23 December 2008
A record breaking, tasty year for Lancashire
Lancashire has seen a record breaking year of tasty events and
celebrations as the region’s food sector has joined together with
the Lancashire and Blackpool Tourist Board, to proudly put
Lancashire on the menu, so that food lovers visiting the region can
enjoy a taste of Lancashire. With more to offer than the
famous hot-pot, cheeses and shrimps, Taste Lancashire 08 has been
the year for visitors to explore the region’s distinctive food and
drink, from locally brewed beer, to Lancashire reared ostrich
meat.
The Taste Lancashire campaign was initiated by Lancashire and
Blackpool Tourist Board, alongside the Northwest Regional
Development Agency (NWDA), in celebration of Liverpool European
Capital of Culture 2008. The year-long celebration placed
quality standards and local produce at the top of the menu.
Partnerships were forged with the county’s local producer - Made in
Lancashire and businesses such as Booths supermarkets, as the food
sector worked together to make the visitor experience a truly
unique taste explosion.
Food tourism has played a key part in Lancashire and Blackpool’s
tourism strategy in 2008, where new themed months were initiated,
in an attempt to stir up interest in short breaks to region.
August was designated ‘Picnic Month’, as visitors were encouraged
to pack a picnic full of Lancashire produce and explore the
area. Research has estimated that at least 300 picnics were
taken, which also generated incremental sales for Booths
supermarkets, the picnic box provider.
‘Producers Month’ followed in October – harvest festival time,
where visitors to the region discovered Lancashire’s produce first
hand, as short break itineraries took in the largest pear drop in
the world at Stockleys Sweets in Oswaldtwistle Mills, followed a
cheese trail in the Ribble Valley, watched beer being brewed in
Pennine Lancashire and fish being smoked in Lancaster.
This years continuing recipe for success in the food tourism
campaign has been the Taste Lancashire Accreditation Scheme, which
is a distinctive mark of approval for visitors to the area looking
for quality dining experiences, with a local flavor.
Currently, there are over 120 establishments across Lancashire and
Blackpool that have achieved a score of over 60% to receive a
`Quality Assured` mark.
The quality dining experience would not be possible without the
dedication and commitment of the local restaurant teams and chefs
who are the link between providing quality menus that infuse the
flavours of the local produce and the visitor experience of the
truly distinctive Lancashire hospitality. The Three Fishes
near Whalley has recently received top marks - 100% for their use
of local produce, in association with Made in Lancashire.
However, the real rising stars of the kitchen this year have been
the ‘Lancashire Hot Shots’ – the county’s young chefs who competed
at events that gave them the chance to run their own restaurant for
a night.
Mike Wilkinson, Chief Executive of Lancashire and Blackpool
Tourist Board said:
“We are delighted that all the ingredients of Taste Lancashire
08 have come together to establish Lancashire’s reputation as one
of the top food and drink destinations, especially for visitors on
day trips or short breaks. It is essential that we as a
tourist board support local businesses by providing distinctive
Lancashire promotions to stimulate the tourism sector in what is
proving to be a difficult economic climate.
“It’s a testament to the relationships that we have already forged
with the food sector, including local producers and businesses,
that we are continuing the theme into next year. The
achievements that the Taste Lancashire Accreditation Scheme has
made in raising quality food standards and building local produce
into restaurant menus has been a resounding success, with over 120
businesses already receiving the quality assured mark of
approval.”
Lancashire has created a record breaking year of food and drink,
starting in a stir of frenzy as Loyd Grossman, Patron of Taste
Lancashire 08 launched the campaign with the world’s biggest
Lancashire hotpot, which is now in the Guinness World Records
2009. Hot on the heels of this record was Lancashire Tea, who
recently created the world’s largest teabag and the world’s largest
cup of tea. The Jali Restaurant in Blackpool amazingly piled
282 poppadoms to claim the record for the tallest static poppadom
tower and the tallest moveable poppadom tower, by transporting 230
poppadoms four foot across the restaurant.
As the food and drink theme ran throughout the year, Lancashire
and Blackpool Tourist Board supported 6 key foodie events, which
attracted an estimated 43,710 visitors to the region, which started
with Obsession 08 – Northcote’s gastronomic festival of food and
wine in January. This was followed by the Lancashire Food
Festival in April and the Pennine Lancashire Festival of Food and
Culture in August. However, the finishing touches to the year of
food and drink came in December as Blackpool hosted the National
Food Markets Conference, where BBC Radio 4’s Sheila Dillon (who
hails from Hoghton) chaired the debate on the future of food
markets and Blackpool Council launched a Fish and Chip
Accreditation Scheme and the Blackpool Breakfast Experience.
James Berresford, Director of Tourism at the Northwest Regional
Development Agency (NWDA) says:
“The food and drink sector is worth over £9.5 billion to
the Northwest economy and food is an integral part of the visitor
experience, helping to define the region’s identity. With
over a third of visitor spend in Lancashire being on food and
drink, it is vital that we provide a first-class eating out
experience that focuses on quality food and supports local
produce. Lancashire’s year of food and drink – Taste
Lancashire 08 - has been a resounding success and has demonstrated
the important role that food plays in our culture.”
For further information on the Taste Lancashire campaign, visit
tastelancashire.com.
Press enquiries: Caroline Anchor, Communications Executive,
Lancashire and Blackpool Tourist Board on 01257 226614 or canchor@lbtbltd.com
Notes to Editors
1. Images are available on request.
2. Taste Lancashire is a quality award scheme for eating
places and is run by Lancashire and Blackpool Tourist Board. It is
part of the National Taste Awards scheme owned by VisitBritain. In
the Lancashire and Blackpool area it is in partnership with local
produce champion Made in Lancashire. It was one of the first
schemes of its kind to be set up in the UK when it began in
2006. A Made in Lancashire award is given to businesses that
meet the requirements for the provision of local produce.
3. Marketing campaigns and PR support for Taste Lancashire
reached boiling point, delivering the equivalent of over
£2.5million worth of PR coverage since the launch in October
2007. The icing on the cake has been over 130,000 unique
visitors to tastelancashire08.com since its launch in April
2007.
4. Lancashire and Blackpool Tourist Board (LBTB) was set up in
April 2004. It supports tourism businesses in the Lancashire and
Blackpool sub-region by representing their interests regionally and
nationally, by co-ordinating marketing activity, managing and
developing the tourism product and working in partnership with
industry. Activities in commercial membership, business
development, `Welcome to Excellence` training, visitor services and
marketing activity are all designed to improve quality and achieve
common goals.
In 2007 the Lancashire and Blackpool area attracted 58 million
visitors who contributed £2.9 billion to the local economy and
helped support 54,161 jobs.
5. Lancashire and Blackpool Tourist Board is supported by
the Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA). The Northwest
Regional Development Agency (NWDA) leads the economic development
and regeneration of England's Northwest and is responsible for:
• Supporting business growth and encouraging
investment
• Matching skills provision to employer needs
• Creating the conditions for economic growth
• Connecting the region through effective transport and
communication infrastructure
• Promoting the region’s outstanding quality of life
www.nwda.co.uk, www.visitenglandsnorthwest.com
The Lancashire and Blackpool Tourist Board
St. George’s House St.George’s Street
Chorley PR7 2AA Chair Lesley
Lloyd
Tel. 01257 226600 Fax. 01257
469016
Chief Executive Mike Wilkinson
www.lancashireandblackpool.com