Live Love Eat Awards at the Deer Park Hotel, Honiton, Devon

I have just been to the inaugural 2014 LiveLoveEat Food and Drink awards ceremony at the fabulous Deer Park Hotel, set within 80 acres near Honiton, Devon.  It was raining so I didn’t get to explore the 80 acres of land – but it looked good.  I met some lovely people (‘Hi’ to Choclette and the Pig and Whistle!) and had some delicious food.

The food was great and all sourced in the West country.

It was a lovely venue and can really imagine having a wedding there.

Susan from Devon Life said that she really enjoyed staying at the hotel overnight – and so had her dog!  They are a very dog-friendly hotel. They are welcome to stay in rooms and there is even a pooch pamper area.

There was much excitement about the new treehouse suite which will soon be a feature of the hotel – a great idea for a special anniversary or the first night of wedded life!  The ground floor communal areas looked well-maintained and attractive.

 Overall, a great place for a celebration, a function or a special place to stay.  The location is quiet and beautiful and the hotel owner seems ebullient and fun.

The Source Trade Show, Exeter Westpoint: Food and Drink

Today I visited the Source Trade Show at Exeter Westpoint.  There were lots of interesting exhibitors.   I was concentrating on the Devon and Cornish foodie ones - there were quite a lot of both.  There were also many visitors.  I really liked these products from the Coast and Country Range from Proctor and Clark.

I know that we have plenty of great food and drink on our doorstep in Devon but apparently Devon has been named as the 'best place to live in the UK' (according to a survey by Country Life).

Devon came top in five categories: the best for green credentials, local food, pubs, heritage and landscape.  I think this helped the attendance of the show.  Devon is a desirable 'market'.

I cannot fault the show - pleasant wardens in the car parks, the door was opened to me as I entered the building, swift ticketing, clean loos, plenty of interesting exhibitors and a good opportunity to look at and sample wares and talk to others.  The place was busy but not overly crowded and the popular stalls had many people around them.  Hopefully, this will prove a successful event for clients, suppliers, the show organisers and Westpoint.

I would like to give a special mention to Jeff at Taste Buds Magazine, Hayley from Food and Drink Devon and Raw PR, Ben at Bird and Wild Coffee ....

....and the people at Devon and Cornwall Food Association who are a charity and give excess food and drink to people in need; and the free pasty courtesy of Proper Cornish.