Devon’s finest food, drink and hospitality businesses celebrated the tenth Food Drink Devon Awards at the New Continental Hotel in Plymouth on October 4, 2021
Competition was fierce among the 250 Food Drink Devon Awards entries from food and drink producers, hospitality and catering businesses, and speciality retailers, with eight products scoring an impeccable 100 per cent to achieve a coveted Platinum award.
Platinum award-winner Blakewell Smokehouse also went on to win Product of the Year for its Superior Cold Smoked Devon Salmon. The salmon is traditionally cured, kiln smoked and matured at the Barnstaple smokery. The judges commended Blakewell on ‘the soft and subtle smoke flavour of the best smoked salmon they had ever tasted’.
For the second time in the history of the awards, the highly prestigious Best Fine Dining Restaurant was presented to The Angel – Taste of Devon. The relaxed fine-dining restaurant in Dartmouth, which is features in Trencherman’s Guide No 29, was lauded as ‘the ultimate dining experience’, with the food being both ‘sophisticated and sublime’.
The Best Restaurant award went to fellow Trencherman’s member Two Bridges Hotel. Devon-born Mike Palmer, executive chef at Two Bridges, celebrates the very best seasonal produce from local farmers, fisherman and producers. The judges described their experience as ‘sumptuous’ and praised the ‘attentive and faultless service’.
Other notable entries included Platinum product award-winners Andrew King Chocolates (Signature Nine); Burrow Farm @ Courtneys (Red Ruby Rump Steak); Figgy’s (Luxury Handmade Christmas Pudding); Hunt’s Cider (Elfs Tipple); Lovaton Farm (Lleyn Hogget Rolled Loin); The Dartmoor Ice Cream Co. (Raspberry Sorbet); and The Devon Fudge Company (Barista Coffee Fudge).
The White Hart Hotel at Modbury was crowned Best Pub, and the Best Takeaway accolade went to Tambapanni at Braunton. The Best Bar and Best Cafe awards went to The Offshore Bar & Restaurant in Torguay and the Lynmouth Bay Cafe respectively. Strawberry Fields in Lifton (Best Retailer) and Hamiltons Fish in Bovey Tracey (Best Online Retailer) topped the retail awards.
