Food and drinks vendors will be celebrating a delicious decade of cuisine at a festival award ceremony.

More than 2,000 people took part in the online ballot for the St Albans Food and Drink Festival awards, nominating 350 businesses for prizes in various categories.

The culinary competitors have been whittled down to forty finalists, three in each category except for the best food and drink shop which has four as the vote tally was so close.

Winners of the 13 prizes will be decided by festival steering group judges, some of whom are food and drink experts, who will make surprise visits to each venue.

Food hygiene ratings, customer service and the quality of the facilities will also be considered when weighing up the competition.

The award ceremony will be held at Sopwell House Hotel on Monday, October 2, where the winners will be announced.

This year an environmental prize is being introduced to celebrate the business most committed to helping the environment.

The award is being run with the Green Triangle, a cross-county group committed to making Hertfordshire a centre of eco-friendly excellence.

The winner of this award will be judged by a representative from the Green Triangle and Councillor Beric Read, responsible for business and the community.

Cllr Read said: “These awards are a great way of giving recognition to our booming food and drink industry and the competition gets more intense each year.

“The number of food and drink businesses in the District continues to grow while the quality and diversity is quite astonishing.

“The Festival gives them an opportunity to showcase what they offer and there are some very exciting events in the programme. I wish all the finalists the very best of luck and urge those that did not make the short list to try again next year.”

The festival, run by the steering group and St Albans City and District Council, is now in its 10th year and kicks off with the CAMRA Beer and Cider Festival at the Alban Arena from Wednesday, September 27 to Saturday September 30.

Then the city will be taken over by food and drink stalls for the Street Feastival on Sunday, October 1.

The festival will end with Sustainable Saturday on October 7, where issues about how to grow food, and the impact the food we eat has on the environment will be highlighted.

For more information visit http://www.enjoystalbans/foodanddrink.

The finalists (from St Albans unless otherwise stated) are:

Best Restaurant for a Special Occasion:

Dylans The Kings Arms

Prim

Thompson St Albans

Best Restaurant for Everyday Dining:

Godfreys, Harpenden

Per Tutti

The Great Northern

Best Pub:

Dylans The Kings Arms

The Great Northern

Ye Olde Fighting Cocks

Best Bar:

Dylans The Kings Arms

Suckerpunch

The Snug

Best Café:

George Street Canteen

The Fleetville Larder

The Pudding Stop

Best Local Producer:

Carpenters Nursery, Sandridge

Farr Brew, Wheathampstead

Hedges Farm Shop

Best Food & Drink Shop:

Buongiorno Italia

Farr Brewery

Fleetville Larder

Parker & Vine

Best Market Stall:

Cheese Wheeler

Farr Brew

Peddling Pizza

Best Takeaway:

Godfrey's

Hatch

The Pudding Stop

Best Place to Do Business:

Dylans The Kings Arms

The Beech House

The Waffle House

Most Family Friendly:

George Street Canteen

The Waffle House

Ye Olde Fighting Cocks

Best Newcomer:

Hatch on the Hill

Peddling Pizza

The Fleetville Larder

Kate D’Arcy Award for Customer Service:

Sean Hughes, Dylans The Kings Arms

Ed Bevin, Fleetville Larder

Jonny Shepherd, Pudding Stop