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: 

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 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. 

James Potter, a 34 year old poultry farmer from North Yorkshire, has been selected by PR guru Max Clifford as the ‘Face of British Food Fortnight 2010’.  He will feature on tens of thousands of ‘Love British Food’ posters that are displayed in shops, pubs, restaurants and schools during the national food promotion that takes place 18 September to 3 October 2010.

“British Food Fortnight is an ideal catalyst for finding new suppliers.”
Mark Holmes, Sheffield Teaching Hospitals

“British Food Fortnight provides a fantastic opportunity to grow sales and profits with the support of a nationally recognised event.”
Libra Europe, consultants to the food supply chain industry

“British Food Fortnight’s initiative sending chefs into schools is an invaluable way of teaching the next generation and we love being involved.”
Dave Myers & Simon King, BBC’s ‘Hairy Bikers’celebrity chefs

Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cornwall had tea this week in The Dorchester Hotel with the winning pupils of British Food Fortnight’s school competition: the ‘Cook for Life’ Challenge that is sponsored by Kenwood. The competition challenges all schools in the UK to take part in the annual food celebration by incorporating cookery into their curriculum activities in imaginative ways. Last year’s special challenge was for pupils to design and cook a menu using the minimum food miles. The winning school, Hawarden High School in Flintshire, produced a menu that cut food miles by 95%!

With food prices accelerating at their fastest rate since records began, fuelling a rise in the average family's shopping bill of £750 a year, the organisers of British Food Fortnight, which takes place 20th September to 5th October and is the national celebration of the diverse and delicious food that Britain produces, have put together some tips on eating British during the credit crunch:

 “I am immensely impressed by the ingenuity and imagination of the schools that have taken part in British Food Fortnight over the last few years.”
HRH The Prince of Wales

“British Food Fortnight gives caterers a reason to be enthused
about quality British food.”
Bob Cotton, CEO, British Hospitality Association

“British Food Fortnight provides the retailer with a fantastic opportunity to grow
sales and profits with the support of a nationally recognised event.
It would be foolish not to take part.”
Libra Europe, consultants to the food supply chain industry