Cook for The Queen

As Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cornwall's competition inviting schools to create a special menu for The Queen approaches its grand finale at Buckingham Palace in June, four Scottish schools went to the Palace of Holyroodhouse on Wednesday 9th May to show The Duchess their entries.

‘Cook for The Queen’ is the idea of The Duchess of Cornwall (The Duchess of Rothesay as she is known in Scotland) and is her special tribute to The Queen for the Diamond Jubilee.  As part of British Food Fortnight, the national celebration of food that The Duchess supports, schools across the country have been invited to create a special menu for The Queen featuring recipes that celebrate the best of British.  The top four winning schools will be invited to Buckingham Palace in June to see their recipes prepared by the famous Royal Chef and will help serve them at a special reception attended by The Queen and The Duchess of Cornwall.

27th July – 12th August 2012

“Everyone in the land will be watching the opening ceremony.  And what will link all these people, apart, of course from a love of sport? It will be the celebration of British food and drink through British Food Fortnight that will be delivered by thousands of retailers, landlords, hoteliers and caterers.”
Jan Matthews, Head of Catering, LOCOG

27th July – 12th August 2012

“Britain is hosting the Olympics for the first time since 1948, and the world will be looking at what we do, and how we do it.  Thankfully, it's coming at a really great moment for British food.  I'm happy to say we’ve never been more ready or able to impress. We've got fantastic food here in Britain and it's time we celebrated it, especially as we'll have the eyes of the world on us in 2012.”
 Jamie Oliver in Jamie's Great Britain cookbook

• WHAT IS LOVE BRITISH FOOD 2012? This year, British Food Fortnight which traditionally takes place during the autumn, runs at the same time as the Olympics under the title ‘Love British Food 2012’ (27 July to 12 August 2012).  Promotions are planned in thousands of shops, pubs and restaurants; schools are being given the opportunity to compete to cook for The Queen in Buckingham Palace; and Family Feasts are being organised in disadvantaged areas of the country bringing the Olympic spirit to deprived areas as part of the London 2012 Festival.  With an exciting new logo and patriotic promotional material bearing the slogans ‘Be Patriotic!’ and ‘Support the home team!’ the stage is set for a huge showcase of British food when the eyes of the world are upon us.


• WHAT’S HAPPENING? 
  
  Love British Food 2012 promotions:  some of the biggest retail and catering organisations are uniting behind Love British Food 2012 and, with more large organisations joining every week, the strongest line-up in the event’s 11 year history is set to paint menus and shop-shelves red, white and blue.
  
  Led by ARAMARK, the event’s flagship sponsor, 3663, Brakes, Compass Group, Harrison Catering and Sodexo are all taking part in the food service sector; in the pub sector Enterprise Inns, Fullers and Whiting and Hammond lead the way; The Garden Centre Group is planning special menus in 91 cafes and restaurants across its stores; Hallmark Care Homes is planning activity in all its care homes for the elderly; and SPAR (UK) is planning tremendous promotions in all 2,600 of its stores.  Hospitals are also expected to join in the patriotic food celebrations as the event is already high on the agenda of the Hospital Caterers Association. 
  
  “SPAR is delighted to be an official partner of Love British Food 2012. This is a fantastic promotion for us to be involved with especially during this summer, the perfect time to celebrate the best of British.”
  Rebecca Whitmore, Marketing Manager, SPAR (UK)
  
  “Everyone in the land will be watching the opening ceremony.  And what will link all these people, apart, of course from a love of sport? It will be the celebration of British food and drink through British Food Fortnight that will be delivered by thousands of retailers, landlords, hoteliers and caterers.”
  Jan Matthews, Head of Catering, LOCOG
  
  London 2012 Festival Family Feasts:  Love British Food 2012 is working with the London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (LOCOG) to organise Family Feasts in Sure Start Children's Centres in disadvantaged areas of the country as part of the London 2012 Festival.  The aim is to give some of Britain's poorest families and communities the opportunity to come together to celebrate all the excitement of the Olympics.  Every centre taking part is being given hands-on support from a local chef who will work with centre managers and families to prepare a magnificent Family Feast for everyone using the centre and the wider community.  The organisers hope to help each centre with ingredients and Quality British Turkey has already signed-up to offering free boxes of turkey cuts to the first 25 Feasts taking part.
  
  And you don't have to be a Sure Start Children's Centre to take part!  Food and sport go hand in hand and what better way is there of enjoying all the excitement of the Olympics than by having a delicious, patriotic Family Feast with your family and friends.  Hallmark Care Homes are doing just this with Family Feasts planned for the elderly and their families in all 17 of their homes.  For details about what is happening and how you can get involved go to www.lovebritishfood.co.uk/family-feasts.
  
  “We are delighted to be working with British Food Fortnight.  Food is as much a part of our culture as art, theatre and music and 2012 offers a fantastic opportunity to celebrate Britain's food heritage.  Food and sport go hand in hand so what better way for people to enter into the spirit of the Games than by enjoying Britain's wonderfully diverse and delicious food with their friends, families and communities.”
  Ruth Mackenzie, Director of the London 2012 Festival
  
  Cook for The Queen: to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee, Love British Food 2012 is inviting all schools in the UK to create a special menu for The Queen featuring recipes that showcase the best of British.  The top four winning schools will be invited to Buckingham Palace in June to see their menus prepared by the famous Royal Chef and help serve their winning dishes at a special Diamond Jubilee reception attended by The Queen and The Duchess of Cornwall.
  
  ‘Cook for the Queen’ is open to 10 – 15 year olds in all primary and secondary schools in the UK.  Entries close Monday 30th April and the winners will be announced mid-May.  To enter, go to the special ‘Cook for The Queen’ section on www.lovebritishfood.co.uk.
  
  “‘Cook for The Queen’ at Buckingham Palace is my special tribute to Her Majesty The Queen for the Diamond Jubilee and I am looking forward enormously to seeing the menu ideas and recipes that schools create for what will be a very special occasion.”
  HRH The Duchess of Cornwall in the Foreword to ‘Putting the Ooo back into food – A Guide to Including Cookery within the National Curriculum’


• LOVE BRITISH FOOD 2012 PROMOTIONAL MATERIAL AVAILABLE TO HELP PEOPLE TAKE PART:  Love British Food 2012 promotional packs will be available from May 2012. Packs include a range of promotional and point-of-sale material to help people take part in the patriotic celebrations: red, white and blue balloons with Love British Food 2012!; 3 x A3 Love British Food 2012 posters; DIY cut out and create-your-own bunting (enough to make 12 feet of bunting with 1 flag per foot) featuring the following messages: Love British Food 2012 - Be patriotic! and Love British Food - Support the home team!; and patriotic shelf barkers.  All enclosed in an A4 folder with details about Love British Food 2012 and ideas and hot tips for taking part.  Demand is high so people are asked to make sure they reserve their packs today on www.lovebritishfood.co.uk.  Packs cost £10 and orders must be placed by 11th May so that they can be sent out in time for the Diamond Jubilee weekend.

Alexia Robinson, organiser of the event, says: “2012 is likely to be the most patriotic year of our lifetimes.  Food is a central part of all celebration and with the Olympics and the Diamond Jubilee we have the opportunity of a lifetime to show-off the best of British food to the world.  Even in tough economic times the public will rally behind British food if they are given a reason to.  So come on Britain, get ready to fly the Union Jack for Britain on your plates as well as on your bunting!”


• WHO IS BEHIND LOVE BRITISH FOOD 2012? Love British Food 2012 is sponsored by ARAMARK and is supported by a large family of over 70 organisations led by 3663, Brakes, Compass Group, Enterprise Inns, Fullers, The Garden Centre Group, Hallmark Care Homes, Harrison Catering, Quality British Turkey, Sodexo, Speciality Breads, SPAR (UK), Tesco and Whiting and Hammond.

WHERE CAN WE FIND OUT MORE? To find out how you can take part, order promotional material, sign up for monthly updates on the latest British food news and for details of what is happening near you see www.lovebritishfood.co.uk or Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

ENDS

Notes to Editors:

For further press information and jpegs of the official Love British Food 2012 logo and promotional material, please contact Alexia or Danielle on
T: 020 7840 9292  E: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it   W: www.lovebritishfood.co.uk

27th July – 12th August 2012

• WHAT IS LOVE BRITISH FOOD 2012?  The dates of the national food promotion, British Food Fortnight, have been changed, for one year only, to run at the same time as the Olympics under the title ‘Love British Food 2012’ (27 July to 12 August 2012).  Building on the success of activities in previous years, promotions are planned in thousands of shops, pubs and restaurants; schools are being given the opportunity to compete to cook for The Queen at Buckingham Palace; and Family Feasts are being organised in disadvantaged areas of the country bringing the Olympic spirit to deprived areas as part of the London 2012 Festival.
  
  Every pub, restaurant, hotel and food service outlet in the country is being rallied to put British food at the centre of their promotions and to capitalise on the huge commercial opportunity that the patriotic excitement of the Diamond Jubilee and the Olympics provide.  With an exciting new logo and patriotic promotional material bearing the slogans ‘Be Patriotic!’ and ‘Support the home team!’ the stage is set for a huge showcase of British food when the eyes of the world are upon us.

Win the opportunity for your school to prepare a special Diamond Jubilee menu for Her Majesty The Queen at Buckingham Palace!

To celebrate the Diamond Jubilee British Food Fortnight is inviting all schools in the UK to create a special menu featuring recipes that showcase the best of British to be served to The Queen and The Duchess of Cornwall at a reception at Buckingham Palace in June.  The competition is the idea of The Duchess of Cornwall and is her special tribute to The Queen for the Diamond Jubilee.

The winner of this year's British Food Fortnight School Challenge is Didcot Girls School from Oxfordshire.

British Food Fortnight
17th September – 2nd October 2011

The tenth British Food Fortnight that took place from 17th September to 2nd October celebrated ten years of success for the national food promotion.  It defied the recession with sales increases reported by the hundreds of shops, pubs and restaurants that took part and names as big as ARAMARK, BHS, John Lewis, Harrods, St Paul's Cathedral, St Pancras International train station and X Factor's Dermott O'Leary's restaurants all flying the flag for British food.  It also fired the starting gun for the Love British Food 2012 celebrations that are planned during the Olympics.

Highlights included:

British Food Fortnight
17th September – 2nd October 2011

The tenth British Food Fortnight starts this weekend.  Running from 17th September to 2nd October, the next two weeks see promotions galore of British food with supporters as diverse as St Paul's Cathedral, BHS Stores, John Lewis Stratford, St Pancras International train station, universities, care homes for the elderly, the Cabinet Office, X Factor's Dermott O'Leary and even a zoo taking part!  Highlights include: 

Lincolnshire is the surprise winner of a public poll to find Britain’s Favourite Food Spot, seeing off tough competition from Cornwall and Hampshire. 

The poll was conducted to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the national food celebration, British Food Fortnight, which starts this weekend (17 September - 2 October).  Voting has been taking place throughout the summer with the public casting their votes between the various English counties, Scotland, Wales and N.Ireland.  Over 22,000 people cast their vote and in the latter stages, it became a neck and neck two-horse race that went right to the wire between Cornwall and Lincolnshire.

British Food Fortnight 17th September – 2nd October 2011

“Sales on one day during British Food Fortnight were up £400.  Sales on the first week were up £1,000!  You’d be crazy not to get involved.”
Atul Sodha, owner of a Londis store in Uxbridge

British Food Fortnight
17th September – 2nd October 2011

“Our British Food Fortnight menu promotion was so successful we increased custom by 300%”
Michel Nijsten, Head Chef, Albright Hussey Manor Hotel & Restaurant

• WHAT IS BRITISH FOOD FORTNIGHT? Running from 17th September to 2nd October and now in its tenth year, British Food Fortnight is the biggest national celebration of the diverse and delicious range of food that Britain produces. Every year pubs, restaurants, tourism attractions, public sector restaurants and food-service organisations take part, all enjoying the commercial benefits that participation brings. Many of the largest food service organisations and major pub groups regularly run British promotions during the event.    


• 10 YEARS OF SUCCESS IN THE CATERING SECTOR: this year celebrates the 10th anniversary of British Food Fortnight. Organiser of the event, Alexia Robinson, comments:  “Ten year's of British Food Fortnight have seen ten years of success for caterers. Those taking part have proved again and again that buying British is affordable and adds real value to profits. Every year, the buzz of the national food promotion has made it an attractive time to experiment with new suppliers or, if you already source British, to shout about the fact that you do. It is also entirely due to caterers that the largest volunteer movement educating children about food has been founded as a result of British Food Fortnight with hundreds of chefs lending their time to give cooking lessons in schools during the event.”
  
  

• WHAT IS BRITISH FOOD FORTNIGHT? Running from 17th September to 2nd October and now in its tenth year, British Food Fortnight 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.

Sally Jackson, a pig farmer from North Lincolnshire, has been selected by romp writer and much-loved friend of the countryside Jilly Cooper as the ‘Face of British Food Fortnight 2011’. Sally will appear on the home page of the event's website in the build up to the national food promotion, which runs from September 17 to October 2.

For the first time, lunch in Clarence House was cooked by school children today. Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cornwall invited the winning schools from last year's British Food Fortnight School Challenge to Clarence House to cook their chosen dishes for lunch. And with a special twist, Her Royal Highness invited the BBC's Hairy Biker chefs, Dave Myers & Simon King, to work with the children to help them prepare their meal.

The winners of this year’s British Food Fortnight Secondary School Challenge are Northfield Academy from Aberdeen, Scotland and Greencroft Business and Enterprise Community School from Durham.

This year's British Food Fortnight's Tractor Ted Challenge winner is Friockheim and Kinnell Playgroup from Angus, Scotland!

Pre and Primary schools across the UK were asked to produce the ultimate school smoothie. This year's Challenge was the biggest yet and entries came from far and wide. The competition was judged by children's TV presenter, Michaela Strachan, who crowned 'Friockheim Fancy Fruit Crumble Smoothie' by Friockheim and Kinnell Playgroup as the winner.

The ninth British Food Fortnight that took place from 18th September to 3rd October fired the starting gun for food celebrations during the Olympics with the biggest ever national celebration of the diverse and delicious food that Britain produces.

This year's event was a warm-up for 2012 when the dates of British Food Fortnight will change, for one year only, to run at the same time as the London Olympics. Shops, pubs and restaurants responded to the challenge by trial running patriotic British food promotions in preparation for welcoming the world to Britain.

British Food Fortnight gives retailers a 2012 opportunity

Download the Press Release here.

British Food Fortnight gives caterers a 2012 opportunity

Download the Press Release here.

HRH The Duchess of Cornwall and the Hairy Bikers fire the starting gun for British Food Fortnights Olympic plans and unveil the Face of British Food Fortnight 2010

Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cornwall and the BBC's Hairy Biker chefs, Dave Myers & Simon King, fired the starting gun for this year's British Food Fortnight activities at a major launch attended by over 250 retailers and caterers at Westminster Cathedral in central London today.