Hampshire Food Festival celebrates silver at the Beautiful South Awards

28 November 2013 Hampshire Food Festival celebrates silver at the Beautiful South Awards

Hampshire Fare is celebrating after success at the Beautiful South Awards held at The Felbridge Hotel in West Sussex on Wednesday 27 November. For the fourth consecutive year the Hampshire Food Festival received an award in the Tourism Event of the Year Category. This year's Silver Award will be added to the two Gold Awards and the Highly Commended received in previous years.

The Beautiful South Awards have been running for over twenty years and celebrate the very best the South East has to offer for all types of tourism businesses including B&Bs, hotels, holiday parks, visitor attractions as well as recognising those businesses that have gone the extra mile on accessibility, sustainability and great customer service.

The annual food festival is organised by Hampshire Fare to showcase local food and farming. The award was presented for the 2012 festival which attracted 295,000 visitors. The Hampshire Food Festival takes place throughout the month of July and involves more than 80 events held at various locations across the county. Vineyards tours, cookery classes, produce markets, brewery tours, buffalo herding and teddy bear picnics are just some of the events open to locals and visitors to the county.

Mike Wright, Chairman of Hampshire Fare was at the gala dinner to receive the award: 'The Hampshire Food Festival is a unique celebration of our county's food and farming communities. Being shortlisted for the fourth time is evidence of the sustainability of the festival and how it continues to evolve year on year. It attracts a growing number of tourists drawn to Hampshire by the quality of the local food and drink available. We are delighted to celebrate this evening and want to thank all of the local producers and hospitality venues involved in hosting and running the festival events. We are already planning the 2014 Hampshire Food Festival which promises even more foodie events for locals and visitors to Hampshire.'

Seven other Hampshire tourism businesses also attended the event which was hosted by Tourism South East Chairman, Ken Robinson CBE and travel journalist and broadcaster Alison Rice. Careys Manor Hotel received a Highly Commended in the Business Tourism Award category and a Silver was awarded to employee Colin Parkes for his outstanding customer service. Marwell Hotel, Lainston House Hotel and The White Horse Hotel and Brasserie were all presented Silver Awards. The Cloud Hotel received Highly Commended and The Montagu Arms Hotel celebrated with a Gold Award.

Jonathan Nuttall from The White Horse Hotel and Brasserie in Romsey commented on their award in the Small Hotel of the Year category: 'We are delighted to receive the Silver Award and for the recognition of the significant management contribution which is responsible for attaining this level and taking the hotel to higher levels.'

Ken Robinson reflected on the evening: 'It is great to see such excellence rewarded. These 2013 Beautiful South Awards represent the culmination of hard work and dedication by the best tourism professionals, in our best tourism businesses, that have been recognised for providing such outstanding customer experiences. I look forward to seeing our winners go on to represent the South East on the national stage at the Visit England Awards for Excellence in 2014.'

All finalists:

Business Tourism Award