A RESTAURATEUR said he was "lost for words" when he and his wife were given an outstanding contribution of the decade award at a prestigious awards ceremony.

Chris Johnson and Ros Hunter, who own the anglo-Italian restaurant Ramsons in Ramsbottom, received their award at the Manchester Food and Drink Festival on Monday.

The married couple were delighted to be nominated for the award, as they have been in business since 1985, when their Market Place eatery was called the Village Restaurant.

Chris said: "For the first time in my life I was lost for words!

"We went along to the awards because we'd been nominated for the Award for Healthy and Sustainable Eating. The award went to somebody else, and at the end of the ceremony I was getting ready to leave when the host started talking about an extra award for a lifetime contribution.

"After about a minute of listening to him describe the winner, I suddenly realised that he was talking about me and my jaw dropped. And then I just started crying, I was so absolutely gobsmacked and touched.

"I went up on stage to receive it, still with tears in my eyes and found myself uncharacteristically speechless, it was overwhelming.

"We've won numerous awards over the years, but this one is something different, something special because it's about contributing over a decade, not a year, and we're amongst so many big names."

Ros said: "We have worked hard for years - we were lucky to hit the headlines very early because we were working with organic food and had a non-smoking restaurant. We could produce any food for people with allergies."

Chris added: "When we decided to go organic back in 1985 we were regarded as somewhat eccentric. The recent announcement that UK organic food sales have topped £2billion suggests that perhaps we were a little ahead of our time with our concern for healthy eating and the environment."

Since its inception the restaurant has undergone a number of refurbishments, and its basement was recently transformed into enoteca con cucina' - translated as a bar where you expect to eat and a fine wine shop'.

The Manchester Food and Drink Festival is the largest event of its kind in the UK. Now in it's 10th year, it originally only featured city centre establishments, but now encompasses the whole of Greater Manchester.

Events and offers took place in hundreds of restaurants, bars and cafes across the area.

This year the festival was dedicated to the late music mogul Tony Wilson, who supported the event from the start and was the host of the awards twice.

Ramsons, which is open from Wednesday to Sunday, has also been nominated for a local food hero 2007 award.