THE family-owned Tebay motorway services followed in Prince Charles's footsteps to scoop the Grand Prix of Gastronomy.

The prize is awarded annually by the British Academy of Gastronomes to those who have done the most in the past 12 months to improve further the quality of food in the UK.

The award has previously been won by the Roux brothers for dramatically increasing British restaurant standards, as well as the heir to the throne for reviving interest in British mutton.

Sarah Dunning, chief executive of Westmorland Co. Ltd., owners of Tebay service station, was presented with the award - a large sculpted glass trophy - by Egon Ronay, who founded the British Academy of Gastronomes in 1983.

Ronay has long been a fan of Tebay services, officially declaring them the best in England in 2000.

“I first visited them for the first survey of motorway service areas, at least 25 years ago," said Mr Ronay.

"I remember I was struck right away by the quality of everything I had. Nothing was mass produced."

In 2003, the Dunning family unveiled a new concept on a British motorway with the opening of Westmorland Farm Shops at both the north and southbound service area.

A year later the shops won BBC Radio 4's food and farming Best Local Retailer award.

It was in the 1960s that developers for the M6 approached John and Barbara Dunning, who farm at High Chapel Farm at Tebay, with a view to building the motorway through their land.

Instead of opposing the plans, the Dunnings worked with developers to minimise the impact.

They also kept some land on either side of the M6, eventually opening a small service area.

Westmorland Limited was formed in 1972 when the Dunnings and the Birketts, who were ba-kers at Penrith, joined forces.

Tebay Services is still Britain's only locally owned and run motorway services.

The company is now owned and run by the second generation of Dunnings and has become a multi-sited operation employing more than 500 people across six distinct businesses, including the award-winning Rheged visitor centre at Penrith which opened in 2000.

Next month Westmor-land will be submitting a planning application to open a new motorway service area between junctions 11a and 12 of the M5 in Gloucestershire.

The project is in conjunction with a local Gloucestershire charity with a view to creating 300 jobs.