18.06.03
Cornwall at the Royal Show = fresh food, fresh taste, fresh attitude

Cornwall is taking the message about sourcing food and drink locally all the way to the Royal Show at Stoneleigh, Warwickshire (29 June – 2 July), billed as the world’s premier outdoor agricultural event.

FRESH CORNWALL is the only single-county marquee to feature at this year’s show, and will have the local sourcing message at its heart, thanks to the Objective One funded Cornwall Taste of the West and exhibitors such as new wholesale operation Plough to Plate and Cornish snack manufacturer Ginsters.

“We want to show the UK that local sourcing is a reality in Cornwall,” says Carol Trewin, manager of Cornwall Taste of the West. “Businesses of all sizes are buying into the concept, and the end result is fresh food on the plate and a fresh attitude to getting it there. Having a new enterprise like Plough to Plate at the Royal Show alongside our largest Cornish food manufacturer Ginsters shows the scope of the local sourcing concept and its achievability at all levels of the food chain.”

Plough to Plate was launched in April, and provides a wholesale service exclusively supplying local products to Cornish businesses such as farm shops, restaurants and hotels. It was set up in response to logistical problems which were deterring many customers from sourcing locally, such as having to deal with too many individual suppliers and delivery limitations.

A personal knowledge of each and every one of their producers makes it possible for Plough to Plate to guide and advise customers about product suitability, as well as feeding back comments and requests to producers to help them develop and meet market demands more effectively. With fewer food miles and a smaller distribution area, the service is proving just as cost effective as subscribing to a larger national wholesale service.

At the other end of the spectrum, Callington-based manufacturer Ginsters, which distributes its popular snack ranges nationwide, is just as dedicated to the concept of local sourcing. The company uses only fresh ingredients and buys locally whenever possible. All its potatoes, onions and swedes come from Cornish farms, and the beef used is mainly from Cornish herds. Ginsters is even encouraging Cornish farmers to grow wheat to be used in its flour.

Attendance at the Royal Show is known to be good for business and Cornish enterprises have historically done well, often returning to the county with both new contacts and new contracts. This year, the promotion of the local sourcing message is expected to give Cornish food and drink the edge in an increasingly competitive sector. Among this years Cornish exhibitors in the Fresh Cornwall marquee will be St Austell Brewery, which will be promoting its new Tribute Bitter, already a popular guest beer in many regions of the UK.

Other exhibitors include: Callestick Farm Ice Cream; Duchy College; Cornwall Taste of the West; Crantock Bakery; Flowers from Cornwall; Cornish Cheese Company; A & E Rodda & Son, Riviera Produce; Eden Project and King Harry’s Cornwall.

For further information please contact:

Veronica Newport
npr
Telephone: 01363 866927
Fax: 01363 866093
Mobile: 07808 063053
Email: veronica@npr1.co.uk

Editor's notes:

The Fresh Cornwall marquee will be located at K447, block 51 at the Royal Show.

Cornwall Taste of the West is a £3 million Objective One gateway project, funded by the European Agricultural Guarantee and Guidance Fund (EAGGF), the Department for Food, Environment and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and private matched funding. It is part of the Taste of the West regional food group. Cornwall Taste of the West’s four year project includes a trade development programme and a marketing grant scheme, available to small and medium sized food businesses that produce, sell or process foods in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.

Jason Clark
Communications Manager
Objective One Partnership Office
Castle House
Pydar Street
Truro TR1 2UD
Tel: 01872 241379
Fax: 01872 241388
jason@dclark.co.uk

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