olive launches new Travel&Taste awards

For more than 20 years, the olive team has been uncovering the best in food-led travel, so we are delighted to launch our inaugural olive Travel&Taste Awards, celebrating exceptional destinations, hotels and experiences.

The awards recognise excellence across a wide range of categories, from emerging food destinations, city breaks and luxury to UK restaurants with rooms, vineyard stays and spa hotels. Our focus isn’t simply on prestige or popularity, we’re looking for experiences with a genuine sense of place, strong local identity and a commitment to creating meaningful connections between travellers, food, culture and community. The awards will champion both established favourites and exciting new discoveries that deserve a place on every food lover’s travel wish list.

For our readers, the olive Travel&Taste Awards will serve as an inspiring guide to where to travel next and why. Whether you’re looking for a memorable long weekend, a wine-focused escape, a once-in-a-lifetime gourmet holiday or an under-the-radar destination on the rise, our winners and shortlisted nominees will showcase the very best food-focused experiences around the world.

Nominations and shortlists have been selected by a panel of olive's editors, alongside a specialist guest judge in each category (full list below). The winners will be announced in September, we can’t wait to share them with you.

The full list of categories for the olive Travel&Taste awards is:

Food Destination of the Year

Luxury Food Destination of the Year

Emerging Food Destination of the Year
(guest judge Gurdeep Loyal)

Culinary Experience Destination of the Year
(guest judge Verna Gao)

Sustainable Food Destination of the Year
(guest judge Meera Dattani)

European City Break of the Year
(guest judge Gurdeep Loyal)

Gourmet Island Escape of the Year
(guest judge Heather Steele)

Coolcation Destination of the Year
(guest judge Meera Dattani)

Wine Destination of the Year
(guest judge Kate Hawkings)

Cocktail Culture City of the Year
(guest judge Millie Milliken)

Culinary Cruise Journey of the Year
(guest judge James Litston)

Luxury Train Journey of the Year
(guest judge Joanna Yee)

UK Restaurant with Rooms of the Year
(guest judge Milly Kenny-Ryder)

UK Vineyard Stay of the Year
(guest judge Kate Hawkings)

UK Spa Retreat of the Year
(guest judge Gina Jackson)

London Gourmet Escape of the Year
(guest judge Gina Jackson)

European Rural Retreat of the Year (guest judge Milly Kenny-Ryder)