Nottingham restaurant owner Anmarie Spaziano is looking forward to sharing her passion for American cooking when she gives a live cookery demonstration at a food festival this weekend.
Annie, who owns the iconic Annie’s Burger Shack in Broadway, Nottingham, has been lined up as one of a number of guests taking part in the Taste of Rushcliffe food festival in Central Avenue, West Bridgford, from 10am to 3pm on Saturday (Aug 27).
Not only will she inevitably find herself chatting to food fans about burger recipes, she will be showcasing other recipes from her homeland, in the shape of Portland stuffed French toast with sausage patty and a new Californian Monte Cristo sandwich.
The appearance comes just weeks after she served up her own brand of business advice to hundreds of new graduates when she was given an alumni award by the University of Nottingham.
Annie up on stage receiving her award.
Annie took to the stage in her mortar board and gown when she was presented with a Special Excellence Award as part of the university’s Alumni Laureate Awards, which are handed out to alumni who make outstanding contributions to their community and shown exceptional dedication, creativity or leadership.
Alongside Annie, the awards recognised a host of alumni including microbiologist and former Deputy Medical Officer for England, Professor Jonathan van Tam, Emily Seto, who is a planetary protection engineer at NASA where she is helping to launch a spacecraft to Europa, which is one of Jupiter’s moons, and Steve Cliffe, whose IT company has pioneered creating the sensation of touch in mid-air to make digital worlds feel more human.
Annie graduated with an honours degree in sociology in 2002 and went onto open her burger restaurant in 2009. It has now become a much-loved fixture within the city’s eating-out scene, not least with hundreds of students who attend the University of Nottingham today.
She said: “I’m really looking forward to this weekend. Although everyone knows me for burgers, I love meeting people and talking about the amazing variety of different foods that you find right across America and sharing those recipes.
“It will certainly be a very different to the alumni event, which was incredible and humbling. I was standing there in a line next to some amazing people and gave a speech about how entrepreneurs can use their skills to sell products across a whole range of industries in order to make people’s lives better.”
Annie’s Burger Shack also opened a branch in Derby six years ago and, alongside a growing home delivery scheme, is now reaching out to customers who want to create the Annie’s experience at home by launching a £40 barbecue pack.
It also responded to the cost-of-living crisis by launching its first family deal, enabling a family of four to dine in for less than £30 a head.
Annie added: “The pandemic and the cost of living crisis has changed life for everybody and it is precisely the kind of situation when entrepreneurs can use their experience and ability to think differently in order to help others.
“Costs have risen and everyone is feeling the pinch, and it will be interesting to talk to people on Saturday to find out how their eating habits are changing and how as business owners we can respond to that.”
For more details visit www.anniesburgershack.com
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