Local food businesses recognised for supporting health and protecting the environment

Notes to editors

Current award winners 

Broxbourne

High Leigh Conference Centre

Gold Award

A Gold Award has been presented to High Leigh Conference Centre. The conference centre really impressed the team with their support for healthier eating, and outstanding commitment to sustainable practices.

Ewan Thomas, General Manager at High Leigh Conference Centre, said:

"We've looked at what we're putting into our foods, reducing fat where we can, taking away as many sugary things as possible. The food is lighter and not so fatty. I think it tastes better, and our customers are telling us that they are enjoying it more too.”

 

Pizza Wow

Standard Award

Pizza Wow in Hoddesdon became the first takeaway business to receive a HRFA. In doing so they reduced the quantity of salt in their pizza dough by almost half, changed to using a healthier cooking oil and introduced a new menu displaying a range of vegetarian, vegan and gluten free options.

Danut Carjan, owner of Pizza Wow, said:

“We have a new recipe, and we are using 50% less salt in our dough just to be healthier. We are so happy that we’ve made this change.”

“I highly recommend that businesses sign up to apply for this award and make changes to help the community to be healthier and make a better a future.”

 

East Herts

SOKA Catering & Events

Gold Award

Gold award winners SOKA Catering and Events were the first East Herts business to receive a HRFA, impressing the food award team with their use of local and seasonal produce, the wide variety of healthier options available and their use of whole, unprocessed foods.

Henry and Natalie Jacob, founders of SOKA Catering and Events, said:

“Creating menus that promote healthy eating has always been something we are passionate about, as well as limiting our waste, sourcing locally and supporting small producers.

“We believe all of these efforts result in a better product for our clients and we continue to strive for more sustainable practices that limit our impact on the environment and provide our customers with delicious, healthy food.”

 

Mudlarks Café

Gold Award

Mudlark's Garden Cafe in Hertford was the first business of 2025 to receive a HRFA for their commitment to using locally grown and seasonal food, the majority of which is grown in Mudlark’s own allotment less than a mile away. The food on offer is also very impressive, with a wide variety of vibrant and healthy food options available for any dietary requirements.

Victoria Boscomb, Former CEO of Mudlarks, said:

“At Mudlarks we are passionate about diets that are in line with nature and full of fresh fruit and vegetables.

“Our allotment vegetables are only transported a mile from the allotments to the cafe, have no packaging, and are delivered fresh in reusable containers, which means we have no environmental impact through plastic waste and minimal impact as a result of transport.”

 

North Herts

Halseys Deli

Silver Award

Halseys Deli impressed the food award team with the wide variety of healthier options available and the inclusiveness of their menus for different dietary requirements. It was also great to see the cafe using local suppliers and helping to reduce air pollution by introducing a no vehicle idling policy.

Kim Halsey, Halseys Deli Owner, said:

“Halsey's chose to apply for the Responsible Food Award so that we could have someone external to ourselves, challenge our thinking re the sustainability of our business.

“The Food Award Team were very helpful in providing alternatives to some of our practices to improve on the work we had already done re sustainability, limiting plastic usage, healthier eating option etc.

“I would highly recommend any catering business to go through the programme as a way of improving their ways of working.”

 

St Albans

Inn on the Park Café

Silver Award

Wendy Hooper, Inn on the Park café owner, said:

“Our food and drink offering is elevated by our homemade cakes, sausage rolls and soups, made in house with fresh seasonal ingredients and organic, low salt stocks.

“For those wishing to indulge a little less we have dietary options such as lower fat dressings, salads as well as sugar free options too.

“We enjoy doing the best we can for our customers, the community and the planet.”

 

Stevenage

The Weeping Chef

Gold Award

Alec Tomasso, owner and founder of The Weeping Chef said:

“I chose to apply because I’m not just passionate, I’m outright obsessed about food being healthy and produced properly with high quality ingredients with sustainability and ethics in mind.

“I’m hoping this award will help me convey that our food is as delicious and indulgent as it is healthy and sustainable.”

 

Cha Kulcha

Standard Award

Cha Kulcha, based in the Stevenage indoor market, impressed the team with their mostly vegetarian menu containing a variety of healthier options for customers. Through the food award, Cha Kulcha introduced a children's menu to offer smaller portions for younger customers, introduced a reusable cup discount scheme and were able to reduce the quantity of sugar in their cookies by a third!

Jennifer Arndt, Cha Kulcha co-owner, said:

"We started the café because we have a passion for good food and believed people should have an easier time making choices that are good for their health. We have personal experience with dietary limitations and intolerances so we wanted to focus on a menu which can cater to those needs. We applied for the food award because it aligned with our goals of just making healthier food and healthier eating choices more accessible and sustainable."

 

Welwyn Hatfield

Aramark at the University of Hertfordshire

Gold Award

Aramark impressed judges with their commitment to ensuring that affordable healthy options were always available. They also put a real focus on sustainability in their food court, through campaigns to reduce food waste, the introduction of a No Idling Policy and including carbon labelling on all menus.

Stuart Fildes, Group Executive Chef at Aramark, said:

“We support health and sustainability by providing healthy nutritional food for the students. Making not only exciting, tasty meals but also including CO2 and Kcal information on all dishes, so the students can make a balanced choice.”