Notts farm shop 'over the moon' as it scoops two national awards in one night

Welbeck Farm Shop, near Worksop, has won two accolades in the prestigious Farm Shop & Deli Awards.

The prizegiving was due to be held during the Farm Shop & Deli Show at the Birmingham NEC – but plans were altered due to the Covid-19 outbreak and instead the ceremony was broadcast via social media.

The shop, on the Welbeck estate, not only scooped Farm Shop of the Year in the small retailers’ category but also won the overall Midlands regional title across all categories. The store won Small Farm Shop of the Year in 2018, but this is the first time it has won the regional title.

"We are over the moon, this is amazing news to receive during this unprecedented time," said Oliver Stubbins, general manager of Welbeck Farm Shop. “Over the last couple of weeks, we have been working around the clock to put together food orders needed by the local community. The team has worked incredibly hard during this time of lockdown and so to receive the award right now is not only a real honour but is a well-deserved boost for them.”

The awards, held in partnership with trade magazine The Grocer, were founded to recognise the best standards in speciality retail, as well as celebrating the highest level of service and community involvement.

During the online award ceremony, host Nigel Barden paid tribute to the ‘phenomenally high’ quality of finalists, adding: “Not only do they patently care about their customers, but the sense of community they’ve exhibited, particularly recently, shows how fortunate we are to have such remarkable artisan food retailers in our midst.”

Since social distancing measures were introduced, Welbeck Farm Shop has remained open and introduced a new email and contactless collect service in order to carry on supplying food and essentials.

To place an order, customers should download a form from www.welbeck.co.uk and email it to the shop.