A Lake District hotel has been named best newcomer in a national awards scheme.

The Mizu Pan-Asian restaurant at the Lodore Falls Hotel and Spa in Borrowdale picked up the accolade at The Golden Chopsticks Awards in Mayfair, London.

The awards, hosted by Gok Wan, are one of the biggest celebrations of Oriental food in the world.

Celebrities including Sally Lindsay, Andrea McLean, Alice Beer and Ollie Locke attended the event at the Marriott Hotel in Grosvenor Square, along with chefs Ken Hom, Simon Rimmer and Nigel Haworth.

Also attending were Tom Watson, deputy leader of the Labour party, and representatives from the Korean and Chinese Embassies as well as some of the biggest influencers in Oriental food, food writers and prominent community leaders.

The award winners were chosen by public vote, which saw Mizu beat Bao & Bing and Sarap Filipino BBQ & Lechon, both based in London, and Michael Wan's Wok Inn in Blackpool to the best newcomer title.

Dani Hope, director of Lake District Hotels, which owns the Lodore Falls, attended the awards ceremony with group executive chef Mark Harris, hotel general manager Matt Collins and Mizu chef Antonio De Gracia.

Dani said: “What a night. Thank you to all our fantastic customers and followers who voted for us - we can’t quite believe we’ve won best newcomer at The Golden Chopsticks Awards! Who would have thought our restaurant in the Borrowdale Valley would win in a nation full of Pan-Asian restaurants! We’re over the moon.”

Gok Wan, co-founder and host of the awards, said: "What an amazing night, bringing together the good and the great from the oriental food world in one room, with winners covering the broad spectrum of SE Asian food from Chinese, Japanese and Thai to Vietnamese, Malaysian, Filipino and Korean.

"It was fantastic to see so many accomplished restaurateurs in the room, alongside the rising stars of the future! It was a real honour to host what is now one of my favourite nights of the year."

Mizu shows a growing demand for South East Asian flavours in the Lake District, offering a menu of specialities from across the continent including Korean, Malaysian and Japanese dishes.

It opened in May 2018, as part of the Lodore Falls Hotel & Spa’s £13 million investment which also saw the opening of the brand-new Falls Spa in November.