Nigel is a food & drink broadcaster, BBC London and Scala Radio. He specialises in promoting British ingredients & artisan producers and returns as our Chair of Judges for the Farm Shop & Deli Retailer Awards.

Nigel said: “It continues to be a great honour to chair our fabulous panel of judges and be involved in celebrating the champions of the specialist retail food and drink sector. Alongside the regional accolades, Newcomer of the Year and Retailer of the Year we can highlight the finest retailers across the UK and I’m looking forward to announcing the finalists in early March.”

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 three books, with her fourth published this year.

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.

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 seven awards that Fieldfare bagged at last year’s Farm Shop and Deli Show 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!

Andy Swinscoe is co-owner of The Courtyard Dairy. Recognised as one of the best cheese shops in the world, The Courtyard Dairy specialises in raw milk-farm cheese and has won many prestigious awards from Cheesemonger of the Year (World Cheese Awards) to being names one of The Financial Times Top 50 Food Shops in the World.

Arthur Howell is a Butcher from Wells-on-Sea, Norfolk. He runs two butcher’s shops in Wells-next-the-Sea and Burnham Market, an abattoir, a wet fish shop, a delicatessen, a bakery unit and shop and he also has a small farm. One of Arthur’s proudest moments came in 2016 when he was named Retailer of the Year at the Farm Shop & Deli Awards. This is his sixth year as a judge with us.

Debbie Edge, joint owner of Edge & Son in Birkenhead with her husband Callum and winner of the 2018 Farm Shop & Deli Retailers 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.

To date a successful career based in food production, sales, wholesaling and now retailing opening Thyme & Tides Deli, Bistro & Fishmonger in Stockbridge in 2010. Thyme & Tides Roadside Deli opened in April 2022 occupying a site once occupied by Little Chef on A30 near Salisbury.

Ian Nottage is a classically trained Chef with over 40 years experience in the foodservice and hospitality industry and a Fellow of the Craft Guild of Chefs. He is Head of Food Development at Fresh Direct where he works with their extensive customer base to forge meaningful links between grower, farmer, producer, manufacturer, chefs and buyers to deliver profitable, relevant and innovative menu solutions and to help develop the understanding and appreciation in the trade about how our produce arrives from field to fork. During his time in professional kitchens Ian held positions as Executive Chef at such prestigious venues as Hampton Court Palace, Stoll Moss theatres and The London Coliseum. He is also co-founder and event director of The Universal Cookery and Food Festival.

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. 

We are thrilled to have James join us as a Judge for the Retailer Awards 2024. 

John Gill has been involved in selecting, procuring and retailing great food and drink for 15 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.

Nikki Storrar has successfully run award winning Ardross Farm Shop since it opened in 2005. Starting with just their own beef the shop has grown from strength to strength and now supports hundreds of local producers as well as selling all of their own beef, lamb, mutton, honey and vegetables direct. Nikki is currently a Destination Leader for Scottish Agritourism and is passionate about farming and local food.

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 five 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 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.

"Having completed a university degree and not seeking out a desk job I found my way onto the cheese counter at Daylesford Organic in Notting hill and fell in love with the art of cheesemongery.

From this role I joined Mons Cheesemongers and learnt the craft of affinage, how to taste cheese correctly and honed my skills as a cheese specialist as I managed their Borough Market stall for three years. I loved this market and was always enthralled and fascinated by all the good food and products surrounding me on a daily basis but seeking a new challenge during covid I transitioned into a new role as the company's first head of online sales. Here I managed all online related sales as the company launched a national home delivery service.

After a brief foray into teaching in primary education I'm now back in the dairy world as the retail manager of Paxton and Whitfield's flagship shop in the iconic Jermyn Street in Piccadilly, London."