The Isles of Scilly has been awarded best village in a competition to find the best local food in the West.
The final round of judging for the Best Local Food Awards, run by The Western Morning News, took place in March and all finalists attended a glittering awards ceremony.
Tavistock won Best Food Town, and Scilly scooped the best village category above fellow-finalists Modbury and Stokenham.
Sophie Hughes collected the award on behalf of the Islands and told the Western Morning News: “We are absolutely thrilled. We would just like to thank all the producers and the community of the island, but it is really an honour tonight to be able to receive the award on behalf of everyone who was involved in the judging process.”
The Western Morning News and ITV Westcountry launched the awards in April 2005, asking communities to prove that locally-produced food and drink are being used in various locations including shops, restaurants, pubs, schools, supermarkets and hospitals.
The contest, which is also sponsored by the Regional Development Agency’s South West Food and Drink Group, and supported by South West Tourism and Taste of the West, was aimed at highlighting entrants’ commitment to buying local food and hopes to boost the community’s economy by attracting visitors and residents to shop and eat locally.
Scilly has a strong tradition of using local produce wherever possible. A survey by Taste of the West, a non-profit company supporting food and drink businesses in the South West, last year found that over 90% of Cornwall and Scilly’s caterers surveyed prefered to use local food - and most were willing to pay more for it.