A HOTEL in Droitwich has played host to a celebratory dinner to showcase the best of the area’s food producers and suppliers.

The event at the St Andrew’s Town Hotel as part of the town’s summer festival, saw 100 guests sampling locally brewed beers, meats, vegetables and cheeses in a menu designed by the hotel’s new chef Nathan Eades.

The guest list included food festival organiser Patrick Davis and David Colcombe, former chef-director of Birmingham’s award-winning Opus restaurant, who cooked for the G8 summit of world leaders in 1998.

David said: “In recent years the region’s culinary scene has taken off. But it’s not just about fantastic restaurants and chefs, it’s the ingredients they use as well.

“Worcestershire has outstanding and innovative producers, supplying the food that helps to make the West Midlands stand out nationally and internationally.”

Aidan Stevens, owner of St Andrews Town Hotel, added: “We have so many stand-out food producers around Worcestershire that we need a fortnight-long festival to even begin to scratch the surface of their talent. The problem is they’re so good at growing food, producing meat and brewing beer that they’re often just getting on with the job of being brilliant.

“It was therefore the perfect time to showcase some of the area’s unsung heroes, their talent and their produce. It was a fantastic event and we hope to host something even bigger next year.”