ACCOUNTANTS and financial planners Old Mill in Melksham are to be title sponsors for the Taste of the West awards for the next two years.

Taste of the West is the largest independent regional food group in the UK. Its aim is to promote and support fantastic local food and drink from the Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset and Wiltshire area.

As well as offering its members a network of support to help their businesses grow, the Taste of the West awards programme has been promoting and supporting the food and drink industry for the past 25 years.

They are now the most prestigious awards in the South West and winning one is a huge accolade, as Phil Mills, Associate Director Old Mills’ Food and Drink team explains.

“Winning a Taste of the West award can make a business, so you cannot underestimate the impact this organisation has had on our region’s food and drink industry – it has helped make it one of the strongest in the UK.

“At Old Mill, we have always been passionate about supporting local food and drink businesses and in 2016, we launched our food and drink team to offer specialist business advice to food and drink businesses in the region.

“One of the things we are committed to offering our clients is a strong support network, so that our clients benefit, not only from what we as a business can offer, but also through support from other organisations in the region. That is why we decided to start working closely with Taste of the West.”

One of Old Mills' first events as newly-announced title sponsors will be ExpoWest Cornwall at the Royal Showground in Wadebridge, March 6 to 8 where there will be a whole host of regional food and drink producers and many Taste of the West members displaying their products.