Prize Communicators

(by peter)

Even fire fighters and a mass evacuation didn’t dampen the spirits at the glamorous IWSC awards banquet at the City of London Guildhall on Wednesday night.

We were there to pick up our Communicators of the Year award. This was actually the second time the presentation had been made – the first being at VinItaly in Verona, courtesy of award sponsors Veronafiere. (For an account of this, also featuring ice cream and a ‘pasta-thon’, click here.)

The evening started off in somewhat anarchic fashion as the fire alarm went off (no fire was detected – ‘alcohol fumes’ were blamed, entirely appropriately). Everyone was evacuated into the freezing rain for around half an hour as firemen, police and staff scurried round. It was good to see the chef looking unflustered, though – a sure sign that things were in hand.

Yet soon enough everything was back on track and before we knew it we were enjoying lobster bisque with Dönnhoff’s Kreuznacher Krotenpfuhl Riesling Spätlese 2006 as awards galore were handed out to beaming recipients.

Towards the end of the evening, we made a short speech – quite an experience in the stunning surroundings of the Guildhall as hundreds of people gaze on – and then duly beamed ourselves (see photo, above) as we collected our glitzy trophies.

Without re-hashing the speech, we are very grateful to the judges, the brilliant team at the IWSC, sponsors Veronafiere and everyone who has helped us along the way. That includes our wonderful families, friends and colleagues who support us unceasingly. Susie and I are constantly aware of just how indebted we are to so many brilliant people – for which we are very thankful.

Congratulations also to all other award winners and nominees.

Here’s a video of our acceptance speech in full: