A Somerset farm shop has won the "Rural Oscars" for the best local food in Great Britain.

Tish and Andy Jeffery of Farrington Gurney's Farm Shop had praise heaped upon them in the Countryside Alliance Awards for 2010 in the House of Lords last week.

Tish said: "We are all delighted by the win, which not only endorses our commitment to encouraging and promoting genuine locally-produced food, but also recognises the achievement of all our team at Farrington's who provide unrivalled customer service and make the shop so popular with our fantastic customers."

And the award wouldn't have happened without those customers – it was their nominations that put the team, including catering and business managers Pat Brook and Paul Castle, on the path to winning the regional final – the precursor to the nationals.

They beat off 11 national finalists, wowing judges with their busy farm shop, own bakery and cow-themed cafe with outdoor "cow pat-io".

The regional judge said: "There is huge enjoyment and humour here, and great efforts are made to connect customers with what they are buying, supporting local producers as they do so.

"Food demonstrations, cookery classes, tastings and a loyalty card scheme all involve the customer, and a commitment to animal welfare is also evident."

The shop even gets 500 ex-battery hens a month, courtesy of the Battery Hen Welfare Trust, given to local people for a happy retirement.