Stories of the first balloon aeronauts and mankind's timeless yearning to be airborne. BBC Food and Farming Awards - Judges for 2012
The panel of judges who decided the shortlist and winners of the BBC Radio 4 Food and Farming Awards 2012 based on your nominations.
Angela Hartnett - Chair of the Judges
Angela Hartnett has emerged as one of Britain’s most successful, best-loved and busiest chefs. As well as running Murano in London’s Mayfair, Angela is a regular on BBC 1’s Saturday Kitchen. She also took part in the BBC’s Great British Waste programme. Her most recent book, A Taste of Home, was published last year.
Valentine Warner
Valentine Warner worked in London restaurants under chefs Alastair Little and Rose Carrarini before setting up his own catering business. In 2008 he presented his first BBC series What to Eat Now. He’s recently been a contributing chef to BBC2's Great British Food Revival. His third book The Good Table was published last year.
Adam Henson
Born on the Gloucestershire farm he now co-runs, Adam looks after a 650 hectare estate, growing wheat, spring barley and oilseed rape, alongside a flock of 350 commercial ewes. Since 2001 he's also presented and reported for BBC1's Countryfile programme, Radio 4's Farming Today and On Your Farm.
Arthur Potts Dawson
Arthur Potts Dawson trained with the Roux brothers and has gone on to work alongside industry ‘greats’ including Rose Gray, Rowley Leigh and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall. He created London’s “sustainably aware” Acorn House restaurant and also launched The People’s Supermarket, a not-for-profit food retail project. His latest book, Eat Your Veg was published this year.
Victoria Moore
Victoria Moore has been writing about wine and all other kinds of drinks since 1998 and joined the Telegraph newspaper as its wine correspondent in 2010. She's the author of How to Drink and writes a monthly wine column for BBC Olive Magazine.
Victoria Moore at the Daily Telegraph
Pete Brown
Pete Brown has been writing about beer for a decade and in 2009 was named Beer Writer of the Year. The Times Literary Supplement described him as, “the beer drinker’s Bill Bryson”. He’s currently working on a cider guide. His latest book, Shakespeare’s Local: A History of Britain Through One Pub, is published in November.
Charles Campion
Charles Campion is a food writer and broadcaster. He is a regular at the critic's table on several television shows including Masterchef and Masterchef Professional. He has written seven cookbooks and several editions of "Charles Campion's Guide to London Restaurants".
Christine Tacon
Christine Tacon is former General Manager of The Co-operative Farms where she managed over 70,000 acres of land in England and Scotland. She’s chairs the BBC’s Rural Affairs Advisory Committee and was awarded a CBE for services to agriculture in 2004.
Helen Crawley
Helen Crawley is a Public Health nutritionist and dietitian, with over 25 years experience in related research and policy development. She is currently reader in nutrition policy at City University, London. She is also director of the public health nutrition charity: The First Steps Nutrition Trust
Dr Helen Crawley at the City University's website
Kath Dalmeny
Kath Dalmeny is Policy Director of Sustain - the alliance for better food and farming. She is also a member of the London Food Board Executive and an advisor to the London 2012 Olympic catering team. A long-time food campaigner, in recent years she has developed a specialism in healthy, sustainable food in the catering sector, as well as the effects of climate change on food production.
Sheila Dillon
Sheila Dillon has been a food journalist for almost three decades, receiving many awards for her investigative work. She has worked on Radio 4's The Food Programme for twenty years: first as reporter, then producer and, following Derek Cooper's retirement, she became the regular presenter.
Simon Parkes
Simon Parkes was a Michelin Guide inspector during the 1980s, before becoming a restaurant critic for Vogue magazine. He is now a writer and broadcaster - the author of several books, and often reporting for Radio 4's The Food Programme which he has also presented plus food issues for Woman's Hour and You & Yours.
The 2012 Judges 
