With so much in the news about food distribution and possible empty shelves in supermarkets across the country Welsh Country looks at food logistics and ways that food producers can put their products in front of us consumers.
This is the first of a series looking at Welsh food and drink from production to our plates specifically in this article considering food festivals.
Over the last two years food festivals have been a rare sight and this autumn we have seen a few return.
But what is the objective of a food festival?
There are a few answers to that, depending very much on where you are coming from:
From a consumer’s point of view:
It gives us the opportunity to, in so many cases, try before we buy. This in turn means we can try foods or flavours that we would not normally try and certainly would not buy in case we did not like it
It gives us the opportunity to meet the producer / the maker of the product. This isn’t a hard sell, but can be so interesting knowing how a product is made, how we can make best use of the product in recipes. You’ll surely be impressed with of course the producer’s knowledge but also their enthusiasm. I’ll never forget learning about Earl Grey Victoria Sponge so delicious
From a trader’s point of view:
It gives the trader a chance to try new products / flavours and see what we the consumer thinks before going into fuller production. A food festival is a brilliant ‘test market’.
It gives the trader a chance to meet us their customers because without us they literally have no business so our feedback is really vital. Consumers will also have questions, where can we get the product after the show? Is it available in my area? Is it available online?
From a wider more generic view:
The local council, local area, regional government all want their area to be a place that is business vibrant and if in the right geographical place a tourism hot spot. Food tourism is a huge market now and it is important that Wales and Welsh producers do not miss out.
The NHS is still at the front of our minds and they have an objective of getting us to eat healthy. Yes I agree the sweet treats we can buy at food festivals are not the healthiest in one way, but bear in mind nothing at a food festival is highly processed, no trans fats, little if any Palm Oil, little if any E numbers.
Education. Where does milk come from? The supermarket! Such myths can be debunked at food festivals, giving school children and at time us parents a realisation about where our food comes from and is made
So what is a food festival?
This can vary from a very small community event that has perhaps a dozen food and drink traders alongside local competitions events performances. The traders are very likely to be micro home cooking ventures, although these businesses still have to be registered with the local council’s Environmental Health officers. This can be the start for so many Food and Drink businesses to cut their teeth, remember Marks & Spencer and Tesco started as a market stall.
The other extreme is a food festival such as Abergavenny held on 18th – 19th September 2021. Firstly congratulations to the organisers for actually getting the festival put together this year which cannot have been without many challenges.
This sort of food festival is for real foodies with trade stands coming from across the UK with around just 50% of the stands being Welsh. It does though give Abergavenny town and the county of Monmouthshire a real buzz. This festival certainly rates highly on the food tourism map, with food and drink being the priority over local and sustainable.
But let us now take an in depth look at a smaller festival that has its origins in a festival that has been going for many years, but due to Covid has moved venue for this year to give us all more chance to be socially distanced.
Brecon Food Festival has for many years lived in the market hall in the centre of Brecon. A wonderful venue with great atmosphere, but lacking ventilation and space so not best suited during Covid. The organiser this year has moved this festival to Builth Wells and the Royal Welsh Agricultural Society’s show ground.
Many traditions of the Brecon Food Festival continue, for instance with the emphasis for traders to be local or Welsh (90% plus) but also a family day out.
The range of food and drink producers is eclectic from butchers to vegan nut cheese from gin to non – alcoholic herbal distillations. From sweet treats to hot chillies, from traditional street food to spiced Indian dishes (still made in Wales of course).
On the more serious side as with every industry it is more complex than it looks and this is reflected within the festival.
There is within Wales a group call the Culinary Association of Wales which is effectively an association of Welsh chefs which successfully represent Wales at culinary competitions across the world and at this years’ festival are putting together cooking demonstrations for us all to enjoy.
Yet how does one become a chef? Yes, there is the traditional way of starting as a bottle washer within a kitchen hoping that the boss or head chef is good enough to realise some potential and teach and promote you. Today there are many places offering apprenticeships and many of these are overseen by Cambrian Training who are also in attendance at the festival giving insights into food drink and hospitality education as well as offering a jobs fest with a number of positions within the industry available for those looking for a new career in the hospitality sector.
When we buy our food from the supermarket or a festival or market we take it for granted that it is safe and been made / prepared in a safe way ensuring that when we ingest it, it is delicious and not dangerous. To ensure this there are many checks and balances in place, but as in every other industry the basis is education. Not pure theoretical education, but a real practical education and behind this in Wales is a group call Food Skills Cymru run by the UK wide Lantra, who also looks after much practical advancement within the agricultural / horticultural sector. Again Lantra / Food Skills Cymru have a presence at the festival.
Not everybody within the family has a deep interest in food so it is important that a festival has something for everyone but without taking away from the main event, they are there to add to the event to make it a great family day out.
Mid Wales Autumn Fayre caters for the family in a number of ways. The showground is well known as a venue so gives a good base to the vintage lorries, tractors and cars that will be on display helping to make the event of interest to all the family.
Add to this there is an exhibition hall with around 30 arts and craft stands which added to the food festival gives an ideal opportunity for early Christmas shopping.
Having been starved of food festivals and shows for two summers we hope we can look forward to 2022 when food festivals in whatever form, community – festivals within a bigger show – larger regional food festivals to those that have a name far beyond Offa’s Dyke, such as Abergavenny. We hope that this has given an insight into the complexity not only of this part of the Food and Drink market but within a festival itself.
Next time we look at the larger companies getting their products onto the shelves of the larger food retailers be they supermarkets larger online grocery stores and of course restaurants across the UK plus exporting across the world, through the event to be held in Newport called Taste Cymru a strictly trade only event.
The Mid Wales Autumn Food Festival is on at the Royal Welsh Showground on the 2nd – 3rd October there is a car park charge of £5.00 per car, pedestrian entry is free.
