A glittering celebratory dinner at The Royal Garden Hotel in Kensington, London, set the scene for the inaugural Women In Meat Industry Awards ceremony on 16th November.
Celebrity chef and cookery school businesswoman Lesley Waters, known for television shows including Ready Steady Cook, presented the winners with their certificates and trophies.
The presentation was followed by an after-party and dancing to celebrate the industry’s achievements.
The Women In Meat Industry Awards are designed to recognise the important contributions that women make to the meat sector – a sector which is often perceived by consumers as a “male environment”.
The awards are driven by meat industry nominations and votes, with an expert judging panel gathering to select the overall Meat Businesswoman of the Year recipient (presented to one of the other category winners).
This year, the overall accolade was presented to Lisa Hand, head of supply chain at major meat company, Dunbia.
The winners of the other categories, as voted for by readers of Meat Management magazine (sister title to Food Management Today), were as follows:
Meat Businesswoman Award – Trade Body
Liz Murphy, chief executive officer, International Meat Trade Association
Meat Businesswoman Award – Foodservice
Penny Tomlinson, managing director, Fairfax Meadow
Meat Businesswoman Award – Retailing
Lynsey Coughlan, director, The Ginger Pig
Meat Businesswoman Award – Manufacturing/Processing
Lisa Hand, head of supply chain, Dunbia
Meat Businesswoman Award – Craft Butchery
Sue Winders, butchery manager, Makro Liverpool
Meat Businesswoman Award – Wholesaling
Lucianne Allen, sales and marketing director, Aubrey Allen
In addition, a special reader-voted award was presented for a woman in the industry under the age of 32 who is making a significant impact.
This accolade, The Rising Star Award, was presented to Sophie Cave, operational finance lead at Tulip Ltd.
The Women In Meat Industry Awards dinner will be back on 14th November 2019. For information on the nomination and voting process contact Emma Cash on emma.c@yandellmedia.com or 01908 613323. For partnership opportunities contact Michelle Ingerfield on michelle.i@yandellmedia.com or call 01908 613323.
