THE Best Restaurant or Dining Pub category celebrates those establishments which make the most of the amazing produce the county has to offer.

One of the first nominations for this category came in from the Dunkertons Cider Mill in Pembridge.

The Cider Barn, which is a beautiful 460 year old barn, is set in glorious countryside in the heart of north Herefordshire.

Head chef and owner Sophie Griffiths-Goddard said her vision is shaped by Herefordshire's seasons, communities and colours and she celebrates the produce of the changing seasons in her cooking.

Sophie said: "Pretty much everything we use at The Cider Barn is sourced locally.

"We use the diversity and wide range of local produce as the inspiration for our menus to create imaginative and exciting dishes. The menu changes weekly to feature whatever is in season and plentiful.

"We know all our suppliers personally and they have been chosen with great care and concern for quality.

"Our vegetables come from local small growers, sometimes even a family garden, who provide us with an incredible variety of choice. From papayas grown in greenhouses to globe artichokes and from courgettes to special herbs, our suppliers surpass our expectations."

If they had to choose just one speciality dish it would be the slow cooked shoulder of goat cooked with lemon garlic and coriander seeds.

And they make the most of local brewers and drink suppliers, including Dunkertons Cider, which they share their site with, and suppliers such as Haven Distillery, which makes best-selling gins.

Sophie added: "We believe that all the staff at The Cider Barn are part of creating who we are and what we believe in. We spend a lot of time training our staff and making sure they understand why we do things the way we do.

"We expect them to be involved in our business, perhaps to offer suggestions for better ways of doing things or to think creatively about improving our customer's Cider Barn experience."

How to enter

WITH these awards we are asking each producer/business to nominate themselves.

Don’t be shy - we want to celebrate everything the county has to offer.

To nominate yourself you need to go to the dedicated section of our website: herefordtimes.com/awards/foodanddrink.

There you will find a form for each category.

You need to answer all of the questions with as much detail as you can and please remember to include your contact details.

We will be focusing on different entries over the next few weeks.

You need to be quick with these awards. The deadline for entries is September 26.

An awards ceremony will take place in November.