Successful entrants of this year’s Hampshire Hospitality and Local Produce Awards will have their achievements acknowledged on Monday 12 November, when the Mayor of Gosport, Cllr Keith Gill presents them with an award at the Town Hall, Gosport.
The Hampshire Hospitality Award is a ‘quality marque’ for restaurants, pubs, tea rooms, cafes and other ‘eateries’ in Hampshire, which aims to:
- Celebrate the best in Hampshire‘s eating experiences
- Promote local eateries to both residents and visitors alike
- Promote Hampshire as the home of good food and drink
- Provide residents and visitors with objective reassurance that they will enjoy their meal out when they pick a new place to eat in Hampshire
The awards are based on an anonymous visit to a premise by a trained quality assessor who, after purchasing a meal, awards marks for public areas, cleanliness, bar and restaurant, hospitality, food, service and efficiency. Assessors are looking for the ‘all-round’ excellence and the overall enjoyment of their eating experience.
Gosport has nominated 10 establishments, all of which met the criteria of the Council’s Safe to Eat campaign. These are:- The Anglesey Hotel, The Old Lodge, Bayside Cabin, The Pump House, Waterfront Brasserie, Peppers, The Seahorse, Manor Hotel, Landers and The Kings Head.
In addition to the Hampshire Hospitality Mark, establishments can also opt to be assessed for a Local Produce award. ‘Local’ means produced in Hampshire or within 10 miles of the county borders and assessors look for the:
- extent to which locally grown produce features on the menu
- staff’s knowledge about the produce
Successful establishments will receive an enhanced quality award.
As well as promoting the awards on the Tourism website, winning establishments will have the logo placed against their listing on the website, highlighting their achievement. Similarly the new 2008 visitor guide will acknowledge establishments in receipt of the award.
Although Gosport is piloting the award this year, it is hoped to be adopted and rolled out nationally by the official tourism body VisitBritain, from 2008.
