WEST Devon is gearing up for the 'Devon Celebration of Food' between October 5 and 13, when everything from cookery demonstrations and courses to food fairs and festivals and gourmet dining events will be on the menu.

The first of its kind, the week is set to tickle your taste buds and delight your senses, showcasing the very best that Devon has to offer — and building on its growing reputation as a food lover's paradise.

Supported by the South West Regional Development Agency, the 'foodie heaven' week will include some 160 events, where award-winning chefs such as Peter Gorton and Phil Vickery and Ross Burden of TV's Ready Steady Cook fame will be taking centre stage.

Events begin in Tavistock with a food festival at the Bedford Hotel on October 5 and continue throughout the week of Tavistock Goose Fair, with special tastings, menus, offers and attractions, guided walks on the moor and a picnic walk at the Dartmoor Inn at Lydford.

In addition, there will be pannier and farmers' markets and the involvement of the food associations and hoteliers, many with special prices for the week.

The week finishes with a day event hosted by Peter Gorton at the Horn of Plenty on October 13, which includes demonstrations and talks by local producers during the morning before a gourmet lunch celebrating the very best of Dartmoor food.

'Dartmoor Day, Dartmoor Ways' consists of trails and events promoting the wide range of Dartmoor produce available to members of the public and businesses.

The Okehampton Festival gets off to a flying start with Okehampton's bountiful barbecue and an action-packed sausage treasure hunt with various classes for cycles and vehicles.

Tastings will take place all week at Entwistle's of Hatherleigh, described as a 'cornucopia of gastronomic delights' by TV's Ron Bendle.

The award-winning Percy's Country Hotel and Restaurant will present its own 'Gourmet Week'.

The seven-day celebration also includes the official launch of the fortnightly Okehampton Farmers' Market.

Cookery demonstrations will be held at the Fountain Hotel in Okehampton with chef David Wills and there will be open days on the allotments at Chagford, highlighting the work of the Proper Job Community Co-operative and its market garden project.

The St George's Day Breakfast in the Plume of Feathers, Okehampton and a two-day Aga-based cooking course at the Pressland Country Hotel at Hatherleigh will also feature during the 'Devon Celebration of Food'.

Co-ordinator of the Okehampton Festival Derek Godfrey-Brown said the celebration of food was an entirely Devon initiative to highlight the quality and availability of locally grown produce.

'West Devon and Okehampton in particular have very enthusiastically embraced this project and is holding a vast number of events during the week,' he said.

'Savour the Flavour is the phrase that Okehampton Farmers' Market has adopted to emphasise the unique taste retained in our area's produce, because it has not travelled hundreds or thousands of miles.'

A list of events will appear in the Times on September 26 and October 3, but brochures can be obtained from tourist information centres, libraries, participating outlets or from Derek Godfrey-Brown on 01837 53158.