British Food Fortnight – a look back at what happened in 2023
A tremendous variety of organisations, charities, businesses and individuals took part: hundreds of schools, farm shops, volunteer groups, villages, towns, NHS Trusts, care homes, colleges and universities all took part with special menus highlighting British produce; and many running promotional activity alongside.
Brakes, ISS Food Services, Sodexo, Premier Foods, Chartwells, Educaterers, Harrison Catering, Minor, Weir and Wills, Essential Cuisine, Master Chefs of GB, Hereford Beef, British Poultry Council and New Covent Garden Market all took part as Official Partners. And the event was warmly embraced by leading industry bodies TUCO, LACA, NACC, HCA branches, Wales NHS Confederation and NHS hospitals in N.Ireland.
Particular highlights:
2024’s British Food Fortnight takes place 20th September to 6th October. Note the event starts on a Friday for the first time. By popular request. So a fortnight plus a day!
“As always British Food Fortnight was extremely popular with our customers with our Love of Local menu proving a hit at the 192 sites where we ran the promotion. Supporting farmers and other local producers in Britain sits at the heart of our responsible sourcing strategy which is a key lever to reaching net zero by 2040. We are committed to supporting local communities, and buying British is just one way we can achieve this. For all these reasons and more, we are proud to partner with Love British Food, not just for British Food Fortnight, but all year round.”
Charles Abraham, Food Platform Director, Sodexo
“I must say the efforts over the past fortnight in raising the bar on British Food Fortnight has been sensational. The social media campaign has been extraordinary and we are all incredibly proud to be part of something so special.”
Philip Shelley, Head Net Zero, NHS England
“Love British Food is an incredible organisation that is gaining momentum and respect.”
Caroline Morgan, Chief Executive, Local Food Links
“We find positive benefits to our business by partnering with the Love British campaign thorough out the whole year as well as the Fortnight itself. Our Great British Brunch event for British Food Fortnight had enormous traction across all social media channels not just from us but from all the stakeholders that attended. It drove traffic to our web site where we sited a BFF area which many customers clicked through too and drove sales. We will be carrying on our partnership in 2024.”
Cathy Amos, Head of Customer Marketing, Brakes
“We wanted to help inspire chefs to create dishes that showcase the diverse and delicious food that Britain produces. We’ve had some fantastic feedback from our Love British Food Guide, which was full of tips and menu ideas to help operators maximise the big opportunity brought by this national celebration.”
Sarah Robb, foodservice marketing manager, Premier Foods Foodservice
“Students from over 160 Educaterers partner schools in the Midlands, savoured a week of wholesome and delectable delights. From succulent British pork sausages to comforting homemade cheesy pasta and mouth-watering British roast chicken, their taste buds were treated to the best of British cuisine. The feast extended to Quorn dippers, Harry Ramsdens salmon and sweet potato fish cakes, and an array of homemade sweet treats, including apple and blackberry crumble, strawberry slice, chocolate and orange brownie, and more. This culinary journey left a lasting impression, showcasing the joy of delicious, nutritious, and quintessentially British food.”
Sandra Shakespeare, Educaterers
“Harrison Catering Services is proud to be a long-term supporter of Love British Food and an official partner of the annual British Food Fortnight. During this campaign, many sites across our business celebrated this by offering customers special menus that showcased the best foods from around the country.
While the fortnight highlights the incredible ingredients and traditional dishes found throughout Britain, Harrison believes supporting British food is important all year round. We are committed to offering seasonal dishes from local ingredients throughout the year, and all our fresh ingredients are of the highest quality and British-sourced wherever possible.
Our suppliers understand our commitment to fresh, responsibly sourced food and share our standards to ensure we can deliver our clients and customers fantastic-tasting meals.”
Chris Medlock, Communications Manager at Harrison Catering
“The wholesalers at New Covent Garden Market threw their weight behind British Food Fortnight this year, to highlight the London market's 12-month supply of sumptuous homegrown fruit and vegetables and the brilliant relationship traders have with growers across the country.
NCGM sells plenty of imported fresh produce, of course, but there's nothing to match the buzz created by new-season British product and we literally put out the bunting and celebrated our role in sourcing and providing premium fresh fruit and veg for the retail, catering and hospitality sectors in London and the South East.
British Food Fortnight is a fabulous opportunity to put British food in the spotlight at a key time in the calendar. It provides inspiration and impetus for the supply chain to consider how to keep itself at the forefront of the nation's conscience throughout the year. NCGM backs British fresh produce year-round, every year. Our customers wouldn't have it any other way!”
Tommy Leighton, Covent Garden Market Authority
“We sent British Food Fortnight posters to 110 independent schools and encouraged them to run activity locally. General enthusiasm from our business was good.”
Stephanie Hall, Head of Nutrition – Technical and Compliance, Chartwells
“In an era where food is ever present and simply comes from a supermarket shelf, the British Food Fortnight does a fantastic job at reconnecting the public with the wonderful produce we have in this country and building an understanding of how it is produced with our world leading standards."
Charles Goadby, dairy and arable farmer Nuneaton, Warwickshire
"Wow, Alexia Robinson, what an achievement for you and the Love British Food team. This is an absolutely brilliant resource ! Super well done."
Linda Cregan, Head of Food Sustainability & Education Catering ISS UK, on British Food Fortnight Live
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The campaign Love British Food, the national food celebrations ‘British Food Fortnight’ and their associated logos are trademarked and must not be used without the express permission of the owners, Love British Food. Companies or individuals wanting to use the logos or run promotions and activity in association with British Food Fortnight or Love British Food can work with Love British Food as a member or partner or with permission from the founder.
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