What is the Guild of Fine Food?
Well for those of you who did not know here is a little
about what the Guild of fine food is about. I first came across them some years
ago. I was working as a development chef when we paid a visit to a new venture
on the Harrogate show ground called Fodder.
Now as a write this I realise that Fodder its self deserves an article
all of its own, but for now I will start with the Guild of fine food.
Yes it was back in 2009 when I first came across Guild of
Fine Food, and subsequently the Great Taste awards. If you want to know more
about that watch the video below.
Back in 1995 The Guild was formed, with one mission.
To support and encourage artisan food and drink producers
and the independent delicatessens, farm shops and food halls that mainly stock
and sell their food and drink.
Well it’s all acorns and oak trees really, and getting
bigger and better all the time, there are over 1,300 members across the UK.
It organises and implements a network of activities designed
to promote excellence in all sectors of the trade and build closer links
between producers and retailers.
The Guild of Fine Food publishes Fine Food Digest, Good
Cheese and Great Taste Book.
IT organise Great Taste and the World Cheese Awards,
Harrogate Fine Food Show any number of Great Taste Markets,
Also involved in training in cheese, charcuterie and in
business matters relating to fine food retail.
And where did all this come from, according to Bob Farrand
“1994 was probably our watershed year. I conducted some
research, which compared the number of independent delis in the UK with the
total from a previous survey conducted in 1988. It showed that if shop closures
continued at the 1988-1994 rate, the last independent deli in Britain would
close in the year 2000. If the delis closed, farmers and producers would have
no outlets for their food. The supermarkets would have won.’
So Bob took things into his own hands and made a plan ‘I
pleaded for funding sufficient to set up the Guild of Fine Food, in order to
protect deli owners and fine food producers. Eight believed in me enough to
stump up three grand apiece and I made the commitment that within 18 months the
Guild would be financially self-supporting. It has been ever since.”
Well thank god for Bob, and any organisation that realises
that we need to preserve what is best, for the work that the Guild of Fine Food
do and will continue to do. And with the now inevitable exist from the EU the
more important work to come as we will no doubt be losing the “products with
protected status” so I see much more work to come.
So here is to the Guild of Fine Food, and all that they have
done and all that they are going to do.
Credit to
Joël Lacey, visits
Gillingham’s Guild of Fine Food, Published in February ’14,
http://www.dorsetlife.co.uk/2014/02/in-the-best-possible-taste-the-guild-of-fine-food/
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