Northern Restaurant and Bar show calls for nominees for Top 50 power list

The Northern Restaurant and Bar show is calling for nominations for its fourth annual Top 50 hospitality power list.

The NRB Top 50 is now open to suggestions of people in Northern-based businesses who have made an outstanding contribution to the critical and commercial success of their operations. Nominees must be actively working in the hospitality industry, and must be based in the Northern region, which is defined as the North West, North East, Yorkshire and the Humber.

A copy of the nomination form can be found at www.nrbtop50.co.uk, along with the conditions for entry. Nominators may recommend a colleague, client or even themselves. The deadline is Friday 16 January.

The final list will then be announced at a reception at this year's NRB show, on 17 March. Top 50 individuals will become part of the NRB Top 50 Alumni association, and will also win VIP invitations to the annual NRB Debate, and the Too Many Critics Manchester dinner.

The judging panel will be made up of representatives from NRB sponsors Kuits, the Russell Partnership, BDO and Tushingham Moore Leisure, who together bring expertise across hospitality finance, property, law and consultancy.

The awards will also highlight three specially-selected winners from within the list's 50, who the judges will have deemed to have achieved exceptional success in the past year. Last year's winners were Tim Bacon and Jeremy Roberts from Cheshire-based Living Ventures, who won the Group Restaurateur of the Year Catey last year, Marc Wilkinson from Restaurant Fraiche on the Wirral, and Paul Askew from the Art School in Liverpool.

Anyone whose name goes on to appear on the prestigious final list will receive a confirmation letter by 2 March. The awards have previously attracted hundreds of entries from across the eligible region, from Cheshire and Cumbria, to Northumberland and Yorkshire.

Thom Hetherington, chief executive of show organisers Holden Media, said that the awards played a key role in raising standards across the region, and highlighting the work of people who might wrongly get overlooked in national-wide contests.

He said: "There are some incredible individuals in the North, driving their hospitality businesses forward through innovation, excellence, and good old-fashioned hard graft. We feel it is important to hold these people up for celebration, to inspire the next generation to raise standards in the region higher still."

This year's annual NRB show will take place on 17-18 March in Manchester Central, and feature tastings, talks and product exhibitions as part of Northern Hospitality Week. There will also be chef demonstrations from a star line-up of chefs including Nacho Manzano, Kenny Atkinson, and Michael Wignall.

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