MAY I take this opportunity through your column to thank all those who helped us win the Best Local Food Awards competition In particular, John Dixon, Jeffrey Stackhouse and Chris Hair who escorted the judges around on the day Thanks also to all the local food producers and retailers who gave their time to explain what our local food community is all about, including the butchers, greengrocers and bakers; from the farmers? market to the country market; from the pannier market to Crebers; both Kelly and Tavistock Colleges; everyone who turned out from across the whole area from Dartmoor Brewery to the Lifton Farm Shop; all the farmers at Hele Farm, Gulworthy; all the restaurateurs and hoteliers, from Duke?s to Endsleigh, The Bedford, Brown?s, Arundell Arms, Horn of Plenty, the list is endless ? there is not enough space to list everyone individually! However, most of all, I would like to thank everyone at the Tavistock Times Gazette and especially Jane Honey, for reporting the competition so well and helping to get the ?EatWise-Eat Local? message across the community. It was quite clear at the awards ceremony that you had given us a special edge that no other town had which helped us to win the overall competition. Many thanks to you all. John G Taylor Chairman Tavistock Forward CONGRATULATIONS to everyone on the brilliant success for Tavistock in the best local foods awards. It was splendid to win the large towns category and absolutely wonderful for Tavistock to be the overall winner in the whole of the South West. This is no surprise to those of us who live in and love Tavistock. Our beautiful town is outstanding in so many ways, and we most of us have taken on board the virtues of eating local food, and we many of us buy fairtrade! An enormous thank you to John Taylor and his colleagues in Tavistock Forward. Their inspiration and hard work have achieved great results for Tavistock. It would be invidious to mention names. Thank you to all. Jenny Metcalf Town mayor HOW fantastic, another award for Tavistock ? the Best Local Food Town. As the ?cheesy? part of this we are thrilled and now want to acknowledge what a huge part the local people of Tavistock have played in this. They are intelligent shoppers, who not only demand flavour and taste, but understand value for money and the effects of buying local foods in terms of food miles and the local economy. It?s unanimous we think you folk are the greatest, you are the ones that give our regional cheeses a home. We will continue to push forward and to this end we are organising the Tavistock ?Real? Cheese Fair on the August Bank Holiday weekend in Tavistock Town Hall. This event is qualitative based with only artisan cheesemakers present. So if you don?t know your Old Burford from your Vulscombe come and find the answer, if you do you will want to come anyway to chat with the stars of the cheese world! You will also be able to match wines with the cheeses with the help of Nick Borst-Smith and his team. We are celebrating Tavistock?s latest award this Saturday April 8 with wine and nibbles, cheesy ones of course, so old and new customers please drop in, you will all be welcome. Taste the reality of this award ? get back to grass roots! Elise Jungheim Country Cheeses Tavistock
