1 . A taste of what’s to come

Welcome to the third British Food Fortnight e-newsletter keeping you informed in the build-up to this year’s national celebration of Britain’s diverse and delicious food.

With export markets temporarily closed to Britain’s livestock farmers it is now more important than ever that we all buy British. If you run a shop: increase your stock of British meat products, give it a prominent position on your shelves and highlight it’s Britishness on your point-of-sale material. If you have a pub or restaurant: highlight provenance on your menus and consider a special ‘British meat’ menu in support of British farmers. And if you are a consumer: make a conscious effort when you are shopping or eating out to seek British meat on shop-shelves and menus.

Details of activities around the country, recipes and advice on eating British are available on www.britishfoodfortnight.co.uk

2. Cows the key to retail success!

Cows are a regular feature of many retail promotions during the Fortnight. A pantomime cow helped increase sales by £900 a week in a Londis store in Middlesex and Madge the pedigree Guernsey cow’s star-turn at a Newmarket farm shop lifted sales by 30%+. Suffolk’s La Hogue farm shop is going one better this year by inviting a pedigree herd of Hereford cattle to join 30 local producers who will be giving tastings on the opening weekend of the Fortnight.

Remember, sales of products highlighted by special promotions and offered for tastings have increased 50% during the Fortnight so be imaginative and see your sales grow!

Assurance Schemes: Many British foods are part of assurance schemes or carry quality marks that specify the standards to which they are produced. Sourcing these products and displaying their quality marks is a powerful way of showing your customers that you are selling quality produce that is fully traceable to the producer.

3. Retailers and chefs join forces to teach children to cook

Retailers and chefs are joining forces as part of the Fortnight’s initiative to teach children about the delights of British food. 60 Budgens’ stores are linking up with local schools and chefs for an ‘Art on an Apron’ activity using local produce. Stores are supplying locally-sourced ingredients for chefs to give cooking demonstrations and schools will be given 100 aprons so all pupils can take part and have fun decorating their own aprons using potato prints etc.

50 ARAMARK chefs will be giving cooking lessons in their local schools. Many will be involving their clients, who are some of the UK’s biggest organisations, in the process: Nationwide, J P Morgan Chase, Dell, Boots, Barclays and Nissan are all taking part by offering the use of their catering facilities or even giving children the chance to produce food for the employee’s menu!

If you would like to take part what about offering your services to the school that your or your friends’ children attend?

And remember to put the British Food Fortnight logo on your menu. Email us to request a copy: info@britishfoodfortnight.co.uk

4. Schools timetable British Food Fortnight into the curriculum

Schools are already making plans for British Food Fortnight’s ‘Cook for Life’ Challenge, sponsored by Kenwood, to find the schools that incorporate cookery using British produce within their curriculum in imaginative and innovative ways. A few of our favourites so far:

Gibbs Green Primary School in London is organising a ‘Food Olympics’ combining exercise with food education: pumpkin weightlifting, apple bobbing, mystery vegetable boxes, potato sack race, food trivia quiz and cookery sessions for children with their parents.

Year 11 students at Higher Tregenna Secondary School in Cornwall will be working with the Head Chef from the local hotel to produce a meal for themselves and staff using local produce.

Children at Manor Park First School in Dorchester will visit allotments and farms and pick their own fruit and vegetables culminating in a ‘Fruity Friday’ where pupils will come to school dressed in the colour of their favourite fruit for a day of cooking lessons.

And the prize for the most enormous amount of activity planned so far goes to Machynlleth Primary School in Powys. They are holding a farmers market in the school, a ‘Make a Smoothie’ competition, ‘If Jamie Oliver can do it, we can do it better!’ where the children will cook the school dinner with help from a local chef using fresh produce, a visit to a local farm, talks from a local butcher and fishmonger, a parents and children cooking activity and a special Harvest Festival thanksgiving service for the local community.

5. Food of the Month – Potatoes

Did you know..? 350 varieties of potato are grown in Britain with around 50 grown on a commercial scale. Each have their own unique taste, texture and flavour.

Potatoes do not all taste the same. Romano has a mild and nutty flavour, Wilja is sweet and King Edward is famously floury. The best thing about potatoes is the vast array of flavours. Whether you prefer soft and floury, waxy, earthy, moist or dry you’ll find a potato to suit.

Local...
Potatoes are a local food item with great regional provenance. Wherever you live, local farmers are doing their bit to put British potatoes on the culinary map. Farmers nurture the potatoes throughout the spring so that we can get them on our plates in time for the start of the British Summer. British new season potatoes are amazingly fresh with many getting to store the day after they are harvested – you can’t get much fresher than that!

Healthy...

Potatoes are not only delicious. They’re healthy and nutritious too. What’s more, they’re the perfect solution for a quick and convenient meal. It’s no wonder then that the humble potato has turned into a ‘super spud’.

There are many misconceptions about potatoes; they’re often thought of as being unhealthy and take too long to cook so people choose pasta and rice instead. Nothing could be further from the truth, as the British Potato Council is challenging the nation – and mums in particular – to find out.

Potatoes are the largest single source of vitamin C in the UK diet. Rice has twice as many calories and pasta has six times more fat than potatoes. Potatoes also contain potassium, magnesium, zinc and copper – minerals essential for life. There is more iron in a serving of new potatoes than in a portion of steamed spinach or a pint of Guinness!

Convenient...

New or small potatoes can also be cooked in just 15 minutes.
Microwave new potatoes in 7 or 8 minutes.
Boil or steam them in 15-20 minutes
Many oven chips contain less than 5% fat, can be cooked in around 15 minutes and are a great source of vitamin C.

Pasta and rice are, in fact, no match for the mighty potato!

We would like to thank the following organisations that have, in addition to our main sponsors, kindly contributed funding towards the costs of the event:

3663, Brakes, Compass Group, Country Markets, Food from Britain, Guild of Q Butchers, Mitchells & Butlers, National Farmers’ Union, National Trust, Punch Taverns, Sodexho, Tenant Farmers Association and VisitBritain.