Fair trading
Food festivals have become a lifeline for hotels and restaurants up and down the country. It's because visitors to these events book their rooms a year in advance and want to sample local cuisine when they arrive. Janet Harmer reports on a booming business.
Food festivals have been growing in size and numbers in recent years. But this year they have taken on greater significance following the devastating impact on the tourism industry during 2001 of the foot-and-mouth outbreak and the terrorist atrocities of 11 September.
Not only do these festivals provide a useful marketing tool through which restaurateurs and suppliers can showcase their businesses to local and visiting customers, but hotels in particular gain from the increase in the number of visitors to the area. The Ludlow Marches Food & Drink Festival, for example, attracts about 15,000 visitors, and many of the Shropshire town's bed and breakfasts are booked more than a year in advance for the event - not bad for a small country town of only 10,000 inhabitants.
Visitors from afar
A survey carried out by the Heart of England Tourist Board at five food and drink fairs last year showed that almost one-third of visitors travelled more than 50 miles to reach the events. And 72% of respondents said they were at the location specifically for the festival or fair.
The importance of food festivals in boosting business has been noted by the Government, and these events benefit from a slice of the £1.65m foot-and-mouth recovery fund from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs via Food From Britain.
The increased interest consumers are taking in the provenance of their food - heightened by the plethora of recent food scares - has undoubtedly encouraged the number of food festivals that now operate up and down the country to mushroom. While some may take the form of a static event in one location or involve a host of activities within a region, they all provide the ideal opportunity for restaurants to seek out local speciality products that customers increasingly want to find on menus.
Helen Carpenter used to be a supplier of speciality sausage and charcuterie products but now runs the eight-bedroom Westgate hotel in Winchester, Hampshire. She can see the benefits of food festivals for suppliers and caterers alike and will be taking part in the forthcoming Hampshire Food Festival, now in its third year, which will run from 26 May to 2 June.
"Having been a producer myself, I will fully support any initiative that promotes the products of speciality suppliers," she says. "Events such as the festival and farmers' markets are a real lifeline for small businesses."
Throughout the festival, restaurants in the county are being encouraged to offer menus featuring local produce, such as trout from the River Test and Hampshire watercress.
Other highlights of the show include the largest farmers' market in the country, a beer and sausage extravaganza, cookery demonstrations and a gourmet foodcourt in Winchester Guildhall.
For the third year running, the Westgate hotel will be taking part in the gourmet foodcourt, at which visitors will have the opportunity to sample signature dishes from various Hampshire restaurants.
Extensive publicity "We handed out vouchers offering a free glass of wine to visitors who tried our food, and that later brought a lot of people to the hotel," Carpenter says. "We also benefited from the extensive publicity for the festival on local radio and in the local press."
The positive impact events such as food festivals can have upon tourism is recognised in a new initiative being formulated by Scottish Enterprise, the economic development agency. Following a Scottish Enterprise-financed research project, carried out by the Moffat Centre for Travel & Tourism Business Development at Glasgow Caledonian University, plans are being drawn up to increase links between local foods and tourism throughout Scotland.
"There are already a lot of good food operators out there, and we want to ensure that visitors will benefit from what they have to offer," says John Brinkins, the Scottish Enterprise executive in charge of the scheme. Through national co-ordination, the project could promote food festivals, farmers' markets, food forums and food awards.
William Cameron, director of the Loch Ness Coffee Company and director of the Highland Food & Drink Festival, fully endorses every aspect of the Scottish Enterprise initiative.
"We have created an event that aims to put heads on beds," he says. "As well as offering tourists stunning scenery, we also want to be able to show them that some of the best-quality food and drink in Scotland can be found here in the Highlands."
Last year's Highland Food & Drink Festival included a number of core events at historic locations, such as a whisky tasting and ceilidh buffet at Urquhart Castle, and dinner and fireworks at Fort George. In addition, about 40 other satellite events took place at various restaurants and hotels throughout the region. As well as organising some of the main events, Nichol Manson, vice-chairman of the festival, ran a Seafood and Eat It promotion in the 65-seat Nico's Bistro & Wine Bar at his Glen Mhor hotel in Inverness.
During the promotion a grand seafood platter, which normally costs £29.50, was offered for £27.50, with a dessert included in the price.
"A lot of people who would not normally come to the restaurant visited us during the festival," Manson says. "We probably served an additional 25 covers over three days.
"The festival was a huge success at attracting local people. This year we need to address seriously the marketing of the event beyond the Highlands."
For Cameron, one of the main benefits of the festival has been the bringing together of local businesses. "The camaraderie and co-operation created has been tremendous," he says. "It has made many of us realise that the restaurant next door is really an ally, not a competitor - the competition is in Edinburgh and Glasgow."
Food lovers' Mecca One of the first food festivals to be launched, eight years ago - and now one of the most successful in the UK - is at Ludlow, where the existence of three Michelin-starred chefs in the town has, no doubt, helped create the aura that it is a Mecca for the dedicated foodie.
As well as organising fun activities - such as the annual sausage trail through the town - the Ludlow Marches Food & Drink Festival aims to provide events to get visitors thinking. Items on previous years' programmes have included seminars on the importance of retaining local abattoirs, and this year there will be a discussion on the social responsibilities of large supermarkets.
"Ludlow is more than just food stalls; we also like to offer some depth," says festival co-ordinator Anne Pratt. More depth means more visitors, which will be good news for Ludlow hospitality businesses when the festival runs this year from 13 to 15 September.
Forthcoming food festivals
24-25 May
East Midlands Food and Drink Fayre
Bolsover Castle, Derbyshire (near Junction 29 on the M1)
Contact: Suzie Matthews 01949 876633 or Kay Pope 01629 585500
www.eat-the-view.org.uk/eastmidlands
26 May to 2 June
Hampshire Food Festival
Various locations
Contact: Tim Brick 01962 845999
www.hampshirefare.co.uk
8-9 June
North West Food Lovers' Festival
Westmorland County Showground, Crooklands, Cumbria (at Junction 36 on the M6)
Contact: Jennifer Lambert 01695 554918
29-30 June
Bentley Food Fair
Bentley, East Sussex
Contact: Jane Stevens 01825 840870
26-27 July
Worcestershire Food & Drink Festival
Worcester Cathedral
Contact: Jo Amos 01905 457095
13-15 September
Ludlow Marches Food & Drink Festival
Ludlow Castle, Shropshire
Contact: Anne Pratt 01746 712105
www.foodfestival.co.uk
13-22 September
York Festival of Food & Drink
York city centre
Contact: 01904 554425/6
www.yorkfestivaloffoodanddrink.com
21-22 September
Abergavenny Food Festival
Market Hall, Abergavenny, Gwent
Contact: Michele Lowe 01873 851643
www.abergavennyfoodfestival.co.uk
3-6 October Highland Food & Drink Festival
Various locations
Contact: William Cameron 01456 450575
www.highlandfeast.co.uk
5-6 October
Eastnor Castle Food & Drink Festival
Eastnor Castle, Ledbury, Herefordshire
Contact: Lynn Wood 01746 785185
