Sussex Foodie News Christmas

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Brighton Food Fest wins Sussex Business Award

The Brighton & Hove Food and Drink Festival team won the award for leisure and tourism at the Sussex Business Awards last night [December 2nd] held at the de Vere Grand, Brighton.

Organisers, including Nick Mosley from Visit Brighton, Paula Seager from Natural PR, Adam Style from Style Accountants and Andrew Kay from Latest7 collected the trophy from Ruth Badger, who was made famous when she participated in The Apprentice tv show.

The festival, now in its ninth year, has grown from strength to strength and now brings £4.1 million into the local economy by attracting thousands of visitors to the city and boosting local food and drink businesses, as well as providing many fun foodie events for the local community to enjoy.

Said Paula Seager, MD of Natural PR, who promotes the festival: "It's terrific to be recognised for our work on this event, which is run entirely by volunteers and we are all particularly proud of Nick Mosley, our director, who has taken the awards to a new level this past year."

The team's Spring Harvest 2012 festival will be in April - see www.brightonfoodfestival.com for more details.

Sussex food partnership deal signed

The Southern Co-operative has contributed £5,000 and signed a three-year agreement with Chichester College today to work together on boosting the local food and drink industry in Sussex.

At a ceremony at the Brinsbury Campus of Chichester College, Principal Shelagh Legrave and Chief Executive of The Southern Co-operative, Mark Smith, agreed to work together through the Centre of Excellence for Regional Food & Drink, opened earlier this year.

“As an independent co-operative with stores only in the South of England, we seek to offer a genuine regional alternative to national food retailers. As part of this we are committed to supporting local food and drink producers wherever we can and we will be investigating the feasibility of setting up a regional food hub to assist with local produce distribution,” said Mark Smith, CEO of The Southern Co-operative.

“The college has created a great concept in the Centre of Excellence and I am sure there is much that we will be able to do together to build on this to the benefit of the whole local food sector in Sussex.”

Cllr Roger Paterson, Cabinet Member for Economic Development at Horsham District Council and Governor of the college, attended the ceremony, lending his support to the scheme.

“We have a thriving food and drink industry in Sussex and we want to do everything we can to support Brinsbury's new Centre of Excellence For Local Food & Drink, and to promote the skills training it provides for both its students and the region's food and drink community. It’s also great to be working with The Southern Co-operative, which has such strong environmental and community principles.”

Said Shelagh Legrave, Principal of Chichester College, “We created the Centre of Excellence for Regional Food and Drink to help bring together and provide special support for the industry and are already providing unique networking and experience sharing opportunities, supported by well-known regional food industry expert Hilary Knight.”

“Working with The Southern Co-operative, we also want to focus on developing vocational training, both for our own students and for adults already working in the industry and we are very excited to be moving forward together on this today.”

Food produced in Sussex is already available at selected Southern co-operative stores in Sussex and will be featured in a new store development in Hove opening in December.

Sussex Foodie News November 2011

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Feast at Royal Pavilion Ice Rink

The Royal Pavilion Ice Rink in Brighton was last night granted five-year planning permission and will open its twinkly gates to people in Sussex from November 12 to January 22, with an exciting new food and drink offer, open to skaters and non-skaters.

Feast restaurant and bar, includes a Champagne and oyster bar, mobile cocktail bar and a succulent menu, including great family food by day and something more indulgent and extravagant by night.

The cosy and relaxed area overlooking the ice rink has some novel Christmas party offers for families, friends or businesses to enjoy, from £25 per head, with cheese fondues, warming homemade soups, oyster feasts, sharing platters and even the opportunity to have a whole roast piglet feast!

The bar will have a selection of local Sussex ales, premium lagers, ciders, and freshly made Royal Pavilion cocktails and a comprehensive wine list and people are welcome to come and simply have a drink, snack or eat a full meal at this unique ‘pop up’ restaurant and bar.

Feast has been created by Temple and Shian, best known for their Oyster Boys and Mussel Men at festivals, collaborating with top drinks events company Peppermint and they aim to surprise and enchant visitors to the ice rink this Christmas.

See www.feastbrighton.co.uk for more info and to book tickets to ice skate, go to www.ticketmaster.co.uk

Sussex Foodie News October 2011

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Brighton & Hove Foodie Awards Winners

The winners of Brighton & Hove Foodie Awards 2011, chosen by 5,000 public votes, received their trophies from Latest food writer Andrew Kay and Juice FM DJ Andrea Fox at an awards presentation hosted in the Dome Room at Pub du Vin on October 3rd, which was the grand finale of the city’s September Food Festival.

Vegetarians won the day, with restaurant Terre a Terre in East Street retaining its position as the city’s favourite restaurant, taking first place as Best Restaurant 2011, followed by The Chilli Pickle, which recently expanded into MyHotel overlooking Jubilee Square, with another Indian favourite, Indian Summer in East Street, taking third place.

The Prince George in Trafalgar Street, another vegetarian winner, took Best Food Pub 2011, leading by just one vote, with last year’s winner, the Ginger Pig in Hove Street, taking second place and The Foragers in Stirling Place in Hove taking third place.

Cafés in The Lanes and North Laine jostled for place for the coveted Best Café 2011 award throughout the competition, with another vegetarian outlet, Iydea in Kensington Gardens, winning first place; Cloud 9 in Brighton Place taking second; and Metro Deco, in Kemptown’s Upper St James’s Street, coming in third.

The Best Food Shop trophy was once again carried off by the much-loved Infinity Foods, also vegetarian, in Gardner Street, this year celebrating its 40^th anniversary in the city, with Real Patisserie in second place after achieving a place on the leaderboard throughout the competition and The Brighton Sausage Company in Gloucester Road taking third position.

“This year’s awards event was bigger and better than last year and there was a fantastic atmosphere – with a lot of camaraderie between the city’s favourite food places. I think we can safely say that the city’s vegetarian outlets have the most fervent and loyal customers, judging by the votes this year, showing just how important this market is in the city,” said Paula Seager, MD of Natural PR, who runs the awards.

“The competition once again shows what a superb and unique range of independent restaurants, food pubs, cafés and food shops we have in the city and that there is huge support for them here, as the public came out in force to vote for their favourites again.”

“We want to thank everyone who took part, our sponsors ‘We Talk Law’ and ‘Gourmet Britain’, all the food outlets who joined the competition and the public who voted so enthusiastically – and we hope that they will all support us again when we launch the Brighton & Hove Foodie Awards 2012 at the city’s Spring Harvest Food and Drink Festival next April.”

Find out more and keep up to date on the city’s foodie news at www.brightonfoodawards.com.

Five Sussex farmers shortlisted for awards

With only a month to go before voting closes on October 2 in this year’s Sussex Food and Drink Awards, the shortlist for Sussex Farmer of the Year, sponsored by Knill James, was revealed today and the public invited to choose their favourite.

Five of the cream of the crop have beaten over 50 farmers nominated for this prestigious prize, to reach the judging panel’s shortlist, sponsored by Knill James. They include Robin and Kevin Ashby of Willetts Farm in Blackham; Tim Hassell of Home Farm in Goodwood; Steve and Phil Hook of Longleys Farm in Hailsham; Jenny and Trevor Passmore of Church Farm in Lancing; and Rother Valley Organics’ Shon and Simon Sprackling at Sandilands Farm in Rogate.

“All five candidates have been chosen for going the extra mile in promoting Sussex food and farming and all have really made a mark on the local produce industry,” said Suzanne Craig of Knill James, who co-leads the firm’s specialist agriculture, food & drink team with Kevin Powell.

“I am delighted to have seen so many superb farmers, from the full length and breadth of Sussex, entered into the awards and it’s been very tough narrowing down the shortlist this year. We now ask the public to vote – at www.sussexfoodawards.biz - for the one they think is most deserving of this year’s trophy.”

Details follow:

Robin and Kevin Ashby, Willetts Farm, Blackham, East Sussex

Father and son Robin and Kevin Ashby are fourth generation Sussex farmers. Robin, now 73, returned to what was then a traditionally-run farm after completing his National Service and by the late 1980's decided to expand and diversify the farm. His wife Audrey had always produced wonderful home-made ice cream using milk from their own award- winning dairy herd and so the idea was born for Willetts Farm Ice Cream. Now produced in 16 flavours plus four sorbets, the ice cream is sold primarily through local farm shops and delicatessens and is much loved by foodies across the county.

Tim Hassell, Home Farm, Goodwood, Nr Chichester, West Sussex

Tim Hassell became Farm General Manager at Goodwood in October 2009, moving to Sussex with his wife and two children to take over this huge concern, with a staff of 13. Born in Sheffield near the steelworks, his family worked in the steel industry, but he lived near a farm as a child and loved agriculture and rural life from an early age, so went to Agricultural College rather than the steelworks. He started his working life on a Youth Training Scheme on a farm in Burton, moved around the country gaining experience, and has lived in Tamworth near Gloucester, Newcastle then Basingstoke, where he worked on his first organic farm. Innovations which Tim has overseen include rearing Christmas turkeys and a new venture to press cheeses. In conjunction with their Farm Shop, the Goodwood team runs farm walks and tours and hosts school visits, promoting food and farming.

Steve and Phil Hook, Longleys Farm, Hailsham, East Sussex

Hook and Sons have gone from strength to strength in the last three years, since they won Sussex Farmer of the Year in 2008/09. Their organic raw milk, initially just available in the local area, is now sold in three London markets including the prestigious Borough Market and this, coupled with their new UK-wide online ordering service, has helped sales more than triple. The product range has also expanded to include cream and butter and this expansion has meant an increase from eight to 16 staff in the last two years. Looking ahead, the Hooks want to go to more London markets and create a new milking and processing system. They also hope to be able to increase visitor numbers to Longleys Farm, giving them the option to stay on the farm in yurts.

Jenny and Trevor Passmore, Church Farm, Coombes, Nr Lancing, West Sussex

Former winners of Sussex Farmer of the Year, brother and sister Jenny and Trevor Passmore run Church Farm together and their mother Mary, now 90, still helps out. Their father Dick was awarded an MBE for his work in education and conservation in the rural community and Jenny’s son Andrew is now at Plumpton College and hopes to become the fifth generation of the Passmore family to run the farm in the future. Church Farm is farm assured and classified an Environmentally Sensitive Area and farms sheep, cattle and arable land. The farm is open to the public, averaging 15,000 visitors a year, mainly during lambing, but also hosting music festivals, beer festivals and weddings.

Shon and Simon Sprackling, Rother Valley Organics, Nr Rogate, West Sussex

Shon and his brother Simon manage a commercial farm of over 4000 acres, with a large organic butcher’s selling meat directly to customers, through farmers markets and to local shops. Shon gives talks to various organisations about local produce and the story behind Rother Valley Organics, which is renowned for its excellent animal welfare and good husbandry. He works with other local producers putting meat into their products, including the local brewery for beef and ale pies. Their butchering and cold store is the largest in the area and many other local producers use it to get their meat to market. Shon and Simon are also known for their environmental conservation and help organisations such as the local Council, National Trust and others to effectively manage and graze their land in a sustainable way. They are particularly proud that their organic beef is classified as a high health status herd which lives on grass all the year round.

Other remaining categories for this year’s awards include: Sussex Food Producer of the Year, sponsored by The Southern Co-operative; Sussex Drink Producer of the Year, sponsored by Sussex Food and Drink Network; Best Sussex Eating Experience, sponsored by Mayo Wynne Baxter; Sussex Young Chef of the Year sponsored by Natural PR with support from City College Brighton & Hove; Best Sussex Food/Farm Shop sponsored by South Downs National Park and Collabor8; Sussex Butcher of the Year sponsored by Natural Farms; and Best Sussex Farmers Market, sponsored by the Lewes brewers Harveys.

This month boasts a plentiful supply of fantastic events across the county for all food and drink lovers. The Brighton and Hove Food & Drink Festival is running throughout September, the Horsham Food Festival is about to kick off and there is something happening almost daily for people to enjoy. Find out more at www.sussexfoodawards.biz

Brighton Food Festival Now On!

The Brighton & Hove Food and Drink Festival is back all September, offering a month of delicious and quirky events in the UK’s most trendy city by the sea. Superb Sussex seasonal fare will blend with Brighton’s unique city foodie culture, offering an eclectic mix of tasty events for food lovers, visitors and local families.

Every weekend offers up a major public foodie event, including the centrepiece ‘Big Sussex Market’ on September 10-11 by the Royal Pavilion, with an exciting Live Food Show with chefs demos.

Kicking off a ‘new tradition’ this year, ‘Sussex Cheese Bowling’ will be part of the People’s Picnic on 17 September at Preston Park, a great family day out with Morris dancers, a real ale bar and plenty of food stalls; and the Fiery Food Chilli Festival, the biggest UK chilli event, runs September 17-18, offering cult chilli followers an eye watering, spicy experience.

Sussex will also show off its world-beating bubbly at the Champagne & Sussex Sparkling Wine Festival on September 25 at Hotel du Vin.

Every weekend, Sussex Gourmet tours are on offer, with a guided tour of local producers in the stunning Sussex Downs countryside – hop on the vintage bus to discover the provenance of some of the best produce Sussex has to offer – but do book ahead.

Families can also enjoy the ‘Sussex and the World Market’ by the sea on Hove Lawns on September 24, running alongside the Children’s Food Festival, with lots of foodie fun for kids.

Lots of other ticketed events and special festival menus are on offer across the city, including 'Make Your Case', giving local vintners six minutes to argue why their chosen wine is the best (£15 max per bottle), on September 9^th – limited tickets available so get in there quick.

As the festival comes to an end, Brighton Oktoberfest toasts the awards with a showcase of the best Sussex beer and continental beers available from Friday 30th September - Sunday 2nd October (ticketed) before the festival curtain closes with the Brighton & Hove Foodie Awards 2011 ceremony in the ballroom of Pub du Vin (www.brightonfoodawards.com).

For more information see www.brightonfoodfestival.com