At Portfolio Events, passion for food, creativity, and community lies at the heart of everything we do. Over the years, we’ve proudly supported and contributed to the Northamptonshire Food and Drink Awards (NFADA) — a celebration of the county’s vibrant culinary scene and the incredible local producers, chefs, and venues that make it thrive.
Our involvement goes beyond sponsorship; it’s about championing local talent, elevating standards of hospitality, and showcasing the very best that Northamptonshire has to offer. From catering exclusive gala dinners to supporting award submissions and providing expert event management, Portfolio Events brings its signature blend of flair and professionalism to this much-loved celebration.
Portfolio Events sponsor the canapé competition for the catering students at the University of Northamptonshire. This contest involves student creativity and innovation to produce their very own canapé. Contestants are encouraged to focus on both taste and visual appeal in their canapé creations – they are then tried and judged by an expert panel from the PE team. The winning student gets an amazing opportunity to develop and prepare their canapé for mass production. working closely with our head chef to perfect their design.
A select group of student’s who take part in the competition also get the opportunity to work along side our professional team of expert chefs to produce the winning canapé for 500 guests which is served at the awards night. The winner then receives a gift prize from us and their own curated canapé listed on our catering menu for the following wedding season. And of course, the winner of this competition receives the prestigious Food and Drink Awards prize on stage presented by our team.
This year’s winner is Tash Jardine, whose canapé design completely blew us away! Tash earned the top spot for her Earls Barton meat and leek pie, crafted from a historical menu and made with locally sourced ingredients — perfectly reflecting our own company’s ethos. A huge congratulations to Tash!
“It is a leek and meat pie with a casing of short crust pastry, it has crispy leak on top and pipped apple sauce, This is inspired by an old recipe for a large pie from the Earls Barton area. It is something I would make and eat with my family and I was inspired to make it into a canapé because of its great taste and history.”
-Tash Jardine, Competition entry, canapé description
Our involvement with this amazing event does not end there! For the 4th consecutive year, we will be catering for the awards night, showing Northamptonshire what we do best and providing an insight to our menu’s. With around 500 guests in attendance each year, and a crowd full of food and drinks experts, we want to make sure what we serve is the very best! We work with local Northamptonshire suppliers to create the perfect blend of a quintessentially British menu that highlights the Northamptonshire produce we’re so proud of. Rachel Mallows and a selection of sponsors are invited to our tasting room a few weeks prior to try the menu themselves and communicate any elements of it they want perfected before it served to everyone at the Royal & Derngate Theatre.
This year, the Northamptonshire food and drinks awards was hosted on 16th October. And our menu was the most mouthwatering one yet!
For Starters:
We are served up Betty’s Caribbean Fusion Jerk lamb meat balls, braised puy lentils and charred pineapple salsa. Our vegeterian starter option wass the delicious red pepper terrine, English mustard clotted cream, Earl Gray infused golden raisins, pickled shallots and nasturtium leaves.
The main course:
A Braised British Beef with a beef braised dumpling, Cavo Nero mash, toasted pumpkin seed
carrot and New lodge vineyard Red baron jus. The Vegetarian main course wass a marinated roasted aubergine, Stonyfield Wine English quality sparkling wine white 2019 Risotto
And the dessert:
We also worked with Bella barista Embankment Coffee to create the perfect Tiramisu. And if that isn’t enough, we served Limoncello Petit four’s from Choccies by Sara.
Using local suppliers is always key to sustainability — but for this occasion, it was especially important to curate the perfect menu that truly showcased and celebrated Northamptonshire businesses.