Come see, come try at Honiton’s exciting new Gate to Plate event

Preparations for Honiton’s exciting new Gate to Plate event, which is taking place on 18 July 2018 in the town’s high street, are well underway with over 43 of East Devon’s finest traders and food/craft producers already signed up to showcase a cornucopia of innovative, as well as traditional wares at this free to attend celebration of the district’s most outstanding businesses. More businesses are in the process of confirming their attendance.

The event is a fantastic opportunity for people to ‘come see, come try, come buy’, as traders will be bringing along samples of the highest quality local food and drink for people to taste.

The Honiton Gate to Plate will continue the town’s wonderful and long established market tradition, which dates back to the 13th Century when Honiton was granted a Royal Charter to hold a market.

Parking will be provided at Tesco carpark and Honiton Business Park on Ottery Moor Lane with a shuttle bus service to and from the town centre.

Entertainment on the day will include the renowned Honiton Town Band.

Here’s what two traders who have already signed up to take part in Honiton Gate to Plate have to say about what the event means to them:

Celene Goodall, Celene’s Cakes & Sugarcraft, Axminster
“We think this is a fabulous opportunity to spread the word beyond our base in Axminster about not only the cakes and sugarcraft products we sell but also the advice and support we can offer to budding home bakers. We’re very excited to be a part of it and hope that it can be a regular event.”

Janet Sawyer, LittlePod, Farringdon
“As a member of Taste of the West, the LittlePod team is delighted to be taking part in the Gate to Plate show in Honiton this year. We are a truly glocal company, who believe in spreading the word about the use of pure vanilla both locally and abroad. This East Devon event will be ideal for demonstrating just how amazing and versatile real vanilla is.”

Other participants include: Allhallows Museum (Honiton Lace), Bees Knees, Beyond Sauce, Branscombe Vale Brewery Ltd, Cathy’s Bake House, Coffee Factory Ltd, Coldharbour Farm Shop, Common Loaf, Dalwood Vineyard, Deer Park, Devon Fish Cakes, Devon Spotted Pig & Fine Country Lifestyle, Ebb Tides, Fancy That Caribbean Food, Find and Foster Fine Ciders, Four Elms Fruit Farm Ltd, Fowlers Farm Eggs, Frandie Macaron Ltd, Hillview Floristry, Honiton Chocolate Company, Janvil Dairy Goats, KLA Foods (curry pies), Otter Vale preserves, Otter Valley Dairy Ltd, Porkies meat products, Powderkeg Brewery, Random Cottage, Sweetlands Country Fayre, Taste of Sidmouth, the Bloomberry Juice Company Ltd, Ventons Devon Cider, West Country Farm Produce/Awestruck Country Quail, Wild Foot handmade leather goods.

Cllr Ian Thomas, the Leader of East Devon District Council, who is taking an active interest in Honiton Gate to Plate is delighted with the response so far from traders said:

“As an East Devon resident I am immensely proud of this amazing part of the world and the fact that this tiny rural area packs such a punch in terms of the quality and diversity of small businesses. We have some of the South West’s most innovative and creative food and craft producers and I am delighted that we are giving them this opportunity to demonstrate their skills and ingenuity to not just a local audience, but the many visitors who are attracted by East Devon’s vibrancy and natural beauty.

“I would particularly like to congratulate LittlePod for their fantastic achievement in winning the Queen's Award for Enterprise (Sustainable development). To have an award winning business such as LittlePod coming to Honiton in July is a real boost to our event. I wish them well on their forthcoming visit to Buckingham Palace – they are a real inspiration and a credit to East Devon.”

Cllr Phil Twiss, ward member for Honiton said: “Honiton is currently buzzing with excitement as preparations continue to host this extraordinary local event. It has been very heartening to witness everyone pulling together to make this celebration a success. I would especially like to thank our partners and project members for giving us their time and expertise for this exciting enterprise – their assistance in making this happen is invaluable. We look forward to extending a warm East Devon welcome to everyone partaking in this event, from local traders to visitors. We have been overwhelmed by the response from traders wanting to take part in this inaugural event, which it is hoped will become an annual one, building on the limited space possible for the first one at the Eastern Gateway to Devon.”

Mark Tredwin, Town Clerk Honiton Town Council, said: “The Town Council is pleased to see the way in which a wide variety of crafts and producers are supporting this event. It all augers for a really successful start to the summer here in Honiton. There are other events such as Hot Pennies and Charter Day planned for the year and we hope once people experience the warmth and vitality that Honiton can offer to visitors, we will see people coming back to join us for these events as well.“

John Sheaves, Chief Executive of Taste of the West, said: “Taste of the West are absolutely thrilled to be part of this very exciting event. In East Devon, we are incredibly lucky to have so many fantastic food producers and artisans, and to have them all in one place, on one day is going to be a wonderful experience for visitors.”