Our judges
The independent panel of industry experts who will judge Cumbria Food Awards 2026.
Richard Axford
Head of Faculty for Leisure and Service Industries at Kendal College
Richard has worked at Kendal College for 20 years and oversees training for 60 hospitality students and 30 apprentices each year.
He has helped launch significant developments at the college, including the Academy by Simon Rogan partnership, which provides a bespoke 18-month training course for future chefs.
A trained and experienced chef, Richard’s career took him all over the country and he worked at head chef level for more than 18 years.
Margaret Brough
Food educator and recipe book author
Margaret has had a 30-year career in cooking and food, beginning with a catering business which she ran with her sister, Joan Gate. Together they cooked for lunches, village hall dos, corporate events and marquee weddings.
The sisters, who grew up on the family farm near Caldbeck, went on to launch Food & Company, a cookery demonstration business based in the garden hall at Mirehouse, overlooking Bassenthwaite Lake. Over the years, they have shown hundreds of people how to make delicious food and shared many of their recipes.
Having often been asked if they would put their recipes in a book, they took advantage of the national lockdown in 2020 to work on their hardback: The Food & Company Cook Book: Home Cooking From the Heart, published in 2021.
Matt Bruno
Retail Development Manager for Booths
Born and bred in Cumbria, Matt is half Cumbrian and half Italian. He learned how to cook Italian food at home in Cockermouth and from watching his Nonna making fresh pasta and amazing lunches during family holidays in Italy.
A lover of good food and dining out, Matt has extensive experience as a food buyer. He began his buying career at Morrisons and for the last 17 years has worked for northern grocer Booths.
Matt has been responsible for leading the design and redevelopment of a number of Booths stores, including Windermere and Kendal.
Roopa Gulati
Journalist and Author
Brought up in Dalston, near Carlisle, Roopa lived in India for two decades, working as a chef at the Taj Hotel and as a writer and broadcaster. On her return to the UK, she was food editor at UKTV’s Good Food Channel and spent 15 years reviewing restaurants for Time Out.
As a freelance journalist, Roopa researches material for TV shows and contributes recipe features to national food magazines. Her latest cookbook, Indian Kitchens (Bloomsbury), will be published in March 2025.
Dani Hope
Director, Lake District Hotels
A second-generation leader at Lake District Hotels, Dani Hope oversees her family’s group of six hotels across the northern Lake District.
Having grown up in Cumbria, Dani has a deep appreciation for the region’s hospitality and food traditions. With more than a decade of experience in hospitality management, she plays an active role in shaping guest experiences, from menu development to working with local suppliers to highlight regional ingredients.
Dani supports the business’s growth through her background in marketing (BA and Masters in Digital Marketing), ensuring the hotels continue to offer a welcoming and authentic Lake District experience.
Jacqueline Jackson
Consultant in change for founders and family firms
Jacqueline is a director of fifth generation Thomas Jardine & Co, a consulting firm and operator of co-working space.
Thomas Jardine & Co has a strong heritage in food, moving from farming to grocery to c-store retailing.
Jacqui, who was formerly Vice-Chair of SPAR (UK), continues to work closely with food businesses offering support from mentoring, to coaching and strategic planning and is a non-exec for family and food sector businesses.
Jacqui has designed and delivered funded programmes for the food sector supported by Lancaster University, Cumbria Growth Hub and Cumbria Chambers.
Keith Jackson
Business Consultant
Keith is a director of fifth generation Thomas Jardine & Co, a consulting firm and operator of co-working space.
He works closely with food businesses and the food sector and has been a judge for the Great Taste awards.
Where possible, Keith brings the voice of the food and drink sector into the public domain. He is part of the Food Cumberland Partnership and DEFRA’s Agri Food Chain SME Forum.
Along with Jacqui Jackson, Keith has delivered funded food and drink programmes on behalf of Cumbria Growth Hub, Cumbria Chambers and the former Cumbria LEP.
Lynne Mallinson
Food Safety Management Systems Consultant
Lynne has been actively involved in the food and drink sector for the past 24 years and gained vast amounts of experience with her pudding company, Country Puddings.
She now assists other businesses with food safety management systems, helps on the family dairy and sheep farm and is a director of H&H Group at Carlisle.
Rachel McHugh
Brand Director, Westmorland
Rachel McHugh is Brand Director at Westmorland, the family-owned business behind Tebay Services, Gloucester Services and Cairn Lodge Services, as well as Rheged and the Westmorland Hotel.
Cumbrian born and bred, Rachel has lived in the county her whole life and began her career in food and hospitality as a student at Tebay Services Farmshop. Over almost 15 years with Westmorland, she has worked across the business, developing a deep understanding of food, farming, hospitality and brand, and how these come together to create meaningful customer experiences.
Rachel is incredibly proud of Cumbria’s food culture and producers, and is delighted to be part of the Cumbria Food Awards. As a judge, she is particularly interested in the story behind each business, and how values, provenance and purpose shape what ends up on the plate.
Jennifer Middleton
Communications Consultant
Jennifer is the founder of Lemon Zest, a Northern PR consultancy which works with leading food producers and retailers.
Her clients include northern grocer Booths and Westmorland Family, the Cumbrian family business which owns and runs Tebay Services.
Jennifer has led local food strategies for Deliciouslyorkshire, Taste Cumbria and Taste Lancashire in the past decade and is a champion of small producers.
She was associate producer of the ITV documentary Prince Charles: Inside the Duchy and was instrumental in the production of the popular Channel 4 documentary series, A Cotswold Farmshop and A Lake District Farm Shop, featuring Gloucester and Tebay Services and their local producers.
Patrick Moore
Founder and owner of More? The Artisan Bakery
Patrick is a former chef and founder of More? The Artisan Bakery and the award-winning True North Coffee Roasters, both at Staveley near Kendal.
Holder of multiple awards, More? is known for its sourdough bread, bustling bakery, café and the Muddee chocolate brownies, voted best in the country.
Patrick is a champion of true artisan, additive-free, flavourful baking, using the best ingredients. He also judges for the Great Taste awards with specialisms in coffee and bakery as well as general food.
Both Patrick and the bakery starred in the Channel 4 documentary, A Lake District Farm Shop, which focused on suppliers to Tebay Services.
Patrick was the winner of the 2023 Cumbria Food Awards Outstanding Contribution Award.
Jonathan Robb
Managing Director of Hawkshead Relish Company
Jonathan brought a wealth of experience in the hospitality industry when he joined Hawkshead in 2015.
He now leads a 30-strong team making a range of more than 100 preserves, relishes, and sauces from the firm’s production centre on the shores of Esthwaite Water, one mile from Hawkshead village.
Jonathan is an export champion with the Department of International Trade, sharing knowledge with new exporters across the Northern Powerhouse.
Jane Silburn
Business Development Director Cranstons Butcher and Maker
Jane grew up on an Eden Valley livestock farm where she learnt the passion and hard work that goes into creating great food.
She started her career at Morrisons Supermarkets PLC’s head office in Yorkshire, joining as a graduate trainee and progressing to fresh food buyer.
Jane returned to Cumbria to raise her family and a role at Cranstons, where she enjoys overseeing the brand and marketing, product development and business growth.
Lorraine Stanton
HOSPITALITY CONSULTANT AND EVENT MANAGEMENT
With 40 years’ industry experience, Lorraine works with hospitality businesses to provide training and share insights into how to offer the best possible customer service. Lorraine started her career at the award winning Michaels Nook Hotel, Grasmere, which was the first hotel in the North to receive a Michelin star combined with its 4 AA Rosettes. She was GM at the Punch Bowl Inn, Crosthwaite for six years.
Lorraine has organised and managed the Food Theatre at Westmorland County Show for many years and now performs the role at similar events nationally. Her role led her to be a booking agent for some of our favourite celebrity chefs and always invites them to Cumbria, a county she is very proud to promote. She is also a long term charity fundraiser.
Chris Thomson
Managing Director of Cranstons
Cumbrian born and bred, Chris is originally from Cleator Moor, where some of his family still live.
He came back to his home county to take the role at Cranstons, where he is focused on balancing the company’s heritage with innovation.
Chris has more than 25 years’ experience in business, having started his career in HR and moved on to supply chain leadership.
He has worked extensively in the food business and with farmers, for Heinz and Dairy Crest and in his most recent role as MD of the Wensleydale cheese business.
Dan Visser
Director, Sales and Marketing, Langdale
Dan has led the sales and marketing team at Langdale Estate, which includes The Langdale Hotel & Brimstone Spa, 100 self-catering units, a bar and restaurant, since 2008.
A lover of good beer, Dan is an experienced awards judge and has a particular interest in the landscape and environmental projects.
He is a long-standing non-executive director of Cumbria Tourism and is currently serving as chair.
When he’s not working, Dan can be found on the fells on his mountain bike.
Sam Ward
Managing Director, Simon Rogan Restaurants Worldwide
Sam grew up in Grange-over-Sands and began his career with Simon Rogan aged 22 as bar manager.
He moved to London to work as a sommelier at The Ritz and returned to Cumbria three years later when he became Mâitre d’ at L’Enclume.
He became the group’s operations director and then, with a total of nine years at the company under his belt, in 2020 Sam was appointed managing director of Simon Rogan restaurants worldwide.
Sam oversees every element of Simon’s ten-strong restaurant portfolio, which operates in the Lake District, London, Hong Kong, Malta and Thailand.
