Following the hugely successful tenth anniversary awards’ celebration last autumn, entries are now open for the prestigious 2022 Food Drink Devon Awards, supported by 2022 platinum sponsor Partners&.

The gold standard industry accolades recognise the county’s most talented producers and establishments and this year will also include the new ‘Chef of the Year’ category. The competition is open for entries until Friday, April 22, with applications welcome from Food Drink Devon members and non-members.

Greg Parsons, chairman of Food Drink Devon, said: ‘We are delighted to be launching our 2022 Awards which are supported by our 2022 platinum sponsor Partners&. Partners& is an insurance advisory business with specialist knowledge in the food and beverage industry and offices across Devon. We are extremely pleased to have them on board and are looking forward to working closely with them.’

Awards this year include the ‘Producer Awards’ with ‘Product of the Year’ and, new for 2022, ‘Best New Product of the Year’ categories. The ‘Retail Awards’ include categories for ‘Best Retailer’ and ‘Best Online Retailer’, while the always highly sought-after hospitality section covers ‘Best Fine Dining Restaurant’, ‘Best Restaurant’, ‘Best Pub’, ‘Best Café or Tearoom’ and ‘Best Takeaway or Street Food’. In addition, every entrant will have the chance to win a silver, gold or platinum award with platinum awards representing a perfect score of 100%, gold awards recognising scores of 90-99%, and silver for those scoring 85-89%.

New for 2022, the ‘Chef of the Year’ award is open to any Head Chef or Sous Chef who lives and works in Devon.

Greg explained: ‘The past decade has seen an explosion of talented chefs in our county, driving innovation and exceptional quality and championing local produce. We want to provide an opportunity for these individuals to compete against their peers to claim the title of the county’s ‘Chef of the Year’. Entrants will be required to create a three course meal celebrating Devon’s finest produce.’

He continued: ‘Devon boasts so many dynamic and innovative local producers and purveyors. The Food Drink Devon Awards give us the opportunity to recognise their success and contributions to the vibrant food and drink industry.’

To enter the competition visit www.fooddrinkdevon.co.uk/awards/ or email [email protected]. For more information on Food Drink Devon visit www.fooddrinkdevon.co.uk, follow @FoodDrinkDevon on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. For more information on Partners& visit www.partnersand.com.