Caddy on winning: Borders restaurant is crowned best in UK

Ross Horrocks (centre) receives the award in London last week.

A restaurant near Jedburgh has been named the best in the UK at a national awards ceremony focused on game.

The Caddy Mann, which also won the award in 2019 and was runner-up last year, was crowned Best Restaurant at the Eat Game Awards, held in London last Thursday, taking the prize of £1,000, presented by the category sponsor, FACE.

The awards marked the culmination of a national search to find businesses and individuals championing the use of British wild game. More than 11,000 votes were cast by the public, with the shortlisted businesses and individuals in each category going forward to be reviewed by a panel of expert judges.

The awards ceremony, which was hosted by rural TV presenter Adam Henson, saw the winners of eight categories announced. Categories included best small retailer, best restaurant/pub and best game butcher. An overall winner was crowned Champion of Champions in a category sponsored by BASC.

Caddy Mann owner Ross Horrocks, himself a runner-up last year in the Best Chef category, said he and his wife Lynne were “absolutely delighted” to have won last night.

He said: “We are over the moon, it’s fantastic, It’s such a great achievement for us and all the team.”

Annette Woolcock, Eat Game Awards co-ordinator and BASC’s head of wild food, said: “It was great to see a previous winner shining again. The Caddy Mann is a very worthy winner. It was described by one of the judges as a real jewel with an extensive menu and a brilliant knowledge of game meat. The menu and the game on it is obviously fresh, seasonal and evolving.”