Over 330 individuals from the county's finest food and drink producers, hospitality and catering businesses and speciality retail establishments celebrated in fine style at the esteemed awards' ceremony, held at prestigious Crowne Plaza Plymouth with its breath-taking views overlooking Plymouth Sound.
The ceremony was hosted by Tony Hawks, the Devon-based singer, song writer, comedian, film maker, author and food lover who regularly appears on BBC Radio Four panel shows 'Have I Got News For You', 'Just A Minute' and 'I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue'.
Launched at, and in partnership with, the Met Office to celebrate sustainability and shine a light on businesses going that extra mile in their endeavours to be environmentally friendly, Food Drink Devon's new 'Sustainability Pioneer Award' received a staggering 27 entries in its first year.
'Hospitality Sustainability Pioneer' was awarded to ethical organic pub, The Bull Inn, Totnes owned by Geetie Singh-Watson, with carbon neutral dairy farm, Langage Farm near Smithaleigh who are famed for their delicious dairy products, named 'Producer Sustainability Pioneer'.
Elly Wentworth, head chef at The Angel, Dartmouth and contestant on the BBC's Great British Menu was the first winner of Food Drink Devon's 'Chef of the Year' award. The award acknowledges the explosion of talented chefs in the region who have been driving innovation, championing local produce and producing exceptional quality food.
After sampling Elly's creations, judges' described her as 'a truly exceptional talent producing immaculate, attractive and cleverly presented dishes, all cooked to perfection'.
Competition was fierce in the 'Taste of Devon Product Awards' with a staggering 270 product entries, resulting for the first time in the awards' history, the prestigious 'Product of the Year' category having to be split into 'Food Product of the Year' and 'Drink Product of the Year'.
The 'Food Product of the Year' accolade went to Granny Gothards for their Strawberries & Cream ice cream. Utopian Brewing fought off stiff competition to claim 'Drink Product of the year' for their Doppelbock strong larger.
From the 270 product entries, all of which were blind-tasted by independent judges, 10 really impressed achieving a stunning faultless score of 100% and a 'Platinum' award. Deserving producers and their products were Andrew King Chocolates and their Signature Eighteen, Blakewell Smokehouse for their Devon Hot Smoked Salmon, Bell & Loxton for their Cold Pressed Rapeseed Oil, Butter Bike Co's Honey Roast Peanut Butter, Chocella and their Out of this World, Ilfracombe Chocolate Emporium's Three C's Bar, Salcombe Dairy and their luxurious Evening Star Hot Chocolate, WILD Gelato and their Plant-Based Chocolate gelato as well as Granny Gothards and Utopian Brewing for both of their 'Product of the Year'. Products in the 'Taste of Devon Product Awards' achieving a score of 90-99% were awarded 'Gold' awards of which there were 112, with a further 83 obtaining 'Silver' awards for scoring 85-89%.
This year's highly prestigious 'Best Fine Dining Restaurant' award was presented to Twenty Seven in Kingsbridge, commenting on Jamie Rogers' restaurant, judges said 'the whole dining experience was truly exceptional' and 'a destination restaurant with standout dishes that seriously impressed'. The 'Best Restaurant' award went to Plymouth's exceptional The Fig Tree @36 with judges' 'loving the buzzy atmosphere and delicious food in the intimate restaurant'. The Tors, in Belstone near Okehampton, was the proud winner of the 'Best Pub' category with judges commending them for their 'appetising food and happy, helpful and pleasant staff'.
For the second consecutive year Lynmouth Bay Cafe took home the accolade for 'Best Café', judges raved about the 'delicious food, scrumptious cakes and very friendly staff who went the extra mile'. Serving delicious homemade pizzas from their converted vintage horse box, The Pizza Garden in Exmouth was the successful winner of 'Best Takeaway' with judges particularly commending their Neapolitan pizza.
In the 'Retail Awards' 'Best Online Retailer' went to Bratton Clovelly's Eversfield Organic, with judges highly rating the overall experience and describing the packaging and service as 'exceptional'. The Kitchen @25, Crediton triumphed in the 'Best Retailer' category, impressing judges with their 'range of Devon produce and knowledgeable and friendly staff'.
A special thank you goes to the sponsors of the awards Partners&, Bays Brewery, Caterfood, M&B Edible Oils,
Westcountry Fruit Sales, Bishop Fleming, Impact Design & Marketing, Vale Labels, Stephens Scown, inkREADible Labels, Hedgerow Print and official media partner Taste Buds.
The evening's canapés and three-course dinner were created by Food Drink Devon board director and Master Chef of Great Britain, Peter Gorton and Ted Ruewell, head chef of Crowne Plaza Plymouth. The menu featured fabulous local produce from members and food and drink sponsors including Bays Brewery, Salcombe Gin, New London Light, Luscombe Drinks, Sandridge Barton, Lyme Bay Winery, Veyseys Butchers, Stone's Honey, Crab Shed Salcombe, Ebb Tides, Blakewell Smokehouse, Sharpham Cheese, Aune Valley Meat, Granny Gothards, The Curator Coffee Roasters, Devonia Spring Water, Salcombe Dairy and Westcountry Fruit Sales.
Commenting on the awards, the Chair of Food Drink Devon, Greg Parsons, said: “Covering food production, preparation, retailing, cooking and service, the Food Drink Devon Awards honour businesses demonstrating a consistent commitment to quality, sustainability, provenance, excellent customer service and support for their local communities and other local businesses. Myself and the board of directors wish to congratulate all of this year's deserved winners and shortlisted entrants.”
Every year judging for the awards is undertaken by a panel of independent and unbiased experts including a number of celebrity names from within he region. All results and winners are verified by an independent adjudicator, with entrants receiving the important chance to benefit from invaluable feedback provided by the panel.
Food Drink Devon is committed to increasing the county's profile, both nationally and internationally and represents a membership of Devon's leading food and drink producers, speciality retailers, hospitality and catering businesses.
Through working with like-minded businesses, together they showcase Devon as a county where the use of fantastic quality, seasonal and local produce is standard. The organisation and its members share a commitment to enjoy, inspire and discover more about food and drink. Look out for their green heart logo which is carried by over 350 producers and businesses all across the county of Devon.
For more information on Food Drink Devon visit fooddrinkdevon.co.uk and follow @FoodDrinkDevon on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn. A full list of all the winners can be found at www.fooddrinkdevon.co.uk/awards.
And who are the winners of the Food Drink Devon 2022 Awards?
Producer Award Winners
'Food Product of the Year' - Granny Gothards Strawberries & Cream Artisan Ice Cream (Willand)
'Drink Product of the Year' - Utopian Brewing Doppelbock (Crediton)
'Platinum Producers Awards'
Andrew King Chocolates (North Tawton) - Signature Eighteen
Bell & Loxton (Kingsbridge) - Cold Pressed Rapeseed Oil
Blakewell Smokehouse (Barnstaple) - Devon Hot Smoked Salmon
Butter Bike Co (Exeter) - Honey Roast Peanut Butter
Chocella (Brixham) - Out of this World
Granny Gothards Artisan Ice Cream (Willand) - Strawberries & Cream Artisan Ice Cream
Ilfracombe Chocolate Emporium (Ilfracombe) - Three C's Bar
Salcombe Dairy (Salcombe) - Evening Star Hot Chocolate
Utopian Brewing (Crediton) - Doppelbock
WILD Gelato (Torquay) - Plant-Based Chocolate
Hospitality Award Winners
Chef of the Year - Elly Wentworth, The Angel (Dartmouth)
Best Fine Dining Restaurant - Twenty Seven (Kingsbridge)
Best Restaurant - The Fig Tree @36 (Plymouth)
Best Pub - The Tors (Belstone, Okehampton)
Best Café - Lynmouth Bay Café (Lynmouth)
Best Takeaway - The Pizza Garden (Exmouth)
Retail Award Winners
Best Retailer - The Kitchen @25 (Crediton)
Best Online Retailer - Eversfield Organic (Bratton Clovelly)
Sustainability Pioneer Award
Producer - Langage Farm (Smithaleigh, Plymouth)
Hospitality - The Bull Inn (Totnes)
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As we are heading towards the Christmas and New Year period, we are sure that these producers and venues will likely to be super busy so if you want to put in a Christmas order or two, may we suggest that you act sooner rather than later?
And if you are a retailer or food and drink provider may we suggest you consider putting in Christmas orders from Food Drink Devon suppliers to make sure your customers and guests are well served this Christmas?
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