WEST Devon food producers and hospitality establishments topped the lists of a prestigious food and drinks award ceremony.

A restaurant and a producer in West Devon were honoured at the recent ceremony of the Taste of the West Awards 2011, sponsored by Waitrose.

Held at the Eden Project, broadcaster, journalist and food and drink critic, Nigel Barden presented a total of 30 awards, including the coveted Champion Product Award, 19 Best of Category product winners, Best New Product, Best Packaging and five South West Regional Hospitality and Retail awards.

The Champion Product award went to Dartmoor Farmers' Association in Horndon, for its sirloin of beef roasting joint.

Judge Rick Stein said: 'This product is exactly what West Country food should be all about. Outstanding flavour, beautifully well hung and clearly great expertise has gone into producing such a wonderful piece of meat.'

Dartmoor Farmers' was also the worthy winner in the contest for the Carol Trewin South West Producer of the Year Award. On choosing Dartmoor Farmers, the judges said: 'The winner provides us all with huge inspiration for what can be achieved and is a great innovative business model, with impressive reach and influence. They have far reaching goals and achievements — the benefits of which will be felt for years.

'They have worked together to solve what many have long thought was an unsolvable problem — how to manage sustainably one of the region's finest jewels of the countryside by adding value to their primary product. It was a cracking entry.'

The title of South West Restaurant of the Year went to Gidleigh Park in Chagford. With two Michelin starred chef Michael Caines at its head, Gidleigh Park was voted number one restaurant in the Sunday Times Top 100 British Restaurants, and it was voted 'Most Excellent Restaurant' by Condé Nast Johansens.

The Taste of the West judges described it as 'faultless'.