THE arrival of the new year appears to have heralded a craze for awards bashes being launched.

And the hunt is on for people to join the latest voting panel.

Brighton's Best Restaurants has partnered with Brighton Gin and is calling for people to cast their vote in this year's list of the city's Top 20 restaurants.

The awards take place on February 20 February and are voted for by food writers, critics, bloggers, chefs, restaurateurs and business leaders. Their votes are used to create the definitive Top 20 list of the city's best restaurants.

A foodie panel of people will be allowed to have their say on which restaurants are recognised, as well as voting for individual categories such as Top Chef, Top Welcome and Top Barkeep.

 “The strength of our Top 20 list is that it is voted for by experts, who have an intimate knowledge of the local food scene, but this year we wanted to go even further by including a hand-picked panel of the city's most dedicated restaurant-goers,” explains awards co-founder and food journalist Patrick McGuigan.

“We're looking for a crack team of restaurant critics, who eat out in the city on a regular basis and have a good understanding of what makes a restaurant really special.”

Helen Chesshire, co-founder of Brighton Gin, which is sponsoring the initiative and the Top Barkeep award, added: “Brighton is a city of culture, colour and culinary wonderment. We are so unbelievably lucky to have such a wealth of amazing bars, pubs, hotels and restaurants who are a shining-dining example to the rest of the world. Brighton Gin are immensely proud to support people getting out more.”    

Diners who think they have what it takes should contact Brighton's Best Restaurants on Twitter (@BrightonTop20), Instagram (BrightonsBestRestaurants) or Facebook (www.facebook.com/BrightonsBestRestaurants) using the hashtag #BrightonTop20. Or email  hello@brightonsbestrestaurants.com