industry awards including Great Taste Awards, Nourish Awards and the Farm Shop & Deli Product Awards. She brings extensive experience from the food & beverage industry with the latest insights and eye for innovation and great taste.

Richard is the oldest son of the three Nicholson brothers who run the multi award winning Cannon Hall Farm visitor attraction in Yorkshire. The family farm has played host to Channel 5’s On the Farm TV shows for the past six years. He’s worked in many areas of the business including on the farm, the farm shop and butchery department. Richard is a keen home cook and online food blogger, broadcasting live on Facebook every week on the Cannon Hall Farm Shop Facebook page. He is enthusiastic about promoting the farm shop's quality beef, pork and lamb. A graduate in graphic design and photography, he now spends most of his time in the farm’s marketing department.

Simon Hurley, Managing Director, P2P Food Solutions and Co-Founder of Cock & Bull, has written pieces for Fine Food Digest and Speciality Food Magazine and consults for several food brands including Tyrrells Crisps, Australian Wagyu, Silver and Green Olives, Piltons Cider and Granny Gothards Icecream. He also works with a number of local authorities looking at healthy alternatives for their school meals offering. 

Cock & Bull (formerly Jampa’s) is a bold, chef-led UK brand, dedicated to redefining plant-based eating with premium, flavour-packed pies and pastries.