Food & Drink

Harrison Brockington was the winner of last year's South West Chef of the Year competition

Michael Caines launches South West Chef of the Year 2025

Renowned chef Michael Caines MBE DL has launched the 2025 edition of the prestigious South West Chef of the Year competition – a highlight of the region’s culinary calendar and a platform for recognising the best cooking talent from across the South West.

Michael, who is chef/patron at the Michelin-starred Lympstone Manor, co-founded the competition in 2004 with the aim of championing professional excellence, nurturing rising stars, and celebrating the world-class food and drink produced in the region. Now in its 21st year, the competition continues to spotlight the outstanding...

Rockfish scoops two national awards

Authored by News Desk
Posted: Fri, 01/27/2017 - 2:38pm

Rockfish in Devon has fried out on top at the 2017 National Fish & Chip Awards (26 January), organised by Seafish.

The chain of shops and restaurants was crowned with the Good Catch – The Sustainable Seafood Award and the Best Multiple Fish and Chip Operator Award during a prestigious ceremony at the Park Plaza Westminster Bridge Hotel in London – an event widely regarded as the ‘Oscars’ of the fish and chip industry.

Jointly sponsored by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), the Marine Conservation Society (MCS), and fish supply brand Norfisk, the Good Catch – The...

Dartington C of E Primary School help Luscombe Drinks plant 1,600 trees on the Dartington estate

On Wednesday 18th January, local artisan drinks producer, Luscombe Drinks teamed up with Dartington C of E Primary School to plant 1,600 trees as part of an innovative Agroforestry Project on the Dartington estate. Over 30 children from the school joined employees from Luscombe Drinks to assist with the planting of the Elder trees. The elderflowers, which will first be harvested in three years, will be grown in accordance with organic farming practices and used by the Buckfastleigh-based company to create Organic Elderflower Bubbly.

Commenting on the collaboration with Dartington C...

Sugar Smart is coming to Exeter

Authored by News Desk
Posted: Mon, 01/23/2017 - 2:57pm

An ambitious campaign to help towns and cities cross the UK tackle the amount of sugar we all consume and provide healthier alternatives, is coming to Exeter this month.

Sugar Smart UK is a campaign led by the Jamie Oliver Food Foundation and Sustain, who are supporting the Exeter Food Network to launch locally as Sugar Smart Exeter.

The campaign will support food and drink retail outlets in the city to raise awareness and reduce the amount of sugar customers consume by making a pledge and create a food environment that makes it easier for people to make healthier food and...

Chiefs test out Absurd Bird’s new breakfast menu

Following the launch of Absurd Breakfasts, the Exeter Chiefs boys were invited along to Absurd Bird Exeter to try out the tasty dishes on the new menu. Nine of the players gathered at the restaurant, with empty stomachs, ready to take on an assortment of unique and typically ‘absurd’ dishes.

The players chose from the likes of Crispy Bacon on Waffles, served with maple syrup, Absurd Benedict (waffle, fried chicken, poached egg, hollandaise) and Chicken Fried Steak and Eggs, with a white sauce – safe to say, there were clean plates all round!

General Manager of Absurd Bird...

South West’s snacking habits revealed

Authored by News Desk
Posted: Mon, 01/16/2017 - 10:52am

This January, 73% of people in the South West – who would usually tuck into their favourite treats up to three times a day – plan on cutting back on snacks, new research from premium crisp company Burts Chips reveals.

The research found that the South West’s all-time favourite snack is crisps (42%), and the top health-conscious treat was the humble banana (29%).

The office is the snacking hotspot across the region, as two thirds (67%) can’t resist enjoying a tasty boost at work. What’s more, residents make a real effort to satisfy their appetite, as 47% will go to the shops...

Venetian restaurant to open in Exeter

Authored by News Desk
Posted: Thu, 01/12/2017 - 12:29pm

Russell Norman and business partner Richard Beatty are set to open Polpo in Exeter's Queen St Dining Quarter next month.

Polpo is modelled on the scruffy wine bars of Venice and feels urban, rustic and stripped back.

Guests enter through a heavy red velvet curtain to find a zinc topped bar and linen-draped lamps. The interiors feature a reclaimed timber floor, rusted tin ceiling and a huge three-metre skylight that floods the restaurant with light. Polpo's trademark deep red leather banquettes line the walls alongside old chemistry lab tables, classic bentwood chairs and...

People power stopped early attempts to ruin fun of the pub

Authored by News Desk
Posted: Thu, 12/29/2016 - 12:25pm

Interfering politicians once tried to restrict drinkers to spending just an hour in the pub and to close locals at just 9pm, new research shows.

People power in the Stuart era defeated their attempts to introduce these killjoy restrictions, according to a new book.

As people prepare to celebrate the New Year in hostelries, a new book on the history of the pub shows revellers defied attempts to stop them drinking by attacking and swearing at officials and locking them out of alehouses. In many areas this led to the rules not being enacted.

The first alehouses were...

International appetite for Burts Chips

Authored by News Desk
Posted: Thu, 12/22/2016 - 9:55am

Plymouth-based artisan snack brand, Burts Potato Chips is marking a successful year of export growth across key markets in Europe and North America. With a sweep of increased product listings across the USA, Canada and Europe, the company is growing in response to demand for great-tasting quality crisps and is now available in 28 countries worldwide.

Burts Potato Chips has experienced 40% year-on-year international growth in its export business, helping drive overall turnover of £24m in 2016, up from £19.8m in 2015. One highly successful part of the business which supported...

Thurlestone Hotel scoops two AA awards for dining

Authored by News Desk
Posted: Wed, 12/21/2016 - 10:39am

The Thurlestone Hotel near Kingsbridge is enjoying extra reasons to celebrate this festive season, with both the hotel’s restaurant and the Village Inn picking up AA Rosette awards following a recent inspection. The Margaret Amelia Restaurant, which previously held one rosette, has now been upgraded with two, while the Village Inn, which was substantially refurbished earlier this year, has been given one rosette for the first time. Awarded by AA hotel and restaurant inspectors, the prestigious rosettes recognise the highest standards of food and service in hotels and restaurants across the...

Tastiest pudding award for Simply Cornish

Christmas has come early for Simply Cornish, the retail brand of Warrens Bakery, who are thrilled to have been awarded the accolade of ‘Tastiest non-supermarket Christmas pudding’ by national magazine, Country Life. Simply Cornish’s legendary Christmas pudding beat off stiff competition from fourteen other finalists including Harrods’ Decadent Christmas Pudding which was placed second. Praise for the popular pud included ‘utterly delicious’, ‘tastes just like Christmas’ and ‘Christmas pudding as it should be’.

Made using Cornish stout, the indulgent traditional pudding is crafted...

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