Local Food Hero is a competition to find, celebrate and award Britain’s best independent food businesses - those who champions local produce with a strong connection to their community. In 2009, the competition was hosted by the television programme Market Kitchen

Market Kitchen

Market Kitchen is a cookery programme, made by Optomen, that premiered on Good Food in 2007. Presented by Rachel Allen, Amanda Lamb, Matt Tebbutt, Tom Parker Bowles and Matthew Fort, the programme concentrates on seasonal cooking and features visits to a local market to obtain seasonal produce...

, on the channel Good Food. Businesses from 10 regions in the UK were nominated and voted for by the public on the Good Food Channel website. After voting ended, the 10 businesses from each region with the most votes were assessed by a selection panel. The panel shortlisted three businesses from each region.

Presenters Matt Tebbutt

Matt Tebbutt

Matt Tebbutt is a chef based in Wales, UK and is a well known food TV presenter. Born in High Wycombe in 1973, Matt Tebbutt moved to South Wales at the age of six months and so considers himself an honorary Welshman...

 and Matthew Fort

Matthew Fort

Matthew Fort is a British food writer and critic. Matthew Fort attended Eton College, and later Lancaster University. He has been the Food and Drink editor of The Guardian for over ten years. He also writes for Esquire, The Observer, Country Living, Decanter and Waitrose Food Illustrated...

 visited the shortlisted businesses for a feature on Market Kitchen. A panel of expert judges then chose one winner from each the 10 regions, all of whom appeared as guests on Market Kitchen. The overall national winner for 2009 was The Dinner Ladies who received a trophy and £5000.

In previous years, celebrity chef

Celebrity chef

A celebrity chef is a kitchen chef who has become famous and well known. Today celebrity chefs often become celebrities by presenting cookery advice and demonstrations via mass media, especially television. Historically, celebrity chefs have included Antoine Carême and Martino da Como.-External...

s Gary Rhodes

Gary Rhodes

Gary Rhodes OBE is an English restaurateur, cookery writer, and chef, known for his love of British cuisine and distinctive spiked hair style ....

, Ollie Rowe and Rosemary Shrager

Rosemary Shrager

Rosemary Shrager is an English chef, best known for being a haute cuisine teacher on the reality television programme Ladette to Lady, and as a judge on Soapstar Superchef....

 presented and judged the competition as a stand-alone show.

Changes

The first season would have a celebrity "regional scout" visit eight businesses in their locality, who they would talk to and sample their produce. The scout would then choose their favourite three who would then go on to the regional finals, where the three chefs and judges would pick their first second and third placed contestant, the winner of the regional heat would then be chosen by combining the judge's and public votes.

The second season saw a slight change where five finalists are chosen to go on the regional finals.

East Anglia

East Anglia's regional scout was Danny Boome

Danny Boome

Daniel Robert Boome, born on February 14, 1976, grew up in Cambridgeshire, England. The chef and television personality began his career as a professional ice hockey player...

.

• The Letheringsett Watermill (regional winner)
• Samphire
• Rainbow Café
• Byfords Café & Deli
• DJ Barnard Meats
• Alder Carr Farm
• The Galley Restaurant
• The Lavender House

London

London's regional scout was celebrity chef, Aldo Zilli

Aldo Zilli

Aldo Zilli is an Italian-born celebrity chef who specialises in Italian cuisine. One of nine children, he was born in the small seaside town of Alba Adriatica in the central Italian region of Abruzzo...

• Lighthouse Bakery (regional winner)
• Kelly’s Organic Foods
• Crumpet
• The Easton
• Hope & Greenwood
• The Ginger Pig
• Duke of Cambridge
• Mortimer and Bennett

Midlands

The regional scout for the Midlands was Terri Dwyer

Terri Dwyer

Teresa "Terri" Dwyer is an English actress. She is best known for her role in the in the British soap opera, Hollyoaks as Ruth Osborne.-Career:...

.

• The Pink Pig (regional winner)
• The Fighting Cocks
• Deli on the Square
• Maison Mayci
• The Wellington
• Berrys Coffee House
• Littleover Apiaries
• The Handmade Scotch Egg Company

North East

The regional scout for the North East was Brian Turner

Brian Turner

Brian Turner may refer to:* Brian Turner * Brian Turner and field hockey representative* Brian Turner , drummer for the Seattle-based band Schoolyard Heroes* Brian Turner , British celebrity chef...

.

• Northumbrian Quality Meats (regional winner)
• Ryebury of Helmsley
• The Whitby Catch
• Helmsley Walled Garden
• Langthorne’s Buffalo Produce
• Carroll’s Heritage Potatoes
• The Comfort Food Company
• Greens of Whitby

North West

Edwina Currie

Edwina Currie

Edwina Jonesnée Cohen is a former British Member of Parliament. First elected as a Conservative Party MP in 1983, she was a Junior Health Minister for two years, before resigning in 1988 over the controversy over salmonella in eggs...

 stepped up as regional scout for the North West.

• The Café @ Green Pavilion (regional winner)
• The Weavers Shed Restaurant
• Mrs Kirkhams Lancashire Cheese
• The Grasmere Ginger Bread Shop
• The Whale Tail Café
• Artisan Café
• The Real Lancashire Black Pudding Company
• Holly Tree Farm Shop

Northern Ireland

Paul Rankin

Paul Rankin

Paul Rankin is a Scottish born, Northern Irish celebrity chef from Ballywalter, County Down, Northern Ireland. Born in Glasgow, Scotland his parents moved back to Ballywater, where he grew up. This was stated when he was the subject of an episode of a short programme named Proud Parents on Channel...

 was the regional scout for the Northern Ireland area.

• Yellow Door Deli (regional winner)
• O’Doherty Butchers
• Helen Bay Organics
• The Bay Tree
• The Duke Restaurant
• Cloughbane Farm
• Tully Meadows Luxury Jersey Ice Cream
• Pretty Mary’s

Scotland

The scout for Scotland was Kaye Adams

Kaye Adams (presenter)

Kaye Adams is a Scottish television presenter, best known for presenting Loose Women from 1999 to 2006.-Early life:...

.

• Original Smokies from Arbroath (regional winner)
• Ferry Fish
• Heart Buchanon Café
• The Store
• Farm House Kitchen
• The Water Tower
• McPhies Bakery
• Fletcher Fine Foods

South East

Sarah Cawood

Sarah Cawood

Sarah Cawood is an English television presenter.-Career:Cawood grew up in the Cambridgeshire village of Maxey and was educated at Stamford High School, Lincolnshire near Peterborough, United Kingdom. She also attended the Royal Ballet School and Arts Educational Schools London.Between 1995 and...

 scouted the South East region.

• The Crooked Billet (regional winner)
• Farm Fresh Express Limited
• Dairy Barn Farm Shop
• The Vaults And Garden Café
• The Royal Standard
• Spice Merchant
• The Real Jam and Chutney Co.
• Hammer Trout Farm and Smokery

South West

Michael Caines

Michael Caines

Michael Andrew Caines, MBE is an English chef, born in Exeter, Devon.He is currently head chef of Gidleigh Park in Devon, the Royal Clarence in Exeter, and developing the Abode hotels concept with Andrew Brownsword.-Biography:...

 chose the eight finalists from the South West.

• Roswell Fruit and Veg
• Country Cheeses
• Montgomery Cheese
• Combe House Hotel and Restaurant
• The Dartmoor Inn
• Jekka's Herb Farm
• Riverford Organic Vegetables Limited
• Quartier Vert

Wales

The scout for the Wales region was Angela Gray.

• Organic Zone (regional winner)
• Pilgrim's Tea Rooms
• The Harbour Master
• The Treehouse
• Castell Deudraeth Bar and Grill
• The Barn at Brynich
• Xtreme Organix
• Frantastic Crepes

Overall Winner

The overall winner for Local Food Hero 2006 was the Letheringsett Watermill

Series 3 (2008)

The overall winner Local Food Hero 2008 was Richard Ord from Colman's Fish and Chip Shop in South Shields.

Market Kitchen (2009)

The overall winner Local Food Hero 2009 was The Dinner Ladies, school caterers from Wilmslow

Wilmslow

-Economy:Wilmslow is well known, like Alderley Edge, for having many famous residents, notably footballers, stars of Coronation Street and rich North West businessmen. The town is part of the so-called Golden Triangle in the north west together with Alderley Edge and Prestbury...

 in Cheshire

Cheshire

Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...

.

External links

• The official Local Food Hero homepage on the UKTV Food web site.
• Food at UKTV.co.uk
• The TV Room looks at presentation/branding on the UKTV channels