Taste of the West has announced that entries for the prestigious Product Awards and Hospitality and Retail Awards are now open for 2014.

Following the success of this year's awards, the 2014 awards are taking place earlier than ever before, with the Product Awards judging set for early April, allowing winners a longer period of time to maximise the benefits of receiving the accolades.

Commenting on behalf of Taste of the West, which is dedicated to promoting food and drink across the south west, chief executive John Sheaves said: “We were thrilled with the triumph of the 2013 awards and highly impressed by the exceptionally high standard of entries from the six counties, including Wiltshire.

“We saw a large number of categories receiving their greatest number of entries in the history of the awards and anticipate that this will continue to grow.”

This year's awards saw nearly 1,100 products entered, with 173 awarded the Gold accolade, 227 a Silver award and 225 products a Bronze.

Entries must be received by Friday, February 28, and for more details on all the awards visit Taste of the West’s website: www.tasteofthewest.co.uk or call Taste of the West on 01404 822012.