The Co-op will be leading celebrations for British Food Fortnight with a range of activities to promote the upcoming event.
A Love British Food Fortnight roadshow will be touring Britain during the two-week event, which takes place from 17 September to 2 October, to highlight the Co-op’s British sourcing credentials and provide opportunities to meet producers and sample products.
The retailer, which sponsors British Food Fortnight, will also be carrying out research into traditional British recipes and local specialities, as well as hosting various activities with staff and promoting the initiative via its website.
Elsewhere, Raymond Blanc will be leading a search for the most imaginative event celebrating British food, with the theme of rediscovering long-forgotten recipes that represent a local area. Judges including Defra secretary of state Andrea Leadsom and Co-op director of Delicious Food Breige Donaghy will be looking for a winner across the country.
Special British food menus will also be run in school canteens and hospital menus during the national food promotion as part of flagship pilots that the organisers of British Food Fortnight hope will encourage the government to source more domestic food post-Brexit.
British Food Fortnight founder Alexia Robinson said: “Britain’s food production is one of the areas most affected by Brexit.This is a watershed moment for British food. Subsidised and regulated for 40 years by Europe, our farmers will now be competing in a global market place.British food is produced to the highest standards; it really is some of the very best in the world, and the opportunities to trade on this in the global market are immense.
“But building the brand ‘British food’ starts at home and it is more important than ever that we excite the British public to buy it.British Food Fortnight has been flying the flag for British food for 15 years; we now ask the government to join us in promoting the qualities of British food to the consumer; and – as part of their Brexit planning – to make it a priority that schools, hospitals and all government organisations lead the way by sourcing British food.”
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