Managing Director of Cryer & Stott awarded MBE for Service to the British Food Industry

We are proud to share the news that Richard Holmes Managing Director of Cryer & Stott Cheesemongers, our fabulous Yorkshire Mark producer and supplier to leading restaurants, sporting stadiums, hotels & gastro pubs across the UK, has been awarded an MBE for his services to the British food industry.

Richard’s passion to work with small artisan producers to bring exciting and unique products to businesses as well as building a product range focusing on innovating traditions has gained him this prestigious award.

Richard shares “I’m so proud & humbled to be given an MBE in King Charles’s first ever New Year’s Honours List. I would like to thank my wife Clare & children Samuel & Valentine for supporting me. The honour is an accolade for all the Cryer & Stott family who have worked by my side to make Cryer & Stott the success it is today.”

The honour comes as the family-run business celebrates it’s 25th year in business, a huge milestone after what has been a testing few years.

Achievements at a glance:
• Creating and growing one of the most successful cheesemongers/producers of fine foods in the UK, successfully building the company from scratch into a multi-million-pound concern.
• An innovator and pioneer, Richard has created several products that are completely unique, such as ‘Duke of Wellington’ blue cheese and ‘Ruby Gold’, winning international awards for his work and putting Yorkshire on the map as a food centre of excellence.
• Championing small, local producers and working closely with them to successfully drive their products to market.
• Representing Yorkshire and the UK on the international stage, serving his unique products to royalty, ambassadors, and foreign dignitaries.
• Building – and maintaining – an impressive list of first-rate clients, from restaurant chains to Michelin-star restaurants, to the London 2012 Olympics.
• An inspiring and well-respected leader, Richard has provided meaningful employment for 25 local individuals – training, mentoring, and nurturing their skills.
• Maintaining strong links with the local community and raising money for various charitable initiatives in the Yorkshire area.

We are delighted for Richard and the Cryer & Stott team!

Cooper King Distillery celebrates tree planting milestone

Our fantastic Yorkshire Mark producer Cooper King Distillery is celebrating an exciting milestone in its support of environmental charity Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust (YDMT). As the partnership reaches its fourth year, the sustainable distillery has supported the planting of more than 2,000 native UK trees – over 20,000 square metres (enough to create nearly three football pitches of new woodland!).

Since August 2018, Cooper King Distillery have pledged to donate at least 1% of their gin sales towards YDMT’s tree planting work, with over £20,000 donated to date. They were also the first distillery in Europe to join the environmental initiative ‘1% for the Planet’, the first in the UK to offer a gin refill scheme, and the first in the country to produce carbon-negative gin. All the wheat and barley for their spirits is sourced from Yorkshire farms.

Sarah Hodgson, Development Manager at YDMT said: “We’re really grateful to be partnering with Abbie, Chris and the Cooper King team, and are appreciative of what they have done for woodland creation across the Dales.

“Planting trees is vitally important not only to mitigate the impacts of climate change but also to create habitat for some of our most vulnerable wildlife. Cooper King’s support will also enable us to work with local communities to plant even more trees, employ two woodland trainees and establish community tree growing nurseries.”

Each bottle of Cooper King’s international award-winning Dry or Herb Gin sold contributes to the creation of one square metre of woodland in the Yorkshire Dales and surrounding areas.

Chris added: “Producing flavour-driven sustainable spirits is at the heart of what we do, because we believe drinking good spirits needn’t cost the earth. Partnering with YDMT has been a wholesome and rewarding process, ensuring this vision becomes a reality.”

“A huge thanks is owed to not only YDMT, but to our customers who continue to support our mission, helping to conserve and protect the environment. We’re looking forward to heading out to the Dales in January to get more trees planted!”

We are so proud to have Cooper King Distillery in our Yorkshire Mark Family!

Online coverage for The Yorkshire Mark and Uniquely Local’s #shopyorkshire campaign

It’s fantastic to be collaborating with Uniquely Local encouraging people to #shopyorkshire this Christmas and support small businesses.

We are delighted that our wonderful campaign has led to some great national online press coverage in Bdaily, featuring Uniquely Local owner, Rachel Marshall, and our very own Brand Manager at The Yorkshire Mark, Georgie Harmer.

The article shares what the #shopyorkshire social media campaign is all about and encourages people to join in and support local Yorkshire businesses this Christmas.

You can read the full article from Bdaily here.

Find out more about Uniquely Local and browse their full range of gift experiences here.

White Rose Coffee Roasters welcomes new stockist TEST BAR!

We’re delighted for our Yorkshire Mark producer White Rose Coffee Roasters who have welcomed TEST BAR as a new stockist of their award-winning coffee!

The cocktail bar and adjoining distillery, by the award-winning John Roberts Botanic Request, opened its doors to the people of Farsley and beyond on 5th November at the iconic Yorkshire mill complex, Sunny Bank Mills.

TEST BAR serves the popular Cattle Market blend, White Rose Coffee Roasters signature espresso blend. This blend has a heady mix of Brazilian and Honduras Arabicas, roasted dark to Second crack to give a punchy espresso that will cut through milk drinks.

Co-founders of TEST BAR, Ben and Emelie, shared why they selected the Cattle Market blend, stating that it’s the right roast for their signature espresso martini, and lends itself well to the botanicals within their gin. Chosen for its chocolatey, nutty profile, Ben and Emelie also mull a coffee liqueur using the blend.

Find out more about White Rose Coffee Roasters here.

The Yorkshire Mark sponsors Best New Food Product category in Azets Yorkshire Food & Drink Business Awards 2023

Azets have launched their Yorkshire Food & Drink Business Awards 2023 and The Yorkshire Mark is thrilled to be sponsoring the Best New Food Product category!

The Awards aim to celebrate those businesses that have continued to excel and shown resilience, adapting to the difficult economic conditions created by the pandemic, looming recession and uncertainty of recent months. As a high profile and widely promoted event, the Awards provide a platform to showcase and celebrate achievements, creating visibility and valuable publicity for those businesses involved.

The awards are open to all businesses from start-ups to established companies, small and large, across all sectors of Yorkshire food and drink. The entry process is simple – businesses provide a 300 word (max) entry demonstrating their key achievements and reasons why they should win their chosen category along with any additional supporting documents before the deadline.

Tony Farmer, Head   of   Corporate   Finance   at   Azets   in   Yorkshire   explains: “I am delighted to announce the launch of our Azets in Yorkshire Food & Drinks Business awards which is now in its fifth year. The awards have proved to be a great success and this year’s awards will be our best yet.  Our awards celebrate the creativity and grit of the people and businesses of Yorkshire that are striving to help our economy to grow and prosper. We’re here to showcase the county’s successful businesses and show other UK businesses that positive outcomes can be realised even in the most challenging economic conditions.”

Susan Kay, Partnerships Director, The Yorkshire Mark, commented: “These awards are the perfect place to turn the spotlight on the amazing producers we have in Yorkshire and we’re excited to be continuing to work with Azets by sponsoring the Best New Food Product category.  We encourage all local food producers who have launched a new product recently to enter, and tell us how you developed it, how you created your branding, how you’ve launched it and how it’s been received by consumers.  We can’t wait to see the entries and be part of this celebration of Yorkshire food and drink!”

The award categories are:

  • Personality of the year
  • Rising Star
  • Best Hospitality
  • Producer of the year
  • Retailer of the year
  • Manufacturer of the year
  • Best new food product
  • Best new drink product
  • True Yorkshire Grit
  • Overall Winner

The deadline for entries is 27 February 2023. A shortlist will be announced in mid-March on the Azets website and through social media accounts. Winners will be announced at an awards event on 27 April at York Racecourse.

How to enter

For further information on the Azets in Yorkshire Food & Drink Business Awards and to enter your business now visit https://discover.azets.co.uk/azets-food-and-drink-awards-2023 or email yorks.awards@azets.co.uk

The Yorkshire Pasta Company celebrates success at The Yorkshire and Humberside Family Business Awards

We are delighted that our wonderful #yorkshirefam producer, The Yorkshire Pasta Company have been announced as the winner of the Emerging Family Business category at The Yorkshire and Humberside Family Business Awards!

Dave Clarkson, Awards Co-Founder commented, “As this was the very first of our Family Business Awards to be held in Yorkshire and Humberside, we wanted it to be a really special occasion and we’re delighted with how it came together on the night. There is a huge wealth of talent, entrepreneurialism and passion that exists here, and the awards will help to profile and champion that.”

Showing the UK the difference between mass manufactured supermarket ‘pasta’ and beautiful, sustainable, artisan pasta, The Yorkshire Pasta Company combines traditional techniques with locally milled wheat flour and striking sustainable paper packaging to create their award winning premium British pasta. A sustainable approach to a classic product, Yorkshire Pasta HQ is run on solar energy, is plastic free and all their products are vegan and vegetarian friendly.

Kathryn Bumby, the founder of The Yorkshire Pasta Company shared: “To be recognised for this award is overwhelming, we are a small family business, a team of three, we love creating our artisan pasta here in Malton and the knowledge that families up and down the UK are sitting round dinner tables enjoying our pasta together gives me such a special feeling. The last two years really have been a whirlwind for us and our British pasta – This is another very proud moment for us!

The Yorkshire Pasta Company have made their mark across Yorkshire and the wider UK, now supplying over 450 farm shops, delis and restaurants across the country, and have featured on James Martin’s Saturday Morning ITV show, Davina McCall’s podcast and in The Sunday Times. Yorkshire Pasta is even stocked in Harvey Nichols, Selfridges and has recently hit the shelves at Harrods!

For more information about the awards and the full list of 2022 winners, click here. (www.yorkshireandhumbersidefamilybusinessawards.co.uk)

Browse The Yorkshire Pasta Company’s full range and get inspired by the delicious recipes they share on their website here. (https://www.yorkshirepasta.co.uk/)