Hospitality & Retail Awards Entry

Entry Process 

1. All Taste of the West Hospitality & Retail members receive one FREE entry per year of membership into our  Awards programme. 
2. There is no need to complete an entry form. Simply register your wish to be judged for our Awards with Taste  of the West either by email to Lily - [email protected] or you may do so by telephone to 01404 822012.  Registrations received between 1^st November – 31^st December will be entered into the following year’s  programme. 
3. Upon receipt of registration, Taste of the West will contact you by email to confirm receipt and that payment  of membership is up to date. Note, entries will not be judged unless membership fees are paid and up to date. 
4. Members wishing to enter two different categories (e.g., farm shop and café/tea room or hotel and restaurant)  will be required to pay for their second entry. The cost is £100.00 + VAT for each additional entry. 
5. Non-members will incur a fee of £160.00 + VAT for each entry into the hospitality or retail categories.  
6. You will then receive an email confirming your category of entry, including a copy of the payment voucher  which the judge will bring with them to show to you at the end of their visit. The judge should visit you within  a few weeks of receiving this email.  

Judging Process 

1. Entries will receive an anonymous visit from one of our Field Judges who will assess the establishment and  provide a field report using the following criteria:  
   • Extent of local sourcing  
   • Communication of local sourcing policy to customers and information on local suppliers for customers - Quality of the meal (for hospitality categories) or produce (for retail entries) 
   • Quality of service 
   • Atmosphere/ambience of the establishment and value for money or environmental impact & value for  money 
2. Judging will remain anonymous (as much as possible) until the end of the judge’s visit, at which point the judge  will show their payment voucher to claim payment for their meal (see section on Expenses below).  
3. After visiting your establishment, the judge will submit their written report and recommendation to Taste of  the West, where it is then reviewed and other factors are taken into consideration (e.g. online presence, past  performance and previous feedback; any other reports and other awards received) before a decision is made.

Award Results & Feedback 

1. All entrants will be informed of their result in writing from Taste of the West (we aim to do this within 4 weeks  of the judge’s visit) and award results will be available on the Taste of the West website  www.tasteofthewest.co.uk 
2. All award winners will be sent a certificate in recognition of their award along with 2 x window stickers and a  digital version of the award logo. We request that when used online, our digital award logo is hyperlinked to  the Taste of the West website (www.tasteofthewest.co.uk) 
3. All award winners will receive a full evaluation report after they have been informed of their result. 
4. All award winners will receive an information sheet from Taste of the West on “How to promote your Award  Win” and can also receive advice on how to improve local sourcing communications if required. We encourage  award winners to include their award in advertising, social media, menus, or other appropriate promotional  activity. 
5. Taste of the West reserve the right to publish articles and photographs concerning entrants and carry out publicity regarding winners.
6. Taste of the West reserves the right to give details of winners to the sponsor of that particular category but on request entrants may opt out.

Finalists, Category Winners and “No. 1 Place to Go”

The highest scoring Gold award winners from each category will become finalists and contenders for the overall; South West winner of each category. These winners will then go forward to find the ultimate top destination: The No 1 Place to Go!
 

Expenses to be Covered

1. All entrants must cover judge’s expenses as follows:
   • Café/Tea Room, Dining Pub, Restaurant, Fine Dining, Casual Dining and Street Food & Drink categories:  entrants must cover the cost of a meal and a drink each for two people. A ‘meal’ should be up to three  courses. This may be a cream tea or lunch and a pudding if more appropriate to the establishment and  category of award. At the end of their visit, the judge will present a Taste of the West payment voucher  in respect of this. 
   • Bar category: entrants must cover the cost of one drink and a meal (if applicable) for two people. At  the end of their visit, the judge will present a Taste of the West payment voucher in respect of this. - B&B and Hotel categories: entrants must cover the cost of an overnight stay for up to two people to  
   • include breakfast. At the end of their visit, the judge will present a Taste of the West payment voucher  in respect of this. 
   • All retail categories: entrants must cover the cost of a purchase made by the judge to the value of £40.  At the end of their visit, the judge will present a Taste of the West payment voucher in respect of this.
2. Where payment is required up front (e.g. some cafes etc.), we usually ask our judges to pay for their meal so  they can remain anonymous, and show their voucher at the end of the visit to claim the money back. On some  occasions, judges may have to show their voucher at the start of their visit and disclose their identity as a Taste  of the West judge.
3. If your establishment has any restrictions on availability which will affect the judge’s visit (eg minimum 2 night  stay), this must be discussed with Taste of the West at time of entry.  
4. Travel expenses incurred by the judges will be covered by Taste of the West.