A look back at a few of our 2023 Food Drink Devon Award winners. We asked Claire, one half of @rullorchard, what winning Best New Drink 2023 with their PerryOte meant to her. “As makers of artisan produce,  we are intimately involved in every stage of creating our craft ciders and perries,  so each one of our products feels incredibly personal.  Add to that our passion for reintroducing Perry trees and Perry to the Devon landscape and drinks heritage, made us hugely proud and grateful to see Perryote winning the Best New Drink Product 2023 at the FDD awards! It inspired us for more creations in the years to come!” Claire, Rull Orchard

A look back at a few of our 2023 Food Drink Devon Award winners. We asked Tess of @_thedartmoorinn Lydford what winning Best Pub 2023 meant to her and the team. “To be awarded the best pub meant the world. We were incredibly proud to be recognised on a regional scale and flying the flag for Devon!” The Best Pub 2024 will be announced at the awards ceremony on Oct 7th.

The 2024 FOOD DRINK DEVON AWARDS are just one month away, so we’re revisiting LAST YEAR’S winners for one final round of applause! These were the ‘best of the best’ in 2023 and you can be absolutely sure are still well worth tracking down, ordering online or booking a table… save the list for later! 👏🏼 We’ll be announcing the 2024 winners on Oct 7th! ➡️ PRODUCER Awards 2023 Best Food Product: @springwaterfarm_ Farm Free Range Mangalitza Pork Mince Best New Food Product: @andrewkingchocolates784 Signature Nine Nut Selection Best Drink Product: @luscombedrinks Passionate Ginger Beer Best New Drink Product: @rullorchard PerryOte ➡️ HOSPITALITY Awards 2023 Best Fine Dining: Restaurant Twenty Seven, Kingsbridge @twentyseven_devon Best Hotel Restaurant: The PIG at Combe @the_pig_hotels Best Restaurant: Harry’s Restaurant, Exeter @harrys_restaurant Best Pub: The Dartmoor Inn at Lydford @_thedartmoorinn Best Café: Outside, Bantham @outside_devon Best Takeaway: The Tors Inn, Belstone @thetorsinn Chef of the Year: @mikepalmer__ ➡️ RETAILER Awards 2023 Best Retailer 2023: Ben’s Farm Shop @bensfarmshop Best Online Retailer: Devon Farm Kitchen @devonfarmkitchen ➡️ TRAINING SCHOOL Awards 2023 Best Training School: @highgrangedevon ➡️ SUSTAINABILITY Pioneer Awards 2023 Hospitality Winner: The PIG at Combe @the_pig_hotels Producer Winner: Two Drifters Distillery @twodriftersrum Recognition Award: The Venus Co @venus.company

Sandford Orchards in Crediton is opening the doors of its Cider Works tap room every Friday and Saturday from 4pm until late. 🍺 Fully licensed bar serving ALL of their ciders, plus beer, wine and soft drinks. 🍕 Delicious stone baked pizzas to eat in or take away - until sold out, last orders for pizza at 9pm. 📞 Call 07938 700732 to order a take away or head to the Cider Works and soak up the atmosphere of the oldest working cider mill in the UK! Follow @sandfordorchards for more cider news.

🍁 NEW | Here are Devon’s best FOOD + DRINK EXPERIENCES – tours, tastings, workshops and more | Autumn 2024. 🍁 Buy one as an inspired gift (and earn some brownie points!), book one as a special day out with friends… or super-charge your own skills. ➡️ We’ve done the hard slog! Now you can just grab a cuppa, sit down and plan with our brand new list! 🔗 Link in BIO. Save for later or share with someone you’d take along! . . . 📸 @dartsfarm Pebbledbed Vineyard tours.

🔎 Unscramble the clues in the Darts Farm Maize Maze to claim a sweet treat. Simply head to The Shack or @dartsfarm shop tills to pick up your clue sheet and make your £2 donation to this year’s chosen charity, the Royal National Lifeboat Institution @rnli, who are celebrating their 200th year saving lives at sea. Over the past 10 years, the Maize Maze has raised at total of £20,415 for some brilliant local charities. 👏🏼 Be quick. Open until early autumn.

HELLO September! You’re spoiling us with so many fabulous food festivals this month. Here are the all important dates for your diary to save for later… ➡️ 7th Sept | Bovey Food and Craft Festival @boveyfestival ➡️ 14th Sept | Ottery Food and Families Festival @otteryfoodfest ➡️ 14th - 22nd Sept | Taste East Devon Festival @tasteeastdevon ➡️ 14th Sept | Ashburton Food Festival @ashburtonfoodfestival ➡️ 15th Sept | eat:Festival Riverford Totnes @eatfestivals ➡️ 21st Sept | eat:Festival Yeovil ➡️ 27th Sept - 13th Oct | England’s Seafood FEAST @theseafoodfeast ➡️ 29th Sept | eat:Festival Tiverton Have we missed any? Our @fooddrinkdevon community of growers, producers and chefs will be out in force at these festivals - championing quality, sustainability and provenance- and dishing up some delicious autumn food and drink! More on these soon. Watch this space.

Coffee by Sail | @voyagercoffee in Buckfastleigh is proud to announce that their latest Colombian coffee is sailing onto the website this September, following its epic, eco-friendly journey across the Atlantic via cargo sailboat in partnership with @newdawntraders. Look out for its arrival on the Voyager website soon. Enjoy 10% off their single origin subscription. Sign up online using code SINGLEORIGIN10 to get 10% off your first three months: the best coffee delivered to your door monthly.

🧀 WIN! | September competition | We’ve teamed up with @quickescheese to bring you a cheese lover’s dream! 🧀 A hamper filled to the brim with the whole Quicke’s range of handmade, clothbound cheddars… and you could will it all this September! 🧀 Perfect for curd nerds everywhere, this box of 10 200g wedges will be delivered to the winner’s door in chilled packaging complete with tasting notes and a flavour profile wheel to help to identify the unique Quicke’s flavours and aromas. ➡️ Read more and ENTER at the link in our bio. Entrants must be 18+. Closing date 30 September.

Autumn Special Breaks at the @caryarms Babbacombe. Seaside luxury at a great price. Including… 🥘 Gastro Getaway 🧖‍♀️ Spa Break 🐾 Doggy Getaway 🍾 Celebration Getaway 😴 Sunday Sleepover Visit their website for full details… 🎄If you’re already thinking about Christmas then check out their super Festive deals too!

Taste East Devon Festival, one of the region’s most popular food festivals, is returning with exciting new events! The festival, which runs from 14 - 22 September, will feature a diverse range of events and activities that cater to all tastes and interests. From exclusive dining experiences, cooking courses, tasting evenings and family festival days, to getting hands-on in the apple orchards or hand-harvesting seaweed, there is something for everyone to enjoy. To find out more follow @tasteeastdevon, search tasteeastdevon.co.uk or read our pick of the best events on the fooddrinkdevon.co.uk events page. Link in our bio.

🍎Join @springwaterfarm_ for a family fun afternoon on their farm at Killerton, near Exeter. 🗓️ 12 Oct 12 noon - 4pm. 🐂 Meet & greet the highland cows with a mini farm tour to learn about their regenerative farming methods 🐞 A variety of seasonal children’s activities by local charity @organicarts to get kids back into nature 🐞 🪲 Mini-beast hunting & identifying in the orchard with @batconservationtrust. 🍎 Apple pressing demos by local cider producers @findcider. 🍁 Nature Trail with Q & A sheet around the farm🌿 🌳 Co-hosted tour to discuss the history of the Killerton Estate with a @nationaltrust ranger. 🔥 Fireside storytelling with @organicarts. 🍏 Apple Picking and so much more! Prebooking essential. Booking link in the @springwaterfarm_ bio or through ‘Ticket Tailor’ website.