Winners
Local Food Hero 2006 Winners!
Last November saw Mike Thurlow of Letheringsett Mill become UKTV Food's first ever Local Food Hero. Judges Gary Rhodes, Ollie Rowe, Rosemary Shrager, and a public online vote, singled out this East Anglian miller from ten regional finalists to win £40,000 for his business.
Mike impressed everyone with his delicious organic baked goods and his personal drive to restore his mill. One of only 27 remaining water flour millers in the UK, Mike is not only helping to keep a lost art alive but is also championing the use of organic spelt flour - one of the oldest grains, first used by the Romans.
"Our campaign was very simple" says Mike, "we made a load of stickers that we stuck on our bags of flour - if customers were pleased with our product we asked them to go online and vote for us. Simple as that!
"Winning the regional finals would've been enough, but going onto win the nationals was just amazing. Business-wise, orders have gone mad and I've been able to take on a new member of staff, on top of buying a new truck.
"There's never been any money to advertise, but since getting through the first heat we've been in the regional and national papers, on the BBC's Great British Menu, and I've even been invited to meet Prince Charles at a farm shop I supply.
"With the prize money we've ordered two mill stones from Holland, which cost something close to £15,000. We've done a lot of desperately needed repair work, bought a top of the range computer for the office, and we're also planning to have an education area in the mill. As you can tell there's no limit to what this can do! It's quite magic, it really is."
Mike was up against nine other regional winners, each with their own particular skills and strengths...
"Our campaign was very simple" says Mike, "we made a load of stickers that we stuck on our bags of flour - if customers were pleased with our product we asked them to go online and vote for us. Simple as that!
"Winning the regional finals would've been enough, but going onto win the nationals was just amazing. Business-wise, orders have gone mad and I've been able to take on a new member of staff, on top of buying a new truck.
"There's never been any money to advertise, but since getting through the first heat we've been in the regional and national papers, on the BBC's Great British Menu, and I've even been invited to meet Prince Charles at a farm shop I supply.
"With the prize money we've ordered two mill stones from Holland, which cost something close to £15,000. We've done a lot of desperately needed repair work, bought a top of the range computer for the office, and we're also planning to have an education area in the mill. As you can tell there's no limit to what this can do! It's quite magic, it really is."
Mike was up against nine other regional winners, each with their own particular skills and strengths...
