Vote for Hampshire as Britain's top food spot!

15th June 2011

To commemorate its 10th anniversary, British Food Fortnight (17 Sept - 2 Oct 2011) is inviting you to vote for your top food spot in Britain. County food group Hampshire Fare is asking you to back their campaign to vote for Hampshire, to shout loud and proud about the fabulous food and drink produced in the county.

Some reasons why Hampshire deserves to win:

• 34 gold star awards were presented to 16 Hampshire Fare producers at the 2010 national Great Taste Awards for their food and drink products. This included 6 producers receiving a total of 7 coveted 3 star gold award for their exceptional products.

• Hampshire Fare cheese makers Two Hoots won ‘Best English Cheese’ and ‘Best Blue Cheese’ trophies at the 2010 British Cheese Awards for their Loddon Blewe cheese.

• Wickham Vineyard put itself firmly on the map as one of the UK’s leading Wine producers after scooping 14 awards and trophies in three of the four most prestigious and influential international wine competitions in 2010; International wine Challenge (IWC), Decanter World Wine Awards and English & Welsh Wine of the Year Competition.

• Hampshire County Council Catering Services (HC3S) scooped the title of ‘2011 UK Education Caterer of the Year’ for its use of local produce in school meals, including 17 tonnes of Hampshire-reared beef, 190,000 litres of Hampshire apple juice and 700,000 Hampshire free-range eggs per year.

• Stockbridge High Street was voted ‘Best foodie street in Britain’ in the 2010 Google Street View Awards.

• Butchers A Turner & Son in Aldershot received a national award for ‘Services to the British Sausage Industry’ from BPEX (British Pig Executive) in 2010 for the work they have done to raise more than £15,000 for Help for Heroes through the sale of sausages

• Hampshire’s Supreme Sausage Champion, Greenfield Pork of Andover, was one of the UK’s top five sausage producers in the national 2010 ‘Champion of Champions’ sausage competition

• The Hampshire Food Festival won Gold award at The 2010 Beautiful South Awards organised by Tourism South East and was the winner of the South of England Enterprise category in The 2010 Countryside Alliance Awards, known as the ‘Rural Oscars’ 

• Winchester Farmers’ Market was awarded ‘Best UK Urban Farmers’ Market 2011’

• Hampshire Fare’s Susie Carter won ITV1's Britain's Best Dish in 2008, wowing judges Jilly Goolden, John Burton Race and Ed Baines with her watercress and smoked trout tart made entirely from Hampshire ingredients

Hampshire Fare Chairman Mike Wright said: “Hampshire has such a wealth of award-winning food and drink producers, that it deserves to win this national accolade. Hampshire Fare is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year and we’re proud to champion local. We want to encourage as many people as possible to back this campaign and put Hampshire firmly on the national foodie map!”

Voting is open until 11th September and the winner will be announced at the start of this year's British Food Fortnight (17 Sept - 2 Oct 2011). Vote now for Hampshire at www.lovebritishfood.co.uk/votefoodspot! 
 
British Food Fortnight (17 Sept - 2 Oct 2011) is the biggest national celebration of the diverse and delicious range of food that Britain produces. Hundreds of shops, pubs and restaurants take part every year with special menus and promotions as do councils, markets, hospitals, tourism attractions, hotels and many more. The event is also an established date on the school calendar with hundreds of schools using it as an opportunity to teach children about food. 

Find out more about local food and drink at www.hampshirefare.co.uk.