Holidaymakers who visited the Broads during its 1980s heyday were never likely to remember their stay for the quality of its pubs and restaurants.

And the culinary low point most definitely came in 1998 when a Broads Hire Boat Federation study concluded that the poor standard of many riverside pubs was a significant factor in putting people off from coming.

The gold standard improvements that have taken place since then were celebrated today when tourism leaders and business owners came together at the Norfolk Mead Hotel in Coltishall to celebrate the launch of a new Eating Out in the Broads guide.

The publication, the result of a collaboration between Broads firm Richardson's, Archant and the Broads Authority, showcases eateries assessed by inspectors under a quality charter introduced by the BA in 2002 in a scheme that has since been rolled out nationally.

BA tourism officer Bruce Hanson said: 'In the 2005 guide only eight eateries reached the top gold standard score. Ten years on 28 have achieved this result. This is a remarkable turnaround from the days when food was not such a fundamental element of the visitor experience.

'We can really hold our heads up high now that the Broads is a great place to eat. A recent bench-marking exercise by Quality in Tourism has shown that our scores are comfortably above the national average.'

The Lavender House at Brundall is the only restaurant in England to have scored a perfect 100pc while the Norfolk Mead scored 98pc in its second year of ownership by James Holliday and his wife Anna Duttson.