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Home » Blogging » Winner of 2016 British Turkey Awards Best Blogger Recipe of the Year!

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Winner of 2016 British Turkey Awards Best Blogger Recipe of the Year!

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So, today I am delighted to announce that Easy Peasy Foodie is now an award winning blog!!! Last night I won the award for the Best Blogger Recipe at the British Turkey Awards for my Turkey Tikka Masala Meatballs with Bombay New Potatoes. I am so over the moon right now!

 

British Turkey Awards Best Blogger Recipe 2016

 

It’s a few months back, now, since I was asked to take part in a competition to discover the Best Blogger Recipe for the British Turkey Awards – a task I rather relished, not least as it was a particularly tough brief. The recipe had to showcase British Turkey (obviously!), but also be innovative, healthy, delicious and reflect this year’s chosen theme: ‘Best of British’. Not only that, but the recipe also had to include a minimum of two other Red Tractor products. Talk about a tall order!

 

Turkey Tikka Masala Meatballs with Bombay New Potatoes

 

After a good deal of thought and some detailed internet ‘research’, it occurred to me that one of the things that defines ‘Best of British’ for me is our love of embracing other cultures and cuisines and creating uniquely British fusion food. One of the dishes that best encapsulates this idea is the Tikka Masala – a dish with Indian roots, but which was adapted for British tastes and so the idea for British Tikka Masala Meatballs was born. To find out more about my award winning dish and to get the recipe head over to the original post.

 

British Turkey Awards Best Blogger Recipe 2016

Photo Credit: British Turkey

 

Entering the competition was one thing, but being judged the eventual winner was quite another. I was absolutely delighted to be contacted by British Turkey a few weeks ago and be told I was a finalist and would I like to come to the British Turkey Awards? Over the moon was perhaps something of an understatement. It is at this point that I should apologise to you all for not telling you I was up for the award – but the details were heavily embargoed and I wasn’t allowed to – believe me, for a blogger whose natural tendencies are to blog, tweet, instagram and facebook everything exciting this was HARD! But I managed…just!!

 

British Turkey Awards Best Blogger Recipe 2016

 

The British Turkey Awards are held every year to celebrate innovation and excellence in the turkey industry. This year the awards were held in The Sheraton Park Lane Hotel in Piccadilly, London. It was a fabulously put together, black tie event complete with excellent after dinner entertainment and award-presenting by Hugh Dennis and a host of other fun: a raffle, a charity auction, a casino, a live band and even ‘hook a duck’ (apparently – I had to leave early to get the last train home, so missed out on that particular highlight!). I have been to several similar events during my time in the wine trade and I can most definitely say that last night was one of the best!

 

Park Lane Hotel

 

British Turkey Awards 2016

 

British Turkey Awards 2016

 

The evening was also themed Best of British and, as you can imagine, turkey featured extensively on the menu – the event started with a champagne reception accompanied by a delightful selection of turkey canapés, including Turkey Sausage & Mash and Turkey Pasties.

 

Canapes at the British Turkey Awards 2016

 

The starter was a rather fun ‘British Turkey Classics’ featuring a Mini Raised Turkey Pie and a Turkey Scotch Egg. Main course was a more traditional Roast Fillet of Turkey Breast with Rosemary and Wild Mushrooms.

 

Starter at the British Turkey Awards 2016

 

Main Course at British Turkey Awards 2016

 

You will be pleased to hear that turkey did not feature as a dessert – instead we had a Bramley Apple and Chelsea Bun Pudding paired with some rather fabulous Greengage Ice Cream. The turkey dishes were all winning entries in the British Turkey Student Chef of the Year Award.

 

Dessert at British Turkey Awards 2016

 

The most exciting part of the evening was obviously the awards ceremony – It was fascinating to see the array of different turkey produce available – and not just for Christmas. As well as categories for things like Best Christmas Convenience and Best Christmas Innovation, there were awards for innovation and meal solutions in everyday products too.

 

It was an interesting theme that came through during the evening, that turkey is a fantastic, versatile and healthy meat and yet an enormous swathe of the British population only ever eat turkey on Christmas Day and in the few days afterwards. It’s a puzzling conundrum – why do we as a nation revere turkey so much that it is THE meat to have at Christmas and yet avoid it almost completely during the rest of the year? It’s completely bonkers when you think about it! And it is, of course, a key challenge for the for the UK turkey industry. I for one have vowed to start using turkey a lot more in my recipes – it’s delicious, easy to cook, convenient, healthy, family and budget friendly – so perfectly in alignment with the values of Easy Peasy Foodie – watch this space!

 

Hugh Dennis at the British Turkey Awards 2016

Photo Credit: British Turkey

 

I was fortunate enough to be sitting on a lovely table, full of wonderfully interesting people, including the lovely Derek and Paul Kelly of KellyBronze Turkey fame. Paul Kelly is also the current Chairman of British Turkey. Also on our table was Hugh Dennis, who did an absolutely stellar job of providing the evening entertainment; John Shanley, the now retired CEO of Sparks – a charity funding pioneering children’s medical research and which British Turkey has long supported; and the winners of the Outstanding Contribution Prize: Amir and Limor Chen of Strut and Cluck – Britain’s first (and I believe only) turkey restaurant. But to describe it thus probably doesn’t give it justice. I had a lovely time chatting to Amir and Limor about their restaurant. Inspired by their Eastern Mediterranean heritage, they have a passion for healthy eating and consider turkey a superfood. They have built their menus around free range turkey marinated in their special family herb & spice blend, then slow-cooked  to perfect tenderness and served alongside seasonal produce with an Eastern Mediterranean twist. They have received rave reviews and several accolades and they have only been open since June!  I so want to go there right now!!

 

Strut and Cluck at the British Turkey Awards 2016

Photo Credit: British Turkey

 

Finally, I must give a huge shout out to my lovely friend Mo, who came with me to the awards as my plus one and took quite a few of the photos gracing this post – without her I would not have started my blog, so she was very much the most appropriate person to bring along. Thanks sweetie 🙂

 

British Turkey Awards Best Blogger Recipe 2016

 

Sadly, as I mentioned above, I had to skedaddle before the end of what was a rather fabulous evening (missing all that hook a duck fun!) and head home and back to real life, clutching my newly acquired bling all the way (I did get some funny looks on the train back to Sussex!).

 

British Turkey Awards Best Blogger Recipe 2016

 

Today I have mostly been walking on cloud nine and no amount of normal life has been able to dampen that – thanks to all of you who have already expressed your congratulations and fingers crossed it will be the first of many more awards in the future for Easy Peasy Foodie!!

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10 Comments

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Comments

  1. Jenny Eatwell says

    23rd September 2016 at 11:40 pm

    Congratulations by the bucketload! Such an accolade that you so deserve. Well done! 🙂

    Reply
    • Eb Gargano says

      25th September 2016 at 1:31 pm

      Aw, thank you so much for your kind words, Jenny. I still can’t quite believe this happened!! Eb x

      Reply
  2. Corina says

    24th September 2016 at 9:49 pm

    Congratulations! It sounds like a fantastic night and those meatballs do look gorgeous.

    Reply
    • Eb Gargano says

      25th September 2016 at 1:49 pm

      Aw, thanks Corina. It was an amazing night and I was so delighted to win the award! The meatballs are fab – the turkey works so well with the spices and it makes such a quick and easy midweek meal if you just make the curry, or a proper feast if you add in the side dishes too – especially that gorgeous courgette salad – the fresh flavours are the perfect contrast to the spiciness of the curry! Thanks for your lovely kind comments 🙂 Eb x

      Reply
  3. Angela / Only Crumbs Remain says

    26th September 2016 at 3:11 pm

    A MASSIVE well done Eb! I can fully unerstand that you were absolutely buzzing and walking on cloud nine, and if you’re anything like me you’ll still be up there! It sounds like it was an amazing evening….and hook-a-duck as well….I wonder if you’d have won a gold fish if you hooked one 😉 I was half expecting them to have served your recipe as part of the menu you enjoyed, though that may have given it away that you had won. Although turkey isn’t on our shopping list, for obviousl reasons, I completely agree with you that it is strange that as a nation we love our turkey at Christmas time and yet rarely buy it for the other 51 weeks of the year. I know my brother loves it as part of his healthy eating routine….either as a mince in a ‘chilli’ or simply cooked turkey breast.
    Well done again Eb, well deserved an absolutely perfectly inspired recipe 🙂
    Angela xx

    Reply
    • Eb Gargano says

      27th September 2016 at 10:30 am

      Aw, thanks Angela – absolutely still buzzing!! The thing about turkey is very strange when you think about it…you could understand it if turkey was very expensive or difficult to get hold of, but it is neither and is actually good value for money, healthy and tasty. Glad to hear your brother likes it – turkey chilli sounds wonderful! Eb x

      Reply
  4. Kate - gluten free alchemist says

    28th September 2016 at 7:58 pm

    What an exciting evening! It sounds like an amazing event….. Huge congratulations on your award. Well deserved! It has been lovely watching your blog grow over the last few months and it is good to see your fab recipes getting some recognition.
    Pleased to hear that you weren’t eating turkey for dessert though….. x

    Reply
    • Eb Gargano says

      29th September 2016 at 11:12 am

      It was a fab evening and yes, much as I like turkey, I was pleased there was no turkey for dessert! Thank you so much for your kind words about my blog. It’s one of the things I love about blogging: it is a constant learning curve, but when you look back you really do see have far you’ve come. It’s super nice to get such a fab award, but almost every day there is some small milestone reached or pat on the back. 🙂 Eb x

      Reply
  5. Honest Mum says

    29th September 2016 at 10:32 pm

    Whopp, congrats again darling, you look fabulous and so do the awards x

    Reply
    • Eb Gargano says

      30th September 2016 at 10:48 am

      Aw, thanks Vicki! It was an amazing night – most definitely still on cloud 9 and don’t plan to come down for a while 😉 Eb x

      Reply

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Hi and welcome to Easy Peasy Foodie! I’m Eb – a professional blogger, busy mum and passionate foodie and it is my mission in life to make cooking EASIER and MORE DELICIOUS! READ MORE

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