AN ACCLAIMED rural Ribble Valley restaurant has picked up another national award at a glittering ceremony in Manchester.

La Locanda in Gisburn received the Best Italian of the Year Award at the Food Awards England and Wales 2014 at the event on Monday night at the Piccadilly Hotel.

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The winners at the inaugural event, which is designed to recognise the efforts of England’s restaurants, takeaways, pub food, hotel food, cafes and bistros were voted for by the public.

The Main Street restaurant, which is run by head chef Maurizio Bocchi and his wife Cinzia, was previously voted the best Italian restaurant in the UK two years ago and sources food from across Lancashire, but particularly from rural food producers within a five-mile radius.

Its meat comes from the Gazegill Organic Farm in Rimington, poultry comes from Johnson and Swarbrick in Goosnargh, game is sourced from Ian Scott in West Marton and dairy products come from Frankland Farm in Gisburn.

The restaurant opened in 2003 and has been shortlisted in the Lancashire Tourism Awards 2014 in the Taste Lancashire Award category.

Maurizio, who ran a farm in Italy before moving to Lancashire, said: "We are delighted to have won this award and it's great for everyone here.

"We take great pride in our restaurant and work very hard to make sure that it's the best that it can be.

"The key to our success I would say would be the passion that we put into our work.

"Everyone here wants the restaurant to succeed and want it to serve the best quality Italian food that we can.

"The passion that we share is the driving force behind us moving the business forward and it's great this level of recognition.

"It's a huge achievement and I'm really happy."

Cinzia took to Facebook to take the customers who voted for the restaurant to win the award.

She said: "It was an amazing night. There were lots of emotions when they said 'the winner is..... La Locanda' and I didn't believe..

"There were very hard competitors from London and around England."