On road to success

Feb 11 2008 by Jane Hall, The Journal

THE Journal Taste North East England Campaign is taking to the road – courtesy of a red London double-decker.

And we want the region’s top chefs, restaurateurs and hoteliers to join us on the iconic Routemaster bus for a Meet the Producer event on March 10 organised in association with Northumberland Tourism and Berwick Slow Food.

The day promises to not only give a better understanding and knowledge of the produce available in Northumberland and the county’s rich culinary history and heritage, but provide great food ideas to present to diners.

Some of Northumberland’s finest producers will be showing their wares and handing out samples on the morning at the Guild Hall in Berwick, before guests step aboard the Routemaster for a foodie trip to Carroll’s Heritage Potatoes at Tiptoe Farm near Cornhill-on-Tweed, Doddington Dairy at Wooler and award-winning Piperfield Pork at Lowick, finishing the day at Chain Bridge Honey Farm at Horncliffe – owner’s of the No 12 bus that worked London’s streets for nearly 50 years until 2004. Award-winning chef Richard Sim will also be on hand to demonstrate some enlightening recipes using quality local produce, including Berwick's own mouth-watering seafood.

While fresh food and local specialities abound in Northumberland, tourist-wise it is not seen as a particularly tasty destination. A recent survey focusing on accommodation and food commissioned by Northumberland Tourism found visitors less than enthusiastic about the county’s cuisine. In response the Made in Northumberland Project, part of Northumberland Tourism, has been set up to increase the range of locally produced goods offered to the visitor and promote England’s border county as a culinary destination.

The aim of the Meet the Producer day is to raise awareness within the hospitality industry of the availability of excellent, locally-sourced produce.

The North East has the lowest number of established artisan food and drink companies of any English region, and is the poorest performing in terms of annual turnover.

Precise figures are hard to come by. But the last report conducted into locally produced food and drink in this region was published in November 2006 by One NorthEast mainly using figures compiled by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in 2003. It estimated the local and regional foods market represented 6% of such sales in England. For the North East that would have been equivalent to £100m based on the 2003 data and prices. But other sources put the actual scale of regional food sales much lower at just £71m or 4%. Which is why The Journal has launched the Taste North East England Campaign to encourage everyone across the region to buy local, use local, eat local in a bid to boost the local economy.

Journal editor Brian Aitken said: “We have to expand people’s knowledge and I hope this event makes a big difference. All of us involved with this share the same aim – to get more local produce on to the local market.”

This event is not open to the public, but if you are a professional involved in the food and drink industry and wish to attend contact Helen Spark, Made in Northumberland project co-ordinator, by email on helen.spark@northumberlandtourism.co.uk

For information on The Journal campaign log on to www.journaltastene.co.uk