Survey shows Norwich has more award-winning restaurants per head than any other uk city
A survey by a leading restaurant trade has revealed that Norwich has a higher number of AA Rosette award-winning restaurants per capita than any other city in the UK, cementing the city’s reputation as a foodie centre.
Visionarydining.com, which works with the hospitality industry across the UK to drive up standards, studied the new 2014 AA Guide to discover which cities had the biggest concentration of award-winning restaurants.
Although London topped the list in terms of absolute numbers, once the size of population was taken into account, Norwich easily came out top in the restaurants per capita table, with one AA Rosette-holding establishment for every 6,500 people. By contrast, London has just one per 18,200 people.
The news has been welcomed by the restaurant rated by the AA Guide as the best in Norwich, Roger Hickman’s Restaurant - which is the only establishment in the city to achieve the coveted three Rosette status. Chef proprietor Roger Hickman said that the city’s achievement was down to the dedication of its chefs – and the excellence of the Norwich City College Hotel School.
'It's really rewarding to hear that the data collected puts Norwich at the forefront of national dining with such a high ratio of award winning cooking for the size of the city,” he said.
“A lot of chefs work hard to deliver what their customers are looking for, and this is helped further by the regional industry being supported by such a brilliant catering college. The general consensus is that London delivers strongly for its market, but to hear that pound for pound we do a better job will really inspire the city.”
Commenting on the findings, Gordon Cartwright, managing director of visionarydining.com, said, “We all know that London leads the way in terms of the volume of award-winning restaurants. However, when one begins to look at the provision of quality restaurants per head of population, the results are surprising.
“It is interesting to look at the impact of college hospitality education in the cities which have done well in this survey. The quality of students which these colleges send out into the local industry play a big part in driving up quality. In the case of Norwich City College, the link between quality students and the local restaurant scene is very clear.
“The satisfaction of achieving an award such as an AA Rosette is one to savour for those who toil endlessly to fill their restaurants, and whilst we know that restaurants should always cook for their clientele first and foremost, ultimately the national guides do generally reflect what is going on.
“I have been to Norwich several times both to eat in its restaurants and visit the City College Hotel School, and it is very encouraging to find the city’s hospitality industry in such great shape.”
The survey’s findings showed that the top ten cities for AA Rosette award-winning restaurants are (with number of inhabitants per restaurant in brackets):
1. Norwich (6,500)
2. Winchester (10,500)
3. Edinburgh (10,700)
4. York (10,700)
5. Portsmouth (16,900)
6. Manchester (18,200)
7. London (18,400)
8. Bristol (19,000)
9. Brighton (24,800)
10. Newcastle (25,900)