Great British Food and Drink

Food and drink might be the staff of life, but great food and drink is to be enjoyed and savoured. Fortunately the last decade has seen an increase in the profile of quality food and cooking with an associated rise in the number and frequency of excellent food and cookery programmes on television as well as the arrival of celebrity status for renowned chefs.

The coming exceptional, dynamic and interactive website which will replace this small interim internet presence aims to provide a leading resource for the lovers of quality food. There will be sections on Food Producers, Farm Shops, Farmers’ Markets, Food Retailers and Eating Out Establishments.

One of the trends has been the development of quality assurance with the arrival of a variety of organisations such as Regional Food and Drink Groups such as the Northumbria Larder and Deliciouslyyorkshire. In addition there is FARMA, the National Farmers’ Retail & Markets Association, that oversees certified farmers’ markets.

Another body is the Guild of Fine Food, a UK trade association for food producers and retailers of high quality local, regional and speciality food and drink. One of their slogans is “promoting excellence in speciality food” and it is good that organisations such as these exist to help enhance standards and assist the consumer in their desire for the best quality food. They have over 1,300 members that include a variety of quality food related businesses such as include farm shops, fine food establishments, delicatessens, speciality food producers and importers and distributors of worldwide gourmet foods. One of their greatest achievements are the renowned annual World Cheese Awards and the highly competitive Great Taste Awards which provide an accreditation of the highest standards.

The celebrity chefs have done much to increase awareness and drive standards higher, but it is perhaps Rick Stein whose quest for Food Heroes across the length and breadth of Britain that has brought about a greater perspective and understanding with the hued consumer market of the British public. He painstakingly searched out his own personal selection of the very best of British produce and to produce a directory of his personal choices categorised into food groups and regions across Britain and Ireland. Obviously it is not a complete list of all the quality food producers in Britain, but it did change the mindset of vast numbers of people in how they considered and evaluated the quality of the food they would eat in future.

There are great environmental and moral pressures that are increasingly being considered by consumers. Global Warming and its resultant global Climate Change is perhaps the most significant of these, so butting locally produced fresh food is seen by increasing numbers as reducing food transport miles and reducing pollution which causes such potential environmental problems.

Other considerations are organic farming with its obvious reduction in the use of chemicals that can harm wildlife and pollute water supplies… and the welfare of animals that are bred for our consumption.

Consumer awareness and the demands of the consumer impact directly on the attitudes and approaches of the independent food and drink producers as well as food retailers, even including supermarkets. There has been a desire to work within the regional supply chain and to help the local employment and economy situations by assisting rural communities to become more sustainable.

Please do come back and visit our full new website in May as it should provide a wealth of useful information and opportunities.