A VEGATABLE grower from Petrockstowe, who turned his back on supplying supermarkets, has come up trumps and been named as best local producer at the North Devon Food and Drink Awards. Richard Kelsey and his wife have been growing seasonal vegetables at the small Hallwood Farm for the last 18 months and were delighted to receive such an accolade. The winners received their certificates at a presentation evening held at the Landmark Theatre, Ilfracombe, recently. The event is run by the North Devon Marketing Bureau, with 17 businesses receiving awards across seven categories. Hallwood Farm grows carrots, cauliflowers, cabbage, sprouts and sweetcorn which are packed into seasonal vegetable boxes which they deliver direct to the customer. Richard said: 'We were very pleased to be shortlisted, especially as the nominations are all sent in by customers. 'We are really committed to local produce — if something is not in season, we don't grow it. It is very simple, but that is what gives us an edge. 'We are not organic, but I think more and more people are switching from organic food to locally-grown food because they would rather buy something that has been grown locally and not transported across the country.' Richard used to have a farm in Kent where he grew millions of cabbages for supermarkets Sainsburys and Waitrose but he said the smaller enterprise was more satisfying. 'Now you get to speak to the customer, who is actually doing the cooking. That is really rewarding. 'When we were with the supermarket, the only phone calls you would get would be the stores if they wanted to complain about some small thing. It is very heartening to be dealing with real people who enjoy what we produce.' Hallwood Farm has a stall outdoors each month at Okehampton Farmers' Market. Another local success at the awards was West Lake Apple Juice produced at Beaworthy, which gained third place in the local producer category. Martin Wickham, general manager at the North Devon Marketing Bureau said: 'We have a fantastic range of food and drink businesses in North Devon — both large and small — from nationally renowned eateries to hugely successful producers and it is important that we recognise and promote their superb offerings. 'The amount of nominations this year was unprecedented. All the entrants should be proud of the brilliant feedback they received.'