Two pubs are celebrating after winning the most highly coveted dining accolades in the region.

The annual Trencherman’s Awards give gourmets the opportunity to champion their favourite chefs, restaurants, hotels, dining pubs and front-of-house teams.

Winners were revealed at a glamorous ceremony at The Alverton in Truro attended by the South West’s leading chefs, restaurateurs and hoteliers, among other influential foodies.

Organisers said to be a finalist was a 'huge accolade' and to be a winner was a 'career-defining moment'.

Local winners were the Three Horseshoes Pub & Kitchen, Burton Bradstock in the Best Newcomer category - Tom's Lyme Regis was also a finalist in this category - and The Fox Inn at Corscombe which won Best Trencherman’s Pub. The Acorn Inn at Evershot was also in the running for best pub.

The Acorn and Tom's Lyme Regis were also finalists in the Best Front of House Team category.

Jaap and Hannah Schep of The Three Horseshoes said they were 'over the moon' to win.

The couple, who have three children, have been at the pub for seven years.

Creating a pub where they themselves would be happy to spend their free time - the couple say they are proud to work with many local suppliers and offer menus which reflect the local area and change regularly to ensure the seasonality of the produce.

Owner and head chef Jaap, who worked with Rick Stein on the opening of his Rick Stein Winchester restaurant, puts his own award-winning twist into the recipe, keeping things simple to allow the quality of the produce to shine through.

Hannah said: "We are over the moon at winning Best Newcomer at the 2022 Trencherman’s Awards. "It’s a huge deal for our small village pub and we’re incredibly proud of our fantastic team; we couldn’t do it without them."

The Fox Inn was taken over by chef, restaurateur and food writer Mark Hix in December 2020. The country pub is open six days a week for drinks and all-day dining. The menu is locally sourced seasonal produce with a focus on meat and game, but also serving fresh fish and a separate vegetarian and vegan menu.

The two luxury annexes offer B&B, and there's a private dining room where you can dine surrounded by Mark’s personal collection of cookbooks.

Mark, who grew up in West Bay, said: "I’m delighted to receive this award for the pub and all the team. Opening a pub in the middle of a pandemic was certainly challenging but I have a dedicated and loyal team who have risen to the challenge and never faltered. (Pub manager) Spiros Koutsouris has led the team through a very difficult time and to achieve the Best Pub award in the first year of opening is quite an accolade."

Mark Hix narrowly missed out on winning Award for Special Contribution for The Oyster & Fish House at Lyme Regis.

Trencherman's Guide editor Jo Rees, who hosted the ceremony, said: "Each year the awards receive an astonishing level of engagement as tens of thousands of votes are cast by readers of the guide. The competition is tough because Trencherman’s member restaurants represent the best in the business. To be a finalist is a huge accolade; to be a winner a career-defining moment.

"The “real-life” event marked a moment of getting back to normality and it was incredible to have the movers and shakers of the south west’s hospitality sector in a room together once more, celebrating and supporting each other."