Emma England’s favourites listed for Italian Awards
Over 45,000 votes have been cast in the very first English Italian Awards. The votes were sorted into 76 finalists across England.
The event, which has been running in Scotland for two years, will be held at Manchester’s Palace Ballroom on 4th October and will be hosted by Capital One breakfast duo Rob Ellis and Wing-Man.
Categories include “Italian Chef of the Year” and “Best Pizza”, both of which will be judged by celebrity chef and restaurateur Aldo Zilli at a special cook off at The Cheshire Cookery School on Monday 14th September.
The remaining categories, with exception of “Best Barista” will be judged by an independent judging panel. Each finalist will be visited and judged.
The “Best Barista” competition will take place on 15th September at Portioli HQ, where the top 10 will be put through their paces in front of a panel of experts.
Best Italian Chef
Angelo’s Ristorante – Aniello Russo (Sunderland)
The Italian Retro – Dan Sullivan (South Shields)
Il Siciliano Restaurant – Giuseppe Ponzio (Lancashire)
La Banca – Mauro Sannio (Birmingham)
The Coast – John Thompson (Cheshire)
Casanova – Salvo Ilardi (Sheffield)
Orlando’s Italian Restuarant – Orlando Gubbini (Wakefield)
Casa Mia – Raffaelle Possente (Cheshire)
Rosso Restaurant – Stephen Hildebrandt (Manchester)
Gio’s – Giovanni Ranallo (Walsall)
Best Pizza
Avalanche (Manchester)
Est Est Est (Manchester)
Slice Pizza (Manchester)
The Pack Restaurant & Bar (Belthorn)
Trattoria Il Forno (Leeds)
Enzo (Cheshire)
BUCA di Pizza (Leeds)
Amalia (Liverpool)
LIVIN’italy (Leeds)
IL Forno (Liverpool)
Best Pasta
Cucina Seventy Three (Lancashire)
Don Giovanni (Manchester)
Manzo (Liverpool)
Pasta di Piazza (Birmingham)
Stretti (Sheffield)
Best Multi Operator
Gusto (Living Ventures)
San Carlo Group
Piccolino (Individual Restaurants)
Pesto Restaurants
Lucia Wine Bar Group
Best Family
Abruzzo (Macclesfield)
Antonello’s (Bolton)
Da Piero (Wirral)
La Bella Vita (Leeds)
Il Siciliano (Lancashire)
La Banca (Birmingham)
Orlando’s Italian Restuarant (Wakefield)
Prego Italian Cafe, Bar & Restaurant (West Yorkshire)
Rossi’s Italian Restaurant (Sheffield)
R Italian Diner (Merseyside)
Best Newcomer
Gigi’s Cucina (Sheffield)
Gusto, City Centre (Manchester)
Antonello’s (Bolton)
Fumo (Manchester)
The Italian Stove (South Shields)
Best Barista
Al Porto – Nafos Tsimpliaridis (Hull)
Enzo – David Davenport (Nantwich)
Nonnas – Lucia Gadau (Sheffield)
Paolo & Donato’s Italian Deli – Erica Canciello (Liverpool)
La Bottega Milanese – Alex Talantino (Leeds)
La Coppola – David Mason (Sheffield)
Caffe Venecia – Darja Krjukova (Huddersfield)
Bellissimo Espresso Bar – Giovanni Scibetta (Burnley)
Pani’s Cafe– Steffano Pancello (Newcastle)
Bellini’s – Mario Carenzi (Cheadle)
Best Team
Caffè Massarella (Sheffield)
Prego Italian Cafe Bar & Restaurant (Brighouse)
The Italian Retro (South Shields)
Lucia Wine Bar and Grill (Harrogate)
La Bella Vita (Leeds)
Cielo (Birmingham)
Al Porto (Hull)
Amalia (Liverpool)
Avalanche (Manchester)
Pasta Di Piazza (Birmingham)
Best Italian Restaurant – 50+ seats
Angelo’s Ristorante (Sunderland)
Cielo (Birmingham)
Ristorante Vesuvio (Worsley)
Rosso (Manchester)
The Coast (Tarporley)
Caffè Massarella (Sheffield)
Da Sandro (Huddersfield)
La Banca (Birmingham)
Cucina Rustica (Birmingham)
Venetian Hideaway (Bury)
Best Wine List
Ipsum Vinoteca (Leeds)
Salvi’s Cucina (Manchester)
Schmooze (Liverpool)
Veeno (York)
Venetian Hideaway (Bury)
Best Italian Restaurant – Below 50 seats
Aquila (Macclesfield)
Cellini’s (Tyne & Wear)
Cucina Seventy Three (Clitheroe)
Da Piero (Wirral)
La Locanda di Gisburn (Clitheroe)
L’albero Delle Noci (Harrogate)
Salvi’s Cucina (Manchester)
Gio’s Italian (Walsall)
Schmooze (Liverpool)
Pulcinellas (Cleveleys)
Best Business
The Italian Retro (South Shields)
Sapori di Napoli (Tadcaster)
Nonna’s (Sheffield)
LIVIN’italy (Leeds)
Max Italia (Bolton)
Bellini’s (Liverpool)
Cabrelli Brothers (Manchester)
Piccolino Group (Individual Restaurants)
Bibis Italianissimo (Leeds)
Caffe Marconi (Harrogate)
Most Romantic
Al Fresco (Hazel Grove, Stockport)
Don Giovanni (Manchester)
Casa Mia (Cheshire)
Leonardo’s (Tyne & Wear)
Bibis Italianissimo (Leeds)
Best Café
Bellissimo Espresso Bar (Burnley)
Caffè Massarella (Sheffield)
Enzo (Nantwich)
La Coppola (Sheffield)
La Bottega Milanese (Leeds)
Bragazzis (Sheffield)
Caffe Marconi (Harrogate)
Bianco Coffee Shop (Sale, Manchester)
Pani’s Cafe (Newcastle)
Roma Caffè & Deli (Manchester)
Best Pizzeria
BUCA di Pizza (Leeds)
Slice Pizza (Manchester)
Rossopomodoro (Birmingham)
Mamma Mia (Bradford)
Trattoria Il Forno (Leeds)
Sapori di Napoli (Tadcaster)
Orlando’s Restaurant (Wakefield)
Amalia (Liverpool)
LIVIN’italy (Leeds)
The Pack Restaurant & Bar (Belthorn)
