TV personality Chris Bavin to host celebration of north east’s food and drink industry

TV presenter, author and entrepreneur Chris Bavin has been revealed as the host for the food and drink industry’s annual celebration of innovation and achievement, to be held in Aberdeenshire next month.

Chris will host the 2025 North East Scotland Food & Drink Awards at Meldrum House Country Hotel on 5 June. He started his career in fresh produce, founded an award-winning grocery business, presents food programmes for the BBC and Channel 4, and regularly features at food festivals across the UK.

Opportunity North East delivers the awards in partnership with Aberdeenshire Council, with support from this year’s category sponsors CMS, DYW North East, Outsource Laboratory, Scotland Food & Drink, and Serco NorthLink Ferries. Gordon McWilliam (Aberdeen) Ltd is sponsoring this year’s menu.

The awards dinner attracts 230 guests from across Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire and Moray, representing manufacturers and producers, from ambitious startups to established brands.

More than 60 entries were submitted for this year’s awards, which reflect the breadth and quality of the industry. The categories include Best New Food and Drink Products, Most Innovative Business, Best Young Business, Business Growth, Rising Star, and Team of the Year.

Chris said: “I’m super excited to host the North East Scotland Food & Drink Awards in Aberdeenshire in June. The region has an outstanding reputation for the quality of its produce from land and sea, and its products and brands are enjoyed across the UK and internationally.  For more than 30 years, these awards have celebrated the people and companies who make the region's food scene so vibrant.  I’m looking forward to meeting the finalists for the nine awards that will be handed out on the night. And I'm thrilled to join the community for what will be an inspirational and joyful celebration in Scotland's leading location for premium food and drink.”

A small number of tickets remain available for the dinner with more information on the www.nesfoodanddrinkawards.co.uk website.

Food and drink is the UK’s largest manufacturing sector, with the north east contributing an impressive 20% of Scotland’s total output. The sector in the region generates an annual turnover of £2.4 billion and supports over 22,000 jobs across manufacturing, production, agriculture, and seafood processing.

Chris started out working with growers supplying wholesale markets, first with flowers and plants and then fruit and veg. He has worked across all areas of fresh produce, including founding ‘The Naked Grocer’, one of the first zero-packaging, no-plastic retail businesses, which he ran for nine years. During his time at the helm, the business was twice awarded ‘National Independent Retailer of the Year’.

Chris first appeared on our screens in BBC’s Eat Well For Less in 2013 and has since presented a eight series of the show. He has also presented Tomorrow’s Food, The Truth About Meat, Food: Truth or Scare and Shop Well for the Planet, all for BBC One. He appeared as a judge and the resident fruit and veg expert on three series of BBC’s Best Home Cook and more recently he joined the presenting team on Channel 4’s Aldi’s Next Big Thing, which returned for its second series in 2024.

Chris is a regular reporter for BBC’s The One Show and has presented several consumer and property based formats for the BBC. He has also presented two series of Britain in Bloom and is a regular feature on the BBC’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show coverage.

Throughout his career, he has worked with many brands including HexClad, Gordon’s Gin, Maldon Salt, Nestlé, Innocent Drinks, Co-Op and Lakeland. Chris also has two cookbooks; ‘Good Food Sorted’ was published in 2019 and Fakeaway in 2020 When he’s not on our screens, writing cookbooks or consulting fresh produce companies, Chris is a regular face at food festivals and live events up and down the country.