Drinks industry non-profit Equal Measures has won the Impact Award and CLASS editor Hamish Smith the Drink Writer of the Year gong in Fortnum & Mason’s Food and Drink Awards 2025.
Among the other drinks industry highlights were Drink Book winner The Meaning of Beer: An Alternative History of the World by Jonny Garrett; and Sake: The Art and Craft of Japan’s National Drink by Yoshiko Ueno-Müller, which won the Debut Drink Book award.
In the food world, Toyo Odetunde took the Food Writer gong for work featured in Food by National Geographic Traveller & The i Paper; Ravinder Bhogal won Cookery Writer for articles in Delicious; and the Restaurant Writer of the Year was Niki Blasina for work featured in the Financial Times.
Mary Berry won Fortnum’s Special Award (pictured), while Matt Tebbutt was named the Personality of the Year.
The judging panel, headed by Angela Hartnett, included drinks writers Anthony Gladman and Aleesha Hansel and co-author of Schofield’s Fine and Classic Cocktails, Joe Schofield.
Angela Hartnett, who heads the judging panel, said: "The annual awards are judged by a panel of independent experts and reflect Fortnum's commitment to celebrate and support the UK’s diverse pool of voices reporting on the subjects of food and drink.”
Jay Rayner, also a judge, added: "It’s an honour and a privilege to judge this year’s Fortnum & Mason Food and Drink Awards. In complicated times for media, both online and off, the range and diversity of the voices, culinary traditions and approaches represented by the huge number of entries, is proof that there is an awful lot to celebrate about the state of food and drink coverage in the UK. Judging also made me constantly hungry."