UKTV serves up another 'Local Food Heroes'

Following the success of UKTV Food’s Local Food Hero 2006, UKTV Food is re-launching its interactive multi-platform campaign to find Britain’s favourite local food business for 2007.

Re-ordered by UKTV Food’s channel head, Paul Moreton, and UKTV’s acting head of commissioning, Diana Howie, UKTV Food’s Local Hero 2007 will ask the British public to log on to nominate, vote and review their favourite restaurant, farm shop, deli, grocer, butcher worthy of winning the Local Food Hero 2007 title and the £40,000 prize. Last year's winner was East Anglian miller Mike Thurlow.

Moreton said: "The public’s response to last year’s campaign was phenomenal, both online at the voting stage and when the series premiered on the channel, and it’s been hugely satisfying to see that our viewers are so keen to interact with us in a non-linear way. The unprecedented response proves we successfully tapped into a highly motivated community passionate about local food."

All the user-generated-content captured at www.uktvfood.co.uk will further enhance the channel’s online food directory established last year, which already includes over 4,000 suppliers.

This will inform Denham Productions’ 11-part TV series, Gary Rhodes’ Local Food Heroes 2007, which will premiere on UKTV Food in November. It will see him travel round Britain, visiting every region featured throughout the series.

Twenty suppliers will be selected from each of the 10 regions, to be announced on June 6. Gary Rhodes and a panel will then select five for each regional show, as well as 10 additional ‘wildcard’ spots – one for each region – which will be announced once voting closes on August 20 2007. Viewers will also have the opportunity to vote one hero from each regional show through to the Grand Final.