A FORMER Chester FC star and a Classic Miss British Isles winner are celebrating notching up a hat-trick of awards with their city centre bistro.
The Naughty Badger Bistro owners Andy Shelton and Teana Lynne were honoured with the ‘Business Start-Up of the Year’ Award by Joanna Scott-Aspray, founder of the Cheshire Club at Cranage Hall in Cheshire on Friday, November 17.
Teana Lynne, co-owner of the bistro, located on the Bridge Street rows, said that winning this award was a complete and utter surprise.
"This category had so many worthy Finalists that we were honestly taken aback when our names were announced”, she said.
'Chief Badger' Andy Shelton, the former Chester FC footballer turned bistro co-owner and chef said: "This is the pinnacle of an already incredible first year, bringing the awards tally to three after winning Taste Cheshire's 'Best Casual Eatery' and a 'TripAdvisor’s’ Travellers’ Choice' award, naming us as one of the top 10 per cent of restaurants worldwide based upon customer reviews, earlier this year.
“This is alongside being named as one of the 'SmallBiz100, part of the Small Business Saturday UK campaign for 2023, which has resulted in an invite to lunch at the House of Lords later this month too!”
Teana, who won the Classic Miss British Isles in 2021, added: "From taking that first opportunity, using the remainder of my redundancy payout from my 15-year corporate career to purchase the bistro, taking a leap of faith with little to no hospitality experience, trusting the expertise and experience of self-taught chef Andy, to the successes we are achieving today, proves that you are never too old and it's never too late to start or to follow your dreams."
"We are hugely grateful to every single person who took the time to vote for us and for the incredible opportunity that organiser Joanna Scott-Aspray of the Cheshire Club and the Crème De La Crème Small Business Awards, has provided to us alongside the other Finalists and winners.
“As small business owners and self-employed people, we rarely pat ourselves on the back, so these Awards help recognise the blood, sweat, and tears shed on a daily basis and help make all of the hard work worthwhile."
Teana added that being nominated and named as a finalist was reward enough, but to win certainly put the cherry on top. After an incredible first year like this, year two can only get better, and with exciting plans of expanding, starting with finding new premises and being able to open at night too, the world really is their oyster.
Teana and Andy are also looking forward to enjoying the brand shoot they won as part of their award from Aga Mortlock in the new year.
Joanna Scott-Aspray CEO of The Cheshire Club said: “I’m so proud to announce this year’s winners. The nominations, finalists, and voting this year were far higher than last year and have far exceeded expectations in just two years.”
A full list of the winners of the Crème de la Crème Small Business Awards 2023 organised by The Cheshire Club is available at https://www.thecheshireclub.com/awards-2023
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