'The Deli' in Launceston awarded

The Deli in Launceston get their healthy food message out – and win gold

Shelley Alexander of The Deli in Church Street, Launceston is using Facebook and text messaging to let her customers know about daily healthy options – and about the prestigious Gold Level CHEFS Award The Deli has achieved in recognition of its commitment to offering healthy menu options using locally sourced food.

The Award means that The Deli will be able to display the distinctive blue CHEFS logo which tells customers that it has adopted and maintains a high degree of food safety and standards, as well as offering healthier options on its menus.

Shelley says: “On behalf of all of us at The Deli we would like to show our appreciation to Cornwall Council for recognising the importance of a healthy diet. We feel very proud that we have received this prestigious award that recognises just how much care we give to producing fresh food from scratch the healthy way. It will also give our customers, old and new, confidence in our products and ethos of using fresh and local produce where possible.  We offer a daily ‘specials’  text service for our customers, we also have a Facebook page (The Deli Launceston)  for all you social networkers -  click ‘like’ to receive daily special updates.

We are continually looking for local producers, so if anyone thinks we could use or stock their product, get in touch.”

Launched in October 2005, the Cornwall Healthier Eating and Food Safety (CHEFS) Award was created by Cornwall Council’s Public Health and Protection Service working in partnership with the Eatsome Programme, part of the NHS Health Promotion Service and the change 4 life initiative.

Cornwall Council Commercial Food and Safety Officer, John Dickinson said: “This is the most prestigious award we give and reflects extremely high standards in both food hygiene and standards, combined with offering a wide range of healthier food choices to the customer. The staff at The Deli have worked tremendously hard to ensure it met all the criteria, and should be very proud of this achievement.” 

Customers will have a guarantee that a percentage of the items on the menu are sourced locally. However, businesses are not expected to ensure that every dish served or item sold meets all the criteria - it’s about choice.

Cornwall Council’s Portfolio Holder for Community Health and Protection, Lance Kennedy, said: “This is a prestigious award and the staff at The Deli are to be heartily congratulated. The CHEFS award scheme encourages businesses to promote local produce and that can only be good for the local community as a whole.”

The award has three levels: the prestigious gold award, silver and bronze. There are criteria at each level which have to be met.

If a business is successful in gaining an award they will get a certificate and a window sticker for display. They will also be added to a list of current award winners.

Most food businesses in Cornwall can apply. If you would like to nominate a business for the award or you run a business yourself and would like to find out more, email envhealthandlicensing@cornwall.gov.uk or telephone 0300 1234 212 and ask to speak to an officer in the food safety team.

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