A RECORD number of votes have already been cast for this year’s Liverpool Food and Drink Festival Awards, in association with the Daily Post.

In just two weeks, more than 1,000 votes have already been received, and the number is growing by the hour.

Denise Harris, MD of organisers SK Events, said: “Festival exhibitors are recognising the value of the Liverpool Food and Drink Festival Awards, and this is evident through the continuous efforts from nominees who are encouraging people to vote. Winning one of these prestigious accolades at the Liverpool Food and Drink Festival Awards, which is already being touted as one of the most anticipated events in Liverpool’s culinary calendar, is the best industry acknowledgement and the unprecedented number of entries highlights just that.”

Businesses are encouraging their customers to vote, and the competition is fierce.

Adam Bell, business development manager at Malmaison Liverpool, said: “We’ve gone all out to support the Liverpool Food & Drink Festival this year. The festival forms an intrinsic part of the hotel’s relaunch campaign and everyone here is extremely excited to be re connecting with our local market once again. The Liverpool Mal has an undying commitment and passion to showcasing the very best of Merseyside produce and we truly hope that our efforts will be recognised in the public voting – we have some super competitive characters within the team who are pulling out all of the stops.”

Businesses across the city are calling on their most loyal customers to vote in the awards.

Candice Fonseca, owner of Delifonseca, said: “For the past two weeks, the team has been doing all they can to ensure that our Dockside deli and restaurant wins Best Sunday Lunch and our Stanley Street branch gets Best Customer Service. It’s fantastic that so many customers have offered their support and voted online and that overwhelming community spirit is always apparent in the run up to these awards year-on-year. The city’s diners are the best judges a restaurant could ever ask for.”