RUMWELL Farm shop and Cafe near Wellington has raised more than £2,000 for the Alzheimer’s Society, and received the prestigious Gold Awards in both the Farm Shop and Café/Tearoom categories.

Somerset chef, Tim Sandy, hung up his apron in favour of climbing peaks as he undertook a climbing challenge for charity.

Tim, who raised an impressive £2,400 climbed Kilimanjaro in June 2024, for Alzheimer’s Society.

He says: “I have witnessed first-hand how cruel this disease is, which is why I chose to raise money for this particular charity. I’ve had a lot of very kind donations and have given more than £2,400 to Alzheimer’s Society. Thank you so much to everyone who has supported me.”

Tim climbed Kilimanjaro via the ‘Lemosho Route’, which included seven days of trekking to the summit, where he had to battle temperatures as low as -21°C. 

Tim, who lives in Watchet, added: “I’m delighted to be able to give this money to Alzheimer’s Society to help them battle this terrible disease and support sufferers.” 

To coincide with the successful fundraising by Tim, the team at Rumwell Farm shop and cafe have once again been awarded two more Golds in the latest round of 2024 Taste of the West Awards (July 2024).

Partner, Anne Mitchell, says: “We’re so pleased to have received these two Golds, which highlight the overall experience our customers receive and the products they can expect when they visit us. Once again, it’s a testament to our team and I would like to thank them all for their hard work and devotion.”

The team left the judges impressed with the Farm shops product range and its focus on Somerset and West Country sourced items.

Sophie Mitchell, Farm Shop Partner, said: “They said our ‘range of regional produce and producers was exceptional, with a wonderful focus on our own home grown and reared produce but also suppliers that are very local to us as well.”

The Farm Shop has already scooped eight 2024 Taste of the West Awards for its homemade products – four category Golds and four Silvers. It won Golds for its Bakery-made fruity teacakes, its Butchery’s dry cured smoked back bacon – featuring its own farm-reared, free-range pork – and its Deli’s chicken and ham pie.

The team also won Gold for its Gluten Free toffee apple crumble tart, baked in their in-house bespoke GF Kitchen and scooped Silvers for its GF milk chocolate teacake, Bakery mince pies, Jam Kitchen pink grapefruit marmalade and Butchery free range pork and apple burger.

Rumwell Farm Shop is no stranger to Taste of the West Awards. In 2023, it picked-up awards for its homemade products including six category Golds.

It was a finalist in the Large Farm Shop of the Year category in the 2023 national Farm Retail Awards too and won nine Taste of the West Golds in 2022 as well as scooping the title of overall Champion Bacon in the 2022 Taste of the West Awards as well.

For more information, call 01823 461599 or visit www.rumwellfarmshop.com.