20 October 2011

D&D has been named Company of the Year at the 2011 Academy of Food and Wine Service (AFWS) Awards. Another winner for the group was sommelier Antoine Dugand from Le Pont de la Tour, who was awarded the Ramos Pinto Travel Award for his knowledge of Port.

The awards are held annually by the AFWS, the industry professional body for front-of-house service and D&D won its award for demonstrating outstanding support to the Academy. D&D was hailed as having a a strong focus on its staff and being one of the foremost establishments in the industry for training and developing new talent. David Loewi (pictured above, centre) was presented the award yesterday by Viscount Thurso.

Antoine Dugand, assistant head sommelier at Le Pont de la Tour (pictured below with his award), won the Ramos Pinto Travel Award for his detailed knowledge of Port. He wins a trip to the Douro Valley in Portugal, where he will spend two days exploring the quintas of Ramos Pinto and have the opportunity to tread grapes in the traditional granite lagares.