A RENOWNED Worcestershire restaurant has been dubbed one of the best places to have Sunday lunch in the whole of the country.

Annie Clift, who runs the Talbot, at Knightwick, with her sister Wiz and mother Jean, was busy in the kitchen when a friend pointed out the entry in the Observer Magazine's list of Top Five Country Pubs for Sunday lunch.

The hotel, which has built a reputation for excellent food made from locally-grown and reared produce, is no stranger to awards.

But Miss Clift said the business would certainly not be resting on its laurels following the accolade, which recommended customers try the lamb stew with lovage - a herb tasting of aniseed and which is grown in The Talbot's own herb garden.

"It's marvellous to get recognition like this but our standards don't slip because we've won an award," said Miss Clift.

The family has run the business for 20 years and her sister Wiz recently presented the Radio 4 programme Eat Your Garden.

As well as its herb patch, the Talbot has its own vegetable garden and even its own small flock of Soay sheep.

It also had half-a-dozen Marron chickens, which were mentioned in the Observer's Summer Eating guide in Observer Food Monthly, but sadly, they were eaten by a fox.

"The fox had them four times - all six of them - so we stopped replacing them," said Miss Clift.