New - look Trencherman’s Guide 2009/10 launched

On Monday 20th April at the Bath Priory Hotel, most of the South West's top chefs congregated for lunch to launch the new-look Trencherman's Guide 2009/10.

The Bath Priory's new executive chef, Michael Caines MBE joined James Sheridan, his new head chef at the hotel, to create a three-course lunch to impress their colleagues and competitors.

Michael said: "It's fantastic to see the Trencherman's go from strength to strength and the partnership with Salt Media is an energetic step forward. This year the quality of the places to eat is just as high as in previous years, and in the present climate, telling people about the excellent dining and produce in the South West is more important than ever."

The chef-studded lunch also featured Delicious and Daily Telegraph wine writer Susy Atkins as guest speaker, and Great Western Wines  presented the wines to accompany lunch.

It's all change this year for the guide: for the first time it will have a website as well as being produced in paper format, and has been given a new logo. It's also the first time in its 19 year history that the guide has been produced by a company in the private sector: South West Tourism awarded the contract to Devon-based publishing company Salt Media earlier this year.

Jo Rees, director of Salt Media said: "We've been thrilled to work on the Trencherman's Guide - it's one of the most prestigious dining guides in the UK, and it's been a privilege to give it a new, updated look to match the quality of the restaurants included in the guide."

This year's guide features 42 of the top restaurants in South West England, and each included restaurant is invited to be part of the guide, as a result of them meeting criteria which includes currently holding 2 AA rosettes or above, or being Michelin-starred.

This year's guide also has a introduction by Olive magazine editor Christine Hayes, and will be distributed with Olive magazine subscriptions in the South East and South West, as well as through the featured restaurants and other select high profile outlets such as Bristol, Plymouth and Exeter Airports' executive lounges.

Hosts at the event included Michael Caines, The Bath Priory's proprietors Andrew and Christina Brownsword and Jo Rees and Nick Cooper of Salt Media.

This year's sponsors of the guide are Hildon Water, Villeroy and Boch, Conran and Darts Farm.

The guide will be available to journalists from Thursday April 16th and to the public from Monday April 27.

To view the Trencherman's Guide 2009 / 2010 media press release including listings of the included restaurants, click here.

www.trenchermans-guide.com

Date added: Thursday 16th April 2009
Latest updated: Wednesday 28th July 2010