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HOTEL ENDSLEIGH TO CHANGE OWNERSHIP

Three years after being purchased by Olga Polizzi, the luxury Hotel Endsleigh has now been sold to the American investment group, Everlands. Their objective is to turn this remote16 bedroom retreat into a members only hunting and fishing club. Currently they are looking for 15 founding members willing to stump up £500,000 as initial membership investment secured against the property. The founding 15 members will then own the hotel until the membership group reaches 250 at which time the group will buy the property back. The initial 15 investors are being promised net returns of £700,000 over five to six years.

In the short term the hotel will continue in it’s current guise. Former hands on Director cum General Manager Alex Polizzi, who recently had a baby, has now moved to London to be with her husband who owns and runs a large wholesale bakery business. Recently she has taken over the role of Hotel Inspector in the Channel 5 TV series.

Commenting on this sale Olga Polizzi, daughter of the late Lord Forte, said “Alex has so much on her plate now and could not give the hotel her full attention.

Set in some of the most beautiful wooded hills and valleys of the Tamar Valley this secluded manor house hotel, which occupies a Grade I listed building and stands in grounds of 108 acres in the village of Milton Abbot, will surely prove to be a much sought after getaway of the rich and famous

LOTTERY FUNDS FOR LOCAL FOOD PROJECTS

Local Food, a new £50 million grants programme funded by the Big Lottery Fund, is now open for applications. The programme is managed by the Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts (RSWT) and is aimed at making locally grown food accessible and affordable to local communities. Grants from £2,000 up to £500,000 will be awarded to not-for-profit groups and organisations in England to deliver projects such as growing, processing, marketing and distributing local food, composting and raising awareness of the benefits of such activities. Applications for Small Grants (£2,000 to £10,000) and Main Grants (£10,001 to £300,000) can be made at any time. Applications for Beacon Grants of £300,001 to £500,000 must be submitted by the end of June 2008. Visit www.localfoodgrants.org for more information.

TASTE OF THE WEST AWARDS 2008

In early August, Taste of the West, the regions foremost food promotion organization, held its annual Food Awards judging at the King Henry School in Ottery St Mary. Food producers from across the South West submitted their products for assessment by teams of local chefs and food experts, who judged the wide variety of product classes on quality, presentation, packaging and innovation

The aim of the Taste of the West awards are to acknowledge food and drink of the highest quality produced in the South West and those establishments committed to serving regional produce to their guests. The South West incorporates Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Somerset and Wiltshire. The awards scheme comprises 23 food and drink product classes and 6 hospitality/retail classes.

A spokesperson for Taste of the West said “This is an exceptional time for the food and drink industry of South West England. We are fortunate in that we have a wonderful landscape, productive climate and passionate people involved in the industry. We want to make the most of it! Our vision for the South West is to connect the region’s superb farmers and producers, chefs and caterers, distributors, wholesalers and retailers with the market.

We have been at the forefront of the South West’s food and drink industry since inception in 1991, and as a Regional Food Group, we aim to unite the food chain in the region by connecting it from beginning to end – from farm to fork or plough to plate!”

One of the judging team was Master Chef Peter Gorton from the Horn of Plenty and he commented “I was delighted to be asked to judge this year as it is always fascinating to see the huge range of food products that are available in the South West. This year I judged confectionery and bakery and, as ever, the product quality was exceptional. I sampled chocolate sauces, biscuits, cakes and speciality breads that would grace any restaurant table. It always surprises me to see how many new producers there are every year.”

Taste of the West is a membership organisation to both the industry and its consumers. In addition to this, Taste of the West delivers support to the industry on behalf of a number of publicly funded initiatives pan regionally, as well as providing specialist consultancy and event services to the industry through its team of industry professionals.

Special attention is now been give by the Taste of the West to creating commercial links between regional food producers and major buying groups such as regional supermarkets and hotel chains.

DUCK EGG SUCCESS FOR 10 YEAR OLD

A 10-year-old schoolgirl from Devon is to become one of Britain's youngest food suppliers.

Elsa Amiss' organic duck eggs are to be sold by a national supermarket after she won a major food award.

Her venture is part of an organic free-range duck and egg business at Higher Fingle Farm, Drewsteignton, run by her parents Nevil and Rona Amiss.

The family was named Food Champion of the Year at the Country Living and Waitrose Made in Britain Food Awards.

As well as winning £10,000 in prize money, the duck eggs will now be sold in Waitrose supermarkets

Michelin rising star for Combe House, near Exeter

Combe House, near Exeter, Devon has been awarded a Michelin Rising Star for the second year in succession for its culinary excellence in the 2008 Michelin Red Guide, which is one of the most recognised and influential restaurant guides in Europe featuring only 122 restaurants in the UK with one or more stars. Rising Stars were introduced in 2005 by the Michelin Guide to draw attention to restaurants that represent the gourmet dining 'stars' of tomorrow. Combe was one of just five establishments across the UK listed as being in line for their first Michelin Star. Hotels and restaurants are visited anonymously on several occasions by Michelin inspectors to gauge the consistent quality of products and services offered to the customer; they settle their own bill. Readers' comments are also a valuable source of information in the selection; inclusion in the guide is free, entries are updated annually and the criteria for the various classifications are the same in all 21 countries covered by the guide. Combe has won numerous hotel and dining awards since coming under the ownership of Ruth and Kent Hunt ten year's ago, but the tributes for this latest accolade go to the hotel's two resident Master Chefs of Great Britain; head chef Hadleigh Barrett, 30, and sous chef Stuart Brown, 28. "This honour reflects the outstanding contribution to food excellence by our two Master Chefs", said a delighted Ken Hunt. "We owe it to their relentless pursuit for culinary perfection". According to Hadleigh Barrett, "We couldn't have achieved this without the people who supply us with such superb local home-grown produce. Having the West Country's larder right on our doorstep, means we are spoilt for choice. It makes it a joy to create and prepare dishes full of taste and flavour." They are ardent about sourcing the freshest and best quality local ingredients for their menus; fish is bought most days from Brixham and hand-reared Ark Chicken from Morestone Barton Farm, Cullompton while the lamb, pork and beef comes from Gatcombe Farm, Seaton. Vegetables are from Bakers Farm, near Ilminster, run by Devon man John Rowswell, and all preserves are made on the premises using fresh seasonal fruit. Hadleigh's cookery has progressed through his experience at some of the top hotels in the country including two years at the five star Pennyhill Park, Surrey and a year at the two Michelin starred L'Ortolan restaurant in Berkshire. Since joining Combe House in 2001, he has developed his own distinctive style that focuses on using the finest local produce and presenting it in new, exciting and contemporary ways. Sous chef Stuart Brown came to Combe seven years ago as Chef de Partie from the Horn of Plenty, Tavistock, Devon. Other recent awards include The Good Hotel Guide, UK Country Hotel of the Year 2007 and the England for Excellence, South West Small Hotel of the Year Gold Award 2007. Use the following link to find out more about Combe House Hotel and Restaurant.