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TEA BREAK
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Bet you can't help smiling at this one
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Boy, How You've Changed!
What's a company to do when sales slump and interest in its product or service fades? One option: A major makeover.
[FULL STORY]
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The Future Of Communication
By 2011 the tipping point is reached
[FULL STORY]
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ARCHIVE
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Issue 69
December 3, 2008
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November 26, 2008
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November 19, 2008
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November 12, 2008
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November 5, 2008
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October 29, 2008
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October 22, 2008
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October 15, 2008
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October 8, 2008
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October 1, 2008
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September 23, 2008
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September 17, 2008
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September 10, 2008
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Issue56
September 3, 2008
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August 27, 2008
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August 20, 2008
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August 13, 2008
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August 6, 2008
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July 30, 2008
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July 23, 2008
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July 16, 2008
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Issue 48
July 9, 2008
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Issue 47
June 27, 2008
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June 25, 2008
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June 18, 2008
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June 11, 2008
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June 4, 2008
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Issue 42
May 28, 2008
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Issue 41
May 21, 2008
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Issue 40
May 14, 2008
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Issue 39
May 7, 2008
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Issue 38
April 29, 2008
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Issue 37
April 23, 2008
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Issue 37
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2008 Food And Drink Champions Announced - Taste Of The West Awards 2008
Awards recognise the contribution that individuals/companies make to independent British food retailing
The very best South West retail, hospitality establishments and producers were honoured this week at the prestigious final ceremony of the Taste of the West Awards 2008, sponsored by Musgrave Retail Partners GB.
Held at Powderham Castle, Devon, the well known chefs and brothers Chris and James Tanner presented a total of 22 awards including six South West Regional Hospitality and Retail awards, the coveted Champion Product Award and twelve Best of Category product winners. Guests enjoyed a lunch of award-winning produce sourced entirely from the South West and prepared by Dartmoor Kitchen.
A process spanning some 8 months, each winner from the ceremony had already won Gold in either the Product Category (announced August ’08) and/or the Hospitality & Retail Category (announced November ’08).
Three new awards for 2008 were also presented including the Award for Local Food in Schools, South West Producer of the Year and Local Food Champion.
Without doubt, the most successful winner was Penwindsor Farmhouse Ice Cream and Sorbets of Liskeard, Cornwall. They won no less than 3 overall awards including the Best of Chilled and Frozen Desserts title for their Strawberry Sorbet. Their Hazelnut Ice Cream clinched the Best New Product title and most significant of all, the Champion Product award.
On choosing the Hazelnut Ice cream as champion product 2008, the Tanner brothers commented, ‘This is a beautifully smooth and creamy ice cream with fine hazelnut and an excellent balance of flavour. We were pleased to see the absence of any preservatives and additives and felt that the eye-catching packaging would sell itself.’
More/see over…
John Sheaves, Chief Executive Taste of the West, said, ‘The awards, established 15 years ago, have always provided an important quality benchmark, giving well deserved recognition and reward to those creating the very best produce and places to eat and drink in the region. Despite the changing economic climate, consumers are increasingly choosing to spend more of their income on quality food and drink, so much so that this year the market for local food in the UK is valued at £4.8billion. Today, we recognised those outstanding outlets and individuals that are at the very pinnacle of the industry, providing quality benchmarks for all to aspire to.’
Full list of winners detailed below
On awarding Roy Heath of the Cornwall Food Programme the title of Local Food Champion 2008, sponsored by Ginsters, judges commented, ‘Roy has worked tirelessly for the Cornwall Food Programme with the National Health Service in Cornwall to ensure the development of this excellent initiative. With his unending commitment to the programme, Roy has established an innovative and sustainable supply chain and a new route to market for many small producers. Roy regularly shares his enthusiasm with local authorities throughout the country seeking to learn from his achievements in Cornwall.’
Tom Cull of Tom’s Pies and Dartmoor Kitchen secured the inaugural South West Producer of the Year Award, sponsored by Mole Valley. The judges confirmed choosing the winner of this category was particularly difficult due to the outstanding calibre of the finalists. On choosing Tom, they said ‘Tom has developed an innovative business model which, through his ambition and enthusiasm is taking his business to new heights, though never relenting on his commitment to source ingredients locally.’
The new South West Local Food in Schools Award, sponsored by 3663, was established to recognise schools committed to serving healthy, local produce at lunchtime, to educating their pupils about the source of the food they eat and communicating the healthy eating and local sourcing messages both to pupils and parents.
The award was won by Spaxton Church of England School, Bridgwater, Somerset, where pupils enjoy locally produced food and drink at lunchtimes and also benefit from many educational tools which aim to teach children about the source of their food. The children are currently creating a vegetable garden to grow their own food.
For the second year in a row, the title of South West Restaurant of the Year, sponsored by 3663, goes to Ode restaurant in Shaldon, Devon. Judges were particularly impressed with owner and chef Tim Bouget’s ‘True commitment to local sourcing, his perfectly cooked food with a lovely balance of flavours, good sauces and fresh quality ingredients.’
The title of South West Tea Room/Café of the Year Award, designed to recognise establishments providing excellence in food and hospitality during daytime meals, goes to The Green Yard Café, Bridport, Dorset. Judges said that ‘The Green Yard Café uses regional and particularly Dorset produce extensively and promotes this extremely well to its customers. The cooking is excellent and the service extremely friendly.’
Jonathon Bayne, Head of Technical Services Sustainability and Regulatory Affairs, of Musgrave Retail Partners GB said, ‘The standard of entries goes up and up every year. There have been some very difficult decisions, but we’ve got some fantastic winners and some really interesting products. Supermarket buyers and consumers are increasingly looking out for local products with a real point of interest, so winning a Taste of the West Award is really important for all sectors involved.’
Taste of the West Awards 2008
List of Winners by category
Today’s winners, listed here, represent the region’s very best in produce and those retail and hospitality sectors dedicated to serving the highest quality food and drink for South West residents and visitors alike to enjoy:
Best of Bakery and Confectionery Fresh Chocolate Sauce
West Hill Farm Dairy Ltd.
Ilfracombe, Devon
Best of Chilled and Frozen Desserts Strawberry Sorbet
Penwindsor Farmhouse
Ice Cream and Sorbets
Liskeard, Cornwall
Best of Dairy Sharpham Elmhirst
Sharpham Partnership Ltd.
Totnes, Devon
Best of Drinks Thomas Hardy’s Ale
O’Hanlon’s Brewing Co Ltd.
Whimple, Devon
Best of Fish Live Mussels
Exmouth Mussels Ltd.
Exmouth, Devon
Best of Meat Corned Beef
Hayman’s Butchers
Sidmouth, Devon
Best of Bacon, Burgers and Sausages Faggots in Onion Gravy
Hayman’s Butchers
Sidmouth, Devon
Best of Preserves Pandora Strawberry Jam
Shute Fruit and Produce
Bishopsteignton, Devon
Best of Ready Meals, Snacks and Sauces Blackberry Vinegar
Kitchen Garden Foods Ltd.
Stroud, Gloucestershire
Best New Product Hazelnut Ice Cream
Penwindsor Farmhouse
Ice Cream and Sorbets
Liskeard, Cornwall
Best Organic Product Organic Lamb
Percy’s Country Hotel
Virginstow, Devon
Best of Packaging Sloe Gin Reserve Liqueur
The Lyme Bay Winery
Lyme Regis, Devon
South West Local Retail Outlet of the Year Washingpool Farm Shop
Bridport, Dorset
South West Online Retailer of the Year Eversfield Organic Ltd.
Bratton Clovelly, Devon
South West Bed and Breakfast of the Year Three Acres Country House
Dulverton, Somerset
South West Dining Pub of the Year The Grove Inn
Kings Nympton, Devon
South West Tea Room/Café of the Year The Green Yard Café
Bridport, Devon
South West Restaurant of the Year Ode
Shaldon, Devon
South West Local Food in Schools Spaxton Church of
England School
Bridgwater, Somerset
South West Producer of the Year Tom Cull
Dartmoor Kitchen/Tom’s Pies
Clyst St Mary, Devon
Local Food Champion Roy Heath
Cornwall Food Programme
Champion Product Hazelnut Ice Cream
Penwindsor Farmhouse
Ice Cream and Sorbets
Liskeard, Cornwall
Each year, entry forms for the Taste of the West Awards, sponsored by Musgrave Retail Partners GB, are sent to over 3000 food and drink producers and over 4000 hospitality and retail outlets across Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Somerset and Wiltshire. The Awards are judged by a panel of industry experts, chefs, restaurateurs and technical specialists who have the difficult task of choosing the winners of the coveted Gold, Silver and Bronze Awards in each of the product classes and county winners in the hospitality categories. Overall category award winners are selected from the recipients of Gold awards and then announced at the ceremony.
[PRINTER FRIENDLY VERSION]
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