PAPA INDUSTRY AWARDS
The Pizza, Pasta & Italian Food Industry Awards were presented at a glittering event on 9 November 2024. Hosted by Theo Randall, the evening brought together the leading lights of the sector to network, celebrate success and have a great night out. The Royal Lancaster, London was the setting for the 34th annual PAPA Awards Dinner and as the guests arrived, the atmosphere began to crackle with anticipation. This year, with entries at an all-time high across each of the 20 categories, the panel of industry experts had to work hard to whittle down to the shortlists and decide on the eventual champions.
“I’ve been in this industry a long time. I can remember around 40 years ago the first (PAPA Awards) dinner was taking place in a restaurant in London, there were 10 of us! There are a few more here tonight so it is lovely to see an industry grow.” Everyone in attendance would surely agree with those sentiments!
Winners on the night came from across the industry. High street names such as Domino’s, Zizzi and Pizza PIlgrims shared the limelight with independent restaurants and delivery outlets such as Village Pizza Kitchen and La Locanda.
Jim Winship, PAPA director, said, “The PAPA Awards are the benchmark for excellence in our industry, with the range of awards acknowledging new products, marketing creativities, green initiatives, overall performance and so much more.
There were accolades aplenty for ALDI and their always impressive in-store pizza offerings, while another of the heavyweight retailers, Tesco, claimed a number of awards.
“It was a demanding year for our judges as the entries were just that good! It was a pleasure to reward every winner, from retailers to manufacturers and suppliers alike.”
The presentations began with the Pizza Chef of the Year winners being revealed in each of the five sponsored categories before, much to her surprise, Brigi Stamber was announced as the overall winner.
Jim concluded, “The PAPA Awards always begin what feels like a month-long celebration of everything pizza, pasta and Italian food, with National Pizza Week following hot on the heels of the PAPAs.”
The awards reached their conclusion with Tom Fitzgibbon receiving the PAPA Industry Award for everything he has achieved in an incredible career spanning over 40 years. During his post-awards interview with editor Alex Bell, Tom shared some reflections.
Once the formalities were concluded, the guests partied into the small hours to a fabulous set courtesy of ’DJ to the Stars’, Tony Perry, who brought the curtain down on a fantastic evening for all involved. There were more than a few sore heads the following morning!
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