Food, drink and all that jazz as city awards' first winners take the spotlight

By cmallett

TWENTY years after closing his first jazz bar in Derby, Stephen Rouse's love of the music drove him to do it all again this year – and now he has won an award for his efforts.

Mr Rouse, who runs Number Five in George Street, was one of six winners of the inaugural Derby Food and Drink Awards, which were presented at a glamorous ceremony at the city's Roundhouse last night.

The gongs are the first of their kind and, like the other winners, Mr Rouse said he believed his award in the Best Pub or Bar category recognised his efforts to bring something different to the city.

Number Five is a two-floor jazz bar which opened in July in an empty Victorian engineering works, which took a year and about £200,000 to renovate.

Mr Rouse had previously run Brownes private members' club, in Stafford Street, which played host to jazz stars like legendary saxophonist Ronnie Scott and pianist Stan Tracey in the 1980s.

He reckons his new bar, which features its own deli, is a rarity in the city as it caters for older people.

Mr Rouse said: "We have live music four nights a week, a lot of jazz. Early doors on Friday evenings we have a pianist. I love the music and I want more people to share that – even the background music is jazz.

"But there are also two storeys, so if you don't want to listen to the music you have the option not to.

"There are a large number of chain bars in Derby which cater for younger people so I feel we offer something different."

Mr Rouse, also a consultant for licensed businesses, initially looked at the Number Five building for a client, but "fell in love with it" himself.

He said: "It was an old building, Victorian and airy, bricky and industrial – yet it had a contemporary feel to it."

Delighted to win the award, he praised his category's other nominees, The Brewery Tap, Fat Cat Cafe Bar and Bar 16.

Mr Rouse said: "I think the awards are a brilliant idea. There's a lot of talent out there. Maybe we had the edge because we diversified a bit."

A sense of innovation also guided Indian restaurant Anoki to the Best International Restaurant award.

Manager Suraj Pathak said the service was highly personalised, with customers asked by staff what they were looking for in a curry.

They then get suggestions from the menu or can have custom-made meals.

The restaurant, which opened in 2003, has already been recognised as one of the UK's top 10 Indian restaurants by The Times Magazine in 2007 and 2008.

Mr Pathak said: "Anoki means unique in Urdu and we try to create a unique dining experience.

"We've been successful right from the start. Looking at the Derby market at the time, there was very little competition and we made the best of that."

He listed the restaurant's hot chilli fish, curd cubes fried in egg and corn-flour, chilli, garlic and tomato sauce, as a speciality which set the restaurant apart.

Winners of the Best Restaurant category, Darley's said its Michelin-recommended eatery was set apart by its position on the River Derwent and the local ingredients in its food.

Co-owners Kathryn and Jon Hobson said they spent about a month perfecting any dish before it was put on the menu.

Mr Hobson said: "We try to use ingredients that are in season and locally produced.

"For example, we get fruit and vegetables from South Derbyshire Growers, in Melbourne, and our quails' eggs from Smalley Hill Farm, Horsley."

He was surprised to scoop the award, which was made all the more special because it was judged by a professional food critic from the AA.

Mrs Hobson said the judge did not reveal herself until she had finished her three-course meal of scallops, rose veil and an assiette of desserts.

She said: "You run over what you did on the night and whether you could have done better.

"She picked a technical menu but everything we serve is of the same standard and we know our food is all high quality."

Best for Lunch was Le Bistrot Pierre, Friar Gate; Best Cafe, Strand in Strand; and Best Newcomer of the Year was a joint award for Jack Rabbits, Queen Street, and MoonSha, Curzon Street.

The awards were run by Marketing Derby, whose director, John Forkin, congratulated all the nominees.

He said: "It's interesting that over half the short-listed venues have been started in the last year. That shows something about the nature of this industry in Derby at the moment. It's absolutely booming."

Top chef Sat Bains had been expected to present the awards but was unable to attend as he was receiving a gong himself at an awards ceremony at Earls Court.

Instead they were presented by representatives of Marketing Derby stakeholders Nino Simone, of Geldards Solicitors, and Karen Blount, of Toyota.

Each shortlisted establishment received a framed certificate and window stickers to put on display. The six winners received framed certificates – and the kudos of winning at the ceremony in front of 150 people from the industry.