THE MOORLAND Garden Hotel at Yelverton is celebrating after tasting success at the Taste of the West awards ceremony.

At the ceremony held in the Bristol Pavilion, the home of Gloucestershire County Cricket Club, the Moorland Garden Hotel's Wildflower Restaurant fought off competition from 30 establishments to be crowned best South West restaurant in the 'best of the best' final heats, having already been awarded gold in July.

Andrew Jenkins, general manager, Jo Di Carlo, marketing manager and Bruce Cole, head chef, were on hand to celebrate the achievement.

Accepting the award, Andrew said: 'This has been an amazing year for us. Bruce has only been on board since April and so for us to be named best restaurant just six months later is a dream come true.

'A lot of establishments pay lip service to serving local food these days but Bruce is an amazing ambassador for the West Country, championing producers and doing his utmost to ensure diners are engaged with the whole food experience.

'The whole team is keen to deliver continued excellence to our guests and it is wonderful to have that recognised by winning this award.

'The food movement in the South West has really upped its game in recent years and we are honoured to be part of this.'

Bruce added: 'I am absolutely delighted for the hotel and very proud of the team, who have worked extremely hard to get us here.'

The awards were presented by owner of Rockfish and Dartmouth's The Seahorse, fish chef Mitch Tonks.