Ludlow delicatessen reaches final of competition
A delicatessen in Ludlow has reached the final of a fine food competition, beating 500 others.
The Broad Bean Delicatessen, in Broad Street, was taken over by new owner Ian Evans about two years ago, and the shop has now reached the final 13 in the delicatessen category in a competition run by the Guild of Fine Food.
The 38-year-old from Ludlow, who runs the delicatessen with his wife Alice, said they were shocked to reach the final 13.
He said: "There were 500 in the original category which have been shortlisted down to 13.
"We've had a mystery shop undertaken to asses customer service and that sort of thing and in about a week we are having one of the judges visit us to discuss more in-depth about the business.
"It's all a bit scary, we were very shocked as we've only owned the shop for two years.
"The Broad Bean has been in Broad Street for about 40 years and run by different people.
"The winner gets marketing and promotional advice and help. I'm still pinching myself that we were shortlisted.
"The shop needed a lot of TLC when we bought it and I'd say it's still only 50 per cent to where we want it to be.
"A lot of the entrants are bigger delicatessens in London, the runner-up last year was a London-based one."