Vote for your local food hero
If you have a favourite local food producer, tea room or deli, now is the time to visit uktvfood.co.uk and vote for your chosen champion.
Whatever their product may be, from smoked fish to smoked cheese, artisan bread to an irresistible cream tea, give a local producer whose food you enjoy the chance to win £40,000 by visiting uktvfood.co.uk now and casting your vote.
The 20 local food heroes with the most votes from each of the 10 regions, will have their names put forward to a new independent panel of high-profile foodies.
Nominations close on 14 July so enter now.
How it all works
The panel will look at the shortlist, then pick five businesses to participate in regional heats. Chef Gary Rhodes and his team will visit the best five for a new TV series, to be screened in November on UKTV Food, culminating in a grand final when the Local Food Hero 2008 will be announced and receive their winning cheque for win £40,000.
According to Gary, 'It continues to surprise me that we have so many amazing suppliers, as well as fantastic chefs, serving the finest local food you can imagine. I think the new series is going to be even better this year. Everywhere in Britain has something special to offer, which is what makes Local Food Heroes such an inspiring competition.'
Last year's winners: Daisy's Dairy
Last year's winner James Hague (pictured above) and his wife, Helen, started dairy farming in Hampshire just four years ago. Their traditional approach to farming - producing delicious pasteurised, but unhomogenised milk - impressed Gary, along with the response from James' 1,400 doorstep customers. 'Typically, dairy cows are fed on a high concentrate diet to push up yields, but this affects the fat content and the flavour,' explains James. 'Our cows are grass-fed, so the milk keeps its natural taste. Our natural, fresh milk doesn't last as long as supermarket milk, but it has a much better flavour.'
The prize will help with James's expansion plans: 'We're taking on a second farm, which will give us 500 acres and take us from 60 cows to 170. We'll be able to deliver to more homes and we're going to franchise Daisy's Dairy as a brand, too.'
For more information on Daisy's Dairy, in Hampshire, visit farmfreshmilk.co.uk.
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