BUSINESSES on Exmoor have been reaping New Year benefits as a result of extra trade created by the area's first-ever food festival.

The ten-day festival was held in October to help the moor's food producers raise their profile and recover from the threat of economic disaster following the foot and mouth epidemic.

The Exmoor Food Festival 2002 proved so successful that many businesses are now enjoying increased trade and new outlets for their produce.

Some village shops have again started sourcing food products locally as a result of the festival, and at least one hotel which took part is including 'Exmoor dishes' on its menu every day.

Butchers and farmers involved in a challenge to find the best Exmoor sausage-maker have also reported a boost in business.

The festival, which created opportunities for businesses and communities within Greater Exmoor to develop activities and events to increase trade at the end of the holiday season, involved 108 events and 92 local businesses on both sides of the Somerset and Devon border.

Activities included a cream tea trail, farm walks, screening of the film Chocolat accompanied by Exmoor chocolates, cookery demonstrations, and Exmoor menus at many restaurants.

Despite little time in which to organise the activities, and some atrocious weather, the festival was a huge success and attracted more than 1,000 visitors to a meet-the-producers fair held in Porlock on the final day.

More than 70 per cent of people who responded to a questionnaire used to evaluate the festival were from outside the West Somerset and Exmoor areas.

Ninety per cent of thosewho responded rated the events they attended as 'excellent', with the remaining ten per cent giving a rating of 'good'. Many said they would return and would recommend it to their friends.

Businesses which took part were also asked to complete evaluation forms and on average gave the festival a score of 8.4 out of ten.

They said it made them feel part of 'the bigger picture', encouraging them to try new events and to bring in more people with the support of the festival.

Restaurant owner Andrew Dixon, of Andrews on the Weir, in Porlock Weir, said: "The phone never stopped ringing - we were full for both events.

"We opened the eyes of a lot of people who did not know the extent of Exmoor's potential. I hope it becomes an annual event. We need to spread the word about Exmoor as a whole."

Festival co-ordinator Denise Sage, of Porlock Tourism Association, said: "Despite the short notice, local businesses were overall very enthusiastic and got involved. Without their enthusiasm, the festival would not have been possible.

"As always, there are lessons to be learned about how to run such an event better and how to increase its effectiveness, and hopefully these have been drawn out by the evaluation process and can be applied to future work."

A Cream and Steam day, when West Somerset Railway passengers were served an Exmoor cream tea on their journey, was fully-booked and tickets could have sold twice over.

Pupils from St Dubricius First School, in Porlock, visited Styles ice cream farm, in Rodhuish, as part of the company's open day and sampled ice cream made from sheep's milk.

The festival was managed by West Somerset District Council rural regeneration officer Jane Gilbert together with Denise and Exmoor National Park Authority tourism officer Nathalie Roots.

It was jointly funded by West Somerset District Council, Somerset County Council, South West RDA, Exmoor National Park Authority and Communities First in Rural Somerset.

Jane said: "We far exceeded the targets set by the SW RDA for the money they gave to fund the festival, as well as our own expectations and those of the businesses involved.

"The partnership between the district council and national park authority worked well and Denise as project co-ordinator was excellent.

"This teamwork and the enthusiasm of the businesses involved was what made the festival a success."