The finalists of this year’s Taste of Kent Awards have been announced - revealing which restaurants the judges rate the most.

The categories include fine dining, casual dining, street food and beer, with some of the county’s favourite eateries making the cut.

The fine dining finalists are The Sportsman in Whitstable, Boys Hall in Willesborough and Chef’s Table in West Malling.

In the casual dining category, THE PIG at Bridge Place, near Canterbury, and Papermakers Arms in Plaxtol will battle it out with Marc-Pierre’s Kitchen in Ramsgate.

The street food vendors making the cut are Big Pan Foods in Dover, Funky Feast Food Bazaar in Maidstone and Pork & Co, which has sites in Whitstable, Folkestone and Margate.

Meanwhile in the beer category, three beverages captivated the judges - Caravan by Pig and Porter, Bishops Finger by Shepherd Neame and GADDS’ No.5 Kentish Best Bitter by Ramsgate Brewery.

Lead judge Nigel Barden - who worked with a panel of more than 20 critics - heaped praise on the county’s food and drink industry.

“Kent’s a remarkable county, 1,500 square miles chock full of great products, producers and farmers,” began Mr Barden.

“We assembled a fantastic judging panel of food and drink journalists, chefs, buyers, and producers.

“I always like to taste blind; I don’t want to be too skewed by the packaging. It’s good to see that of course, but afterwards.

“Really it’s all about taste and we weren’t disappointed!”

Organised by local food and drink champion, Produced in Kent, the announcement of the 75 finalists comes ahead of the final on June 15.

Now in its 18th year, the ceremony will take place at the Gulbenkian Arts Centre at the University of Kent in Canterbury - with bosses also launching a brand new food and drink festival.

Members of the public and other traders will be able to sample some of the finalists’ products in a foodie event between 2pm and 6pm, with tickets available in advance or on the day.

Floortje Hoette, chief executive of Produced in Kent, described the excitement around the products and the event as “fantastic”.

She said: “Whilst there is naturally a strong emphasis on food and drink produced or manufactured in Kent, The Taste of Kent Awards has always celebrated businesses growing, selling and serving great food in Kent.

“Judging the food and drink product categories has never been harder. The standards were higher than ever before, and it was fantastic to watch so many food and drink professionals get excited about produce from our great county.

“With food service having gone through so many difficult challenges and changes in recent years it was fantastic to visit so many great venues in Kent which are thriving and we’re extremely excited by this year’s line-up of finalists.”

Below are the finalists in some of the categories:

Fine Dining:

- Boys Hall, Willesborough

- Chef’s Table, West Malling

- The Sportsman, Seasalter

Casual Dining

- Marc-Pierre’s Kitchen, Ramsgate

- Papermakers Arms, Plaxtol

- THE PIG at Bridge Place, Bridge

Street Food

- Big Pan Foods Ltd, Dover

- Funky Feast Food Bazaar, Maidstone

- Pork & Co, Whitstable, Folkestone & Margate

Wine

- Gusbourne English Rosé 2022. Gusbourne Estate, Appledore, Ashford.

- Woodchurch Classic Brut 2017. Woodchurch Wine Estate, Woodchurch, Ashford.

- Woolton Bacchus 2019. Woolton Farm, Bekesbourne, Canterbury.

Cider

- Biddenden Ice Cider 2021. Biddenden Vineyards, Biddenden, Ashford.

- Curious Apple, Curious Brewery Ltd, Ashford.

- Dudda's Tun Greenhorn. Dudda's Tun, Doddington, Sittingbourne.

Beer

- Bishops Finger. Shepherd Neame, Faversham.

- Caravan. Pig and Porter Ltd, Tunbridge Wells.

- GADDS' No.5 Kentish Best Bitter. Ramsgate Brewery Ltd, Broadstairs.

For more information and the full list of finalists, click here.

Tickets cost £6 in advance or £8 on the day with under 12’s going free.