Best Gastro Pub of the year

Wolverhampton & Dudley sponsors this award,which recognises thepub that places itscommercial focus on fresh-cooked food

North: Appletree Country Inn

Marton, North Yorkshire

The local touch is evident in more ways than one at the Appletree Country Inn set deep in North Yorkshire's scenic Valeof Pickering. The menu abounds withdishes dominated by meat and poultry reared on local moorland farms. The vast bulk of the vegetables, sauces and preserves served up at the village freehouse are more than likely produced from fresh materials grown in the pub's own orchards and gardens.

It's the proud boast of licensees Trajan and Melanie Drew that no less than 90% of the food coming out of the kitchen is produced locally. And that's no mean feat considering this popular dining venue is nearly always full and turns out more than 350 covers every week.

Nor is the food set on tried-and-tested favourites. Head chef and proprietor Trajan is proud of the fact that his menus are never duplicated and change after each session.

The Appletree has become a firm favourite on the local gastro pub map since the Drews took over the business four years ago. Forget about walking in on a Friday or Saturday night expecting a free table because every one will be booked. Don't try the same casual approach on Sunday lunchtimes either because tables are reserved more than a week in advance.

The "house full" sign means the cooking flair of Trajan (called "TJ" by locals) is now attracting the interest of food buffs from further afield.

The Appletree is finding its way into an increasing number of food guides, backed by good reviews in influential magazines.

Melanie comments: "We take real pride in using local farmers and growers and on summer days, diners can enjoy a drink on the patio and watch the staff pick the herbs or the fruit that may well end up in their lunch or dinner."

Many of the home-made preserves and relishes are on sale in the pub, giving the business a small bolt-on trade, and also providing an excellent marketing device.

TJ's cooking concentrates on a diverse style of food and does not necessarily stick to the traditional. He says: "It's English cooking with a twist. I try to devise my own variation on dishes by using our home-grown ingredients to come up with a menu that sets us apart.

"We concentrate heavily on local meat and poultry and game."

He adds: "Fish is also a high spot and arrives daily from our wholesaler suppliers."

Central:

Walpole Arms Itteringham, Norfolk

Richard Bryan, managing director of the Walpole Arms, knew a thing or two about food before acquiring the Itteringham pub. He spent 10 years eating his way around Britain as producer of BBCtelevision's Masterchef programme. His understanding of what makes a fantastic meal, combined with the flair of head chef Andrew Parle, whose curriculum vitae includes a spell as head chef at Alistair Little's in London, have proved to be a winning formula for the Walpole.

Since Richard purchased the pub in June 2001, food revenue has increased from around £150,000 per annum to £292,000. This near doubling of turnover has been achieved in spite of the increasing competition that has come in the wake of Norfolk being recognised as a base for many fine restaurants and food-led pubs.

During busy periods, the Walpole can serve as many as 2,500 covers each week. The menu derives its inspiration from the Mediterranean during the summer and, in winter, is driven by the more warming dishes of northern Europe.

Almost all of the pub's suppliers are local and the dishes feature local delicacies such as Norfolk asparagus, Morston mussels and Cromer crabs when in season. Other favourites are warm salad of pigeon, chorizo, potatoes and soft egg (£9.25), confit of duck, garlic mash, braised red cabbage (£12.50), and slow braised lamb shank, Greek-style with chickpeas and horiatiki salad (£13.25).

Recently, Richard has had to extend the kitchens to enable the Walpole's chefs to cope with the rising demand. Diners can be accommodated in either the bar area or in the stylish 40-cover restaurant. One of the strengths of the Walpole is the fact that it is still very much a pub ­ with a bar area and a weekly quiz night.

Also on offer is an excellent wine selection, with plenty of unusual wines that are not widely available elsewhere ­ at least a dozen are available by the glass. Richard comments: "The Walpole concentrates on the whole dining experience, from the greeting to the farewell, and offers wines and beers commensurate with the quality of the food."

He adds with true passion: "Enjoying good food and wine should be an adventure, a voyage of discovery, and it is this philosophy that makes the Walpole Arms more than just another pub restaurant."

Culinary experts agree with Richard's sentiments because the quality of cooking at the Walpole has been recognised by the award of a Michelin Bib Gourmand accolade.

Home Counties: The Sportsman

Seasalter, Kent

Brothers Stephen and Philip Harris took a very bold decision more than five years ago, when they took on the Shepherd Neame tenancy of the Sportsman. The pub had seen better days and its location on the outskirts of the Kentish seaside town of Seasalter, surrounded by a salt marsh and a few caravan parks, was hardly the ideal place to build a flourishing food business. But flourish it has, and has received rave reviews in food guides and national newspapers ­ all without a penny spent on advertising.

One of the secrets of the Sportsman's success is that virtually all the produce is sourced locally. Chef Stephen, pictured, takes great pride in pointing to a farm visible from the pub that supplies chickens, eggs, lamb, pork and beef. Another farm a couple of miles away provides all the fresh vegetables. And being on the North Sea coast, there's an abundance of fresh fish.

Stephen pays this tribute to his fish supplier: "He knows every decent fishing boat in Kent and the fishermen will actually phone him on their way back to port to tell him their best catch." Despite the fish on his doorstep, Stephen says: "We don't describe ourselves as a seafoodpub even though we spend up to £5,000 per month on fresh fish ­ that would be a cliché.

"We try to put on three fish and three non-fish main meals every day, but that is not a hard and fast rule. The quality has to be right."

The same goes for the vegetables. The Sportsman only serves locally grown varieties that are in season, even though this has put off some of the trendier set wanting non-indigenous vegetables such as pak choi with their dishes.

About the only thing not sourced locally, apart from the likes of dry goods, olive oil and cheese, are the Barbary ducks, which Stephen gets from France. He could get home-produced Aylesbury or Gressingham ducks, but says the French ducks have "the right meat-to-fat ratio, especially for confit".

On average, the 50-cover pub serves more than 600 meals per week in the high season, but this drops to between 350 and 400 meals during the winter months. Over the past 12 months, the Sportsman's food revenue has risen by an impressive 55%.

Starters are priced, generally, between £5.95 (such as smoked mackerel, horseradish and soda bread) and £7.95 (crab and tomato salad). Main courses vary between £12.95 (braised shoulder of lamb with mint sauce) and £16.95 (turbotfillet braised in Vermouth and sorrel).

West: Victoria Inn

Salcombe, Devon

The seaside resort of Salcombe in Devon is a deceptively difficult place to champion a food-led business, according to Andrew Cannon, chef/licensee at the town's Victoria Inn. Though Salcombe's streets are packed with hungry tourists during the summer, winter proves a hostile environment for local eateries.

Andrew explains: "Many pubs and restaurants close for the winter because the town becomes so quiet. The customers that remain are much more discerning about where they eat, so you have to gi