Exmoor Food Fest

Exmoor Food Fest deal available at the Rest and Be Thankful

The Rest and Be Thankful Inn and restaurant in the centre of Wheddon Cross, the highest village on Exmoor. The Inn originally a staging post for travellers on their way between Dunster and Dulverton, and you will still find a warm welcome, good food and extremely comfortable accommodation awaiting you there today, almost 200 years later.

Our restaurant has firmly established itself as the place to eat when visiting the moor, or to pop in for a light snack when out for a ramble. We take pride in our traditional home-cooked pub meals in the heart of Exmoor, using local produce in and around Wheddon Cross Exmoor whenever possible. Great care and attention is taken in the cooking and presentation of each dish.

The Exmoor Food Festival menu is available Monday, Tuesday and Thursday evenings (except Tuesday 14^th February) 6pm – 9pm beginning the 2 February 2017.

Voting for the Taste of Exmoor Awards starts today

This year, all restaurants participating in the Exmoor Food Fest are automatically entered in our very first Taste of Exmoor Awards.

For one month, customers can vote for their favourite dining experience on our website. On 27 March, the Exmoor Chef of the Year and the Exmoor Host of the Year will be crowned in an Awards ceremony at Butlins in Minehead.

Lowtrow Cross Inn joins the Exmoor Food Fest for the first time

Three #ExFF17 restaurants listed among the Top 50 Gastropubs

Today, in the Top 50 Gastropubs Awards, three Exmoor Food Fest gastropubs found out their ranking: We would like to congratulate The Swan, Bampton, Tarr Farm Inn and The Mason Arms for making the finals of these prestigious industry awards.

The Swan came in on rank 50, Tarr Farm rank 27 and The Mason Arms on rank 15. We are very proud that these outstanding restaurants are part of the Exmoor Food Fest. While The Mason Arms have now sold out all #ExFF17 places, get in touch with The Swan and Tarr Farm before they are booked out as well!

Here is some background info on the Top 50 Gastropub Awards:

The “Estrella Damm” Top 50 Gastropub Awards are voted for by top foodies and hospitality experts. These include gastropub operators (who can’t vote for their own pubs), food writers, pubco catering development managers and executive chefs, celebrity and top hospitality industry chefs, pub guide editors, industry chiefs and food operators. The voting criteria ensures the list really is decided by the industry.

To find out more, please have a look at the Top 50 Gastropub Awards website.

The Mandala Pizza and Salad Emporium have joined the Exmoor Food Fest

The Mandala brings the best of Exmoor into a fresh new venture in Porlock that combines the traditions of freshly made good pizza, by our pizza king (chef) Kosta, with the freshest ingredients and local produce. We understand that times and diets are changing but wanted to create a place where everyone could enjoy a good meal, be they meatetarian, vegetarian, vegan or gluten free, everyone is included in our menu. So if you want a pizza with wild boar and venison salami topping your peperoni we can do that along side a gluten free base with vegan cheese and everything in between.

We also have a range of fresh salads brought from the traditions of our owners home recipes. They are different and delicious and definitely not what you are expecting.

We are open Thursday to Sunday 11am to 9pm, with a full menu between 12 and 2pm and 5 and 9pm. Outside of these times we have a tasty array of cakes and lighter snacks.

Check out our Facebook page or our Clubs, Classes and Loyalty page for offers, specials and competitions.

The Exmoor Food Fest deal is available from 9 February, Thursdays till Sunday
Lunch & Dinner

The Mandala Pizza and Salad Emporium, High Street, Porlock, TA24 8HJ

Tel. 01643 863023

Exmoor Food Fest launches today!

Tonight, award winning chefs from Exmoor will be serving up a seven course meal at the Luttrell Arms in Dunster to officially launch the 2017 Exmoor Food Fest. Olivier Certain (Clavelshay Barn), Paul and Donna Berry (The Swan), Andrew Dixon (The Cafe at Porlock Weir) and Ellis Pannell (Pyne Arms) are joining Head Chef Barrie Tucker in the kitchen for a truly outstanding menu.

From 1 February, many restaurants across the region will be offering a special Food Fest deal: customers will be able to dine out for as little as £10 for two courses, even at Michelin starred and multi-Rosette restaurants.

Have a look at our map to see all the restaurants signed up so far!

Tour the Miles Tea & Coffee Roastery in Porlock

Discover the art of coffee roasting during the Exmoor Food Festival, there will be a chance to view the two roasters and talk to our production team. Miles is an award winning company recently independently ranked 2nd in the UK tea brands, products have also won Taste of the West and Great Taste awards. We warmly invite you to visit our refurbished factory shop at Porlock (Vale Yard, TA24 8PU) we are open Monday-Friday 08:30-5pm.

This tour on Thursday 16th February at 10:30am is a rare opportunity to view the production areas Miles Tea & Coffee. The buildings here are also of note as this used to be the old Porlock ‘Tannery’.

Space is limited for the tour and pre-booking essential. Event not suitable for children under the age of 18.

To book your place please email sam.burton@djmiles.co.uk, the tours are pre-book only and limited to small groups.

Discover our range online at www.djmiles.co.uk, our products are also stocked in shops across the West Country including some supermarkets. Contact our sales team to find a stockist near you on 01643 703993 or on info@djmiles.co.uk

Yarn Market Hotel in Dunster joins the Exmoor Food Fest

The Yarn Market Hotel in Dunster has once again signed up for the Exmoor Food Fest:

We like to offer the Exmoor Food Fest deal of £10 for 2 courses and £15 for 3 courses during lunchtime throughout February (daily from 12noon till 2:30pm except 4^th and 5^th February) and in these rates also a glass of house wine will already be included.

From 11^th till 19^th February we will also offer specials for dinner which will be 2 courses for £15 and 3 courses for £20.

Contact the Yarn Market Hotel on 01643 821425 to book your table!

The Yarn Market Hotel is situated right in the heart of Dunster and you could easily combine a lunch at the restaurant with a pleasant winter stroll through the medieval village of Dunster or with a visit to the nearby Snowdrop Valley which is only a few miles away.

The main restaurant “The Gables” can host up to 65 people, the smaller “Deer Leap” room can accommodate parties of up to 20 guests. The Yarn Market Hotel is open all year round. The restaurant is open for dinner in the evenings from 5.30 pm. A selection of popular wines, local beers and ciders are available to accompany the meal, special diets catered for with prior notice. Groups are very welcome and meal times can be arranged to suit their itinerary – pre-booking for groups essential.

Award winning Gastro Pub The Swan in Bampton signs up again for the Exmoor Food Fest

The multi-award-winning gastro-pub will be joined by other top pubs and restaurants offering specially priced menus on selected days during February to encourage diners to eat out as part of the Exmoor Food Festival.

Patron chef Paul Berry, who co-owns The Swan with his wife Donna, who is a chef too, said: “We’re very excited once again this year to be part of the Exmoor Food Festival, which runs from February 1 until 28.

“It’s an event to showcase the very best the region has to offer diners and it is a celebration of all local produce and the culinary expertise we have here on our doorstep.”

The Swan will be running special menus as part of Exmoor Food Festival on Tuesday to Friday lunchtimes and Tuesday to Thursday evenings, excluding Valentine’s Day, during February with two courses priced £10 and three courses £15.

Paul and Donna will also be cooking at a special launch dinner for the 2017 festival at the Luttrell Arms in Dunster on January 26. They will be one of sevenaward-winning chefs including Olivier Certain from the Taste of the West top award-winning restaurant, Clavelshay Barn, joining the Luttrell’s Head Chef, Barrie Tucker to cook seven courses.

Paul added: “It’s a privilege to have been asked again to cook at this special event and we’re delighted to be working alongside some of the areas most talented chefs like Olivier. It promises to be a fantastic evening out for everyone who comes along.”

The Exmoor Food Festival runs throughout February and is organised by Elke Winzer who is also behind Exmoor4all, an online platform for all things Exmoor related, including an online shop, and the Exmoor Markets.

Elke said: “The Exmoor Food Festival helps local businesses in the hospitality sector to show off their skills. The festival deal of two courses for £10 tempts many people into restaurants at a time of year when business tends to be slow.

“For the first time this year all participating pubs and restaurants will also take part in the Taste of Exmoor Awards. Customers will be able to vote online for their best dining experience – the winners will be crowned at an awards ceremony at Butlins in Minehead at the end of March.

“Tearooms and village shops are also encouraged to sign up for the Exmoor Food Festival.”

The Swan, which is an AA Four Star Inn and the oldest pub in Bampton, has scooped a plethora of awards for its food including being voted Best Trencherman’s Pub 2016. It has two AA Rosettes for Culinary Excellence as well.

Last year the pub was named (March, 2016) as a Highly Commended winner in the national tourist board VisitEngland’s Awards for Excellence 2016. This Award places The Swan in the top five businesses for excellence in the pub category in England.

The team has a passion for food and embraces the use of produce from the area to create some real pub classics, as well as some more modern English dishes.

Donna said: “We try to keep our dishes simple, yet bursting with flavours and imagination. Our kitchen produces everything we serve here at the pub.”

The Swan’s menu is created from fresh, seasonal ingredients, sourced from nearby, on a daily basis by Paul and Donna and their team.

Paul, who is a leading chef with more than 30 years’ experience in the industry, explained: “We are dedicated to using all the local or regional produce available to us, needless to say we are so lucky living here in the West Country, we have local farmers supplying us with their beef, pork and lamb and the fishing communities providing us with the freshest cod for our classic cod and chips.”

To find out more about The Swan, please call 01398 332248 or visit www.theswan.co.

Tiverton Community Radio supports the Exmoor Food Fest

We are delighted to have teamed up with Tiverton Community Radio! Watch out for regular updates on Exmoor Food Fest events as well as interviews with chefs who take part in the event.

Here is a link to the first interview with Olivier Certain of Clavelshay Barn:

http://www.tiverton-community-radio.co.uk/cook-local

Tiverton Community Radio broadcasts from a sponsored studio at PETROC college serving the Tiverton and surrounding areas. We support and promote local events, charities, local business, education, hobbies and interests, support services, musicians and Devon artists including theatre, writers and poets, heritage and history.

We are proud to bring local food/drink producers and eateries the attention they deserve and cover live events such as Electric Nights Street Food Festival, Exeter Food and Drink Festival, Uffculme show, Tiverton Literary Festival and further afield to the Hay on Wye and How the Light gets in Festivals in Wales. We are passionate about Devon and all that there is to discover.