CATERER EATS OUT
Food & Drink articlesLocal produce(26 April 2005 00:00)A series of major food crises in recent years – including BSE, E-coli and foot and mouth – has encouraged chefs, restaurateurs and caterers to seek out local food producers and suppliers, in an attempt to gain greater control over the food they purchase. Buying locally, however, is not always an easy option for food operators as the large wholesale suppliers try to entice business by offering cheap products in ready useable portions. But, chefs are increasingly eschewing these offers in preference for real and more appealing foodstuffs available on their doorstep. Benefits of buying locally Article continues below
• Seasonal – if a chef buys ingredients that are grown locally then it is going to be seasonal and therefore bought when the items are at their cheapest and in peak condition. A restaurant has the opportunity to promote seasonal, locally grown asparagus or raspberries and feature special dishes that are enticing to customers. • Traceable – it is much easier to trace any problems with an ingredient or product directly back to its source if it has been purchased locally, without going through a ‘middle-man’. • Environmentally friendly – ingredients and products that are bought within a 20-kilometre radius of a restaurant, pub or catering company avoid running up extensive food miles, resulting in excessive fuel consumption and widespread pollution. A report published in the journal Food Policy states that if all foods were sourced within a 20-kilometres of where they were consumed, environmental and congestion costs would fall from £2.3b to under £230m annually. • Economically friendly – supporting the local economy has a knock-on advantageous effect on your restaurant or hotel. • Interesting, tasty products – locally produced goods are more likely to be made by artisans who put a greater emphasis on producing food with flavour as opposed to large manufacturers who are generally driven by profit. • Great marketing tool – chefs who are proud of buying locally will emphasize the fact on their menus and use it to promote the restaurant in any public relations opportunity. Items like Goosenargh duck, Ryedale lamb, Cromer crab and Ticklemore cheese are all enticing to customers. Where to find local food Whilst every restaurant and, hotel and catering operation throughout the UK – including those found in large town and cities - is surrounded by local growers, food producers and suppliers, it is often very difficult to find them. Links Here is a list of useful websites that will point chefs, restaurateurs and caterers in the direction of local food producers, farmers’ markets, pick-your-own-farms, and food fairs and festivals. Local Food Works Soil Association Certification Farm Shopping Food First Big Barn Food From Britain Henrietta Green’s Food Lovers’ Britain Regional food groups There are a number of regional food groups which provide a good starting point in the search for local food: East Midlands Fine Food (Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, Northamptonshire and Rutland) http://www.foodanddrinkforum.co.uk Heart of England Fine Foods (Herefordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, West Midlands and Worcestershire) North West Fine Foods (Cheshire, Cumbria, Great Manchester, Lancashire and Merseyside) Northumbria Larder South East Food Group Partnership (Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Oxfordshire, Surrey, Sussex) Taste of the West (Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Somerset & Wiltshire) Taste of Anglia (Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Norfolk and Suffolk) The Regional Food Group for Yorkshire and Humber Scottish Enterprise Welsh Development Agency
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