Food

It was traditionally the supermarket aisle where shoppers purely bought their fruit and vegetables, but now major changes in the produce area are having a profound effect on not only shopping habits but also the move to reduce food waste.

Instead of just fruit and vegetables Tesco fruit and veg aisles now offer shoppers more than 400 fresh, healthy ready meals, snacks and side dishes.

These include healthy carb alternatives such as Butternut Fusilli and Leek and Cavolo Bake; side dishes like Spinach and Ricotta Stuffed Mushrooms; snacks like Mexican Spiced Bean and Fruit Salsa; and dessert crumble mixes with fruit.

In the last two years rising demand for these prepared foods has grown by 10 per cent – the equivalent of an extra 1.5 million items bought by shoppers.

And their popularity is having a great environmental knock-on effect – a number of these dishes and snacks allow growers and producers to utilise all of their crops, such as cauliflower, carrots, swedes, broccoli and butternut, leading to less food waste.

For instance, cauliflowers considered too small to sell on their own are now being used to make cauliflower couscous - a healthier replacement for carbs – amongst other prepared veg dishes.

And wonky shaped carrots are now being used to make carrot spaghetti - another healthier alternative to carbs.

Tesco prepared produce buyer Elizabeth Hall said:

“These tempting new fresh fruit and veg foods are not only offering shoppers a far wider choice in healthy, nutritious meals but are also helping tackle food waste through greater crop utilisation.

“For growing numbers of shoppers the fruit and veg aisle is now the first destination they will head to, to find innovative and delicious new meals if they are pressed for time and looking for fresh food they can cook quickly.

“Until about five years ago the main prepared fruit and veg items were stir fry mixes, sides like roasting trays of vegetables, and fruit snack packs.

“These have been so popular that we began to expand the range in order to further help customers who are short on time but still want to experience the joy of cooking fresh food.”

Demand at Tesco has particularly rocketed over the last two years with:

• Spiralised vegetables such as courgette or carrot spaghetti – soaring by 40 per cent
• Edamame bean salads – growing by more than 100 per cent
• Organic prepared salads – up by nearly 90 per cent
• Healthy fruit snacks such as melon and mango 'fingers' – up 400 per cent

Among the new lines about to be launched are the UK's first ever mushroom burgers as well as beetroot burgers; potato wedges with katsu dip and crunchy quinoa; and fajita mix with peppers and onions.

Added Tesco's Elizabeth Hall: “It's not only time-pressed shoppers that we are catering for with these new fresh ready meals and snacks.

“Healthy foods such as butternut fusilli and butternut lasagne sheets are meeting the needs of customers wanting to cut down on carbs and look after themselves through simple alternatives.”

With the arrival of August, the Jerte Picota Cherries have started to disappear from UK supermarkets shelves in Tesco, Sainsbury's and Morrisons. The end of their short season is unfortunately here, and we won't see them again until next June.

The season of Jerte Picota Cherries lasts for approximately 6 weeks from the end of June until the beginning of August. Jerte Picota Cherries are 100% natural, grown with no additives, making them the perfect fruit to enjoy for any meal during the peak of the summer season.

Following century-long family customs, the cherries are grown in a traditional way on terraces carved out of the high mountains in the Jerte Valley, among crystal-clear springs and pure air. Only this location, with a privileged microclimate, could grow the best cherries from Spain. The season was slightly longer this year due to perfect weather conditions in the Jerte Valley.

With their sweet taste and unique appearance, Jerte Picota Cherries are loved all over the UK, with many fans counting down the days to their arrival. Jerte Picota Cherries have a loyal following on social media, where people come for the latest information, post their own recipes and comment about their recent cherry purchases. One loyal fan, Stephanie P., commented saying, “It's been a wonderful year for the best cherries in the world. Only 46 weeks to go to the next harvest.” This year the Jerte Picota Cherries were also featured in Spanish restaurants throughout London, including José Pizarro Restaurants, Hispania and Ibérica. Delicious dishes were created by top Spanish chefs for people to enjoy.

During the coming months, you can daydream about how you'll use Jerte Picota Cherries next year, from delicious recipes to snacking moments to summer picnics. Keep an eye out for Jerte Picota Cherries next season, looking for the red and yellow PDO logo that accompanies each punnet of cherries.

Obsessive attention to detail has paid off for Devon-based premium soft drinks producer, Luscombe Drinks, who have just won a staggering 15 Great Taste awards at the world's most prestigious food and drinks awards.

Run annually by the Guild of Fine Food, Great Taste awarded Luscombe Drinks four two-star awards for products judged as 'outstanding' and nine one-star awards for those judged as 'simply delicious'. This brings the Luscombe Drinks haul to a total of 73 Great Taste awards for the range of delicate bubblies, fruit crushes, fruit juices, traditional soft drinks, tonic waters and a cider.

Gabriel David, founder and chairman of Luscombe Drinks, said: “This is absolutely fantastic news – 15 more Great Taste awards! I'm particularly delighted that our new tonics have already gained recognition. This is a huge pat on the back for the hard work and dedication of the Luscombe Drinks team, especially given the competition in the soft drinks industry.

“I am extremely proud that Luscombe Drinks now has a total of 73 Great Taste awards – because it is all about the taste. Our ethos is to pay fanatical attention to the detail. We ensure that quality is never compromised when it comes to sourcing the finest ingredients, using minimal processing and crafting the very best soft drinks. And, we are continually innovating and exploring new ingredients and flavours.”

Waitrose will launch its 50th sushi counter on 1st August and has confirmed it will add up to 25 more by the end of January 2018.

The counters are part of the supermarket's plans to reflect the needs of the modern day shopper by providing convenient food and drink to take away or eat in store. This has already seen the launch of a new 'Kitchen' concept, wine bars, eat-in bakeries and in-store cafes.

Waitrose became the first UK national supermarket to offer sushi, which is freshly made in its shops, when it introduced a counter at its Battersea store in November 2015. The sushi counters were launched in co-operation with Sushi Daily.

Sushi counter sales at Waitrose grew by more than 23 per cent between February and April this year as the retailer delivered the fastest roll-out programme SushiDaily has experienced in the ten countries in which they now operate.

Waitrose Canary Wharf, the retailer's largest store, is delivering one of the highest turnovers in sales of sushi among more than 600 counters Sushi Daily operates throughout Europe.

Following the opening of its 50th sushi counter in Hitchin, Hertfordshire, on 1st August, the supermarket will have opened more than 20 counters in the last six months.

Each Sushi Daily bar is headed by a team of skilled sushi artisans, who prepare a range of hand-made sushi and maki everyday in front of customers. The bestselling lines at Waitrose include the Salmon Crunch Roll, California Crunch Roll and the Avocado Maki.

This summer a variety of new Yellowtail sushi will be introduced in selected bars for the first time. Considered to be one of the finest fish in the world by many chefs, the creamy white fish delivers a fresh, full taste and will feature in four new products

Craft & Crumb announced today that they have been awarded a Silver in the Best Children's Food category in the Junior Design Awards 2017, the original and trendsetting lifestyle awards that recognises the best of the best for children.

The Junior Design Award is the most esteemed accolade in the family lifestyle award arena, recognised by brands, clients and consumers alike. The winners were handpicked by the Junior editorial team and a panel of industry insiders, celebrity parents, and social influencers including Pearl Lowe, Cherry Healey, Matt Whitehouse (@papa_pukka), and popular mummy bloggers including Zoe (@dresslikeamum) and Natalie (@stylemeSunday) to mention just a few.

“Junior magazine flies the flag for high end premium brands and we share their commitment to outstanding design and exceptional attention to detail. As a new start up business, we are thrilled to have been awarded a silver in these most coveted awards,” said Kate Horne co-founder of Craft & Crumb. “As Junior turns 20, we continue to recognise and reward uncompromising style, design, and beauty. Our winners demonstrate excellent aesthetics and outstanding vision,” commented the editorial team.

Great Taste, the world's most coveted food awards, which celebrates the very best in food and drink, has announced the Great Taste stars of 2017. Out of over 12,300 products to be judged, the Meatsnacks Group was awarded two 1-star Great Taste awards, which means judges dubbed it simply delicious for its Wild West Honey BBQ Beef Jerky and Cruga Biltong Original. About the jerky the judges commented, 'Great appearance. Sweet on the palate, but not too chewy'. On the biltong they said 'A nicely even cut which has a very good chew and a delicate spicing. The balance works well with meat. Simple but effective.'

Judged by over 500 of the most demanding palates, belonging to food critics, chefs, cooks, restaurateurs and producers, as well as a whole host of food writers and journalists, Great Taste is widely acknowledged as the most respected food accreditation scheme for artisan and speciality food producers. As well as a badge of honour, the unmistakeable black and gold Great Taste label is a signpost to a wonderful tasting product, which has been discovered through hours and hours of blind-tasting by hundreds of judges.

'Having won our first Great Taste Award last year this spurred us on to gain recognition for other brands in our range. I am immensely proud of the team with gaining two awards this year for both Wild West jerky and Cruga biltong. It's a testament to their commitment to producing the best jerky and biltong,' explains James Newitt, Managing Director.

The Meatsnacks Group makes its jerky from beef silverside. From their facility in the Highlands of Scotland, the meat is prepared by hand, which is then marinated for 24 hours, slowly cooked and smoked.

The biltong is made using select cuts of beef silverside, to a traditional South African blend, which is sliced and air dried in their custom designed drying room. The biltong is then hand-picked using a traditional skill brought from South Africa.

Recognised as a stamp of excellence among consumers and retailers alike, Great Taste values taste above all else, with no regard for branding and packaging. Whether it is gin, biscuits, sausages or coffee being judged, all products are removed from their wrapper, jar, box or bottle before being tasted. The judges then savour, confer and re-taste to decide which products are worthy of a 1-, 2- or 3-star award.

There were 12,366 Great Taste entries this year and of those products, 165 have been awarded a 3-star, 1,011 received a 2-star and 3,171 were awarded a 1-star accolade. The panel of judges included; chef, food writer and author, Gill Meller, MasterChef judge and restaurant critic, Charles Campion, author and chef, Zoe Adjonyoh, baker, Tom Herbert, and food writer and baking columnist Martha Collison as well as food buyers from Fortnum & Mason, Selfridges, and Harvey Nichols. These esteemed palates have together tasted and re-judged the 3-star winners to finally agree on the 2017 Top 50 Foods, the Golden Fork Trophy winners and the 2017 Supreme Champion.

Great Taste 2017 will reach its exciting finale on Monday 4 September, when the world of fine food gathers at the Intercontinental Park Lane Hotel, London to find out the Golden Fork winners for each region at an Awards Dinner, with the final applause reserved for the Great Taste Supreme Champion 2017.

All hail convenience! The time-pressed nation is busy, busy, busy, fanning a growing trend for on-the-go food and drink and meal solutions. With premium quality a key part of what consumers are looking for, Speciality & Fine Food Fair 2017 is worth slowing down for.

The industry event at Olympia London will be showcasing thousands of new products, many of which have been created with convenience in mind, when the doors open from September 3-5. From grab boxes of authentic Turkish Delight, mini portions of all natural dressings, snack bars, healthier teas, mini pots of nut butters, gourmet ready meals, and breakfast smoothie bowls.

Adrian Beale, Founder of fine food distributors Buckley & Beale and Speciality & Fine Food Fair Ambassador, said: "If looking for new products at the Fair, 'convenience' foods should definitely be high up on the wish list. However, it's important to appreciate that convenience covers a wider range than first appears, and isn't just the grab and go sector. Consumers are also looking for complete meal solutions that are quick and easy to prepare, and they want them for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Look for products that clearly communicate to customers how they help them in their busy lives; how easy they are to consume or prepare; and what boxes they tick for health, sustainability, honourable sourcing, all of which are important to the next generation of demanding consumers."

Britain's largest producer of branded and private label fresh milk, butter, yogurt, desserts and dairy ingredients products has unveiled a series of measures to help supplying farmers build vibrant dairy businesses for the future.

Müller has already confirmed an unprecedented £100m of investment in its UK network of dairies so that it can build an additional £700m worth of sales of dairy products made with milk from British farmers, by 2020.

Now the business wants to increase confidence and resilience amongst its dairy farmer suppliers against a backdrop of volatile and unpredictable global dairy markets, and uncertainty surrounding future support for farmers following the UK's departure from the EU.

Müller has confirmed:

• A 1.31ppl increase in its farm gate milk price with effect from 1st September 2017, taking its standard litre price to 29.00ppl
• The introduction of a new Müller Direct Futures Contract option, giving dairy farmers the opportunity to agree a monthly price for up to 25% of their milk volume, for 12 months ahead
• The introduction of Müller Farm Insight, a new service for dairy farmers offering valuable data, welfare tools and benchmarking, to help their businesses
• The launch of Müller Direct, which comprises the 700 of the company's 1,800 farmer suppliers who aren't currently part of groups aligned to major supermarket customers. Müller Direct farmers are the focus for all of the above initiatives.

“There is a lot of uncertainty out there but we are optimistic. Britain remains one of the best places in the world to produce milk and Müller is investing heavily to ensure that consumers will be able to buy more and more dairy products made in Britain with milk from British farmers.

“We want to work with farmers to realise our shared ambitions as the basis of a progressive industry with the security and confidence to invest. The steps we are outlining today are early measures which signal our intent.”

Whether roasted, fresh, juiced or pickled, it appears Waitrose customers can't get enough of the humble beetroot as sales at the supermarket are rocketing. The versatile root vegetable is being used in everything from home-made juice to vegetable cakes and Waitrose is seeing sales of its Waitrose Duchy Organic Beetroot soar by 164% compared to last year. It has now also introduced a new spiralised beetroot to meet demand.

With food bloggers and chefs always looking for new ways to eat it, Waitrose shoppers have also been reaching for an array of more unusual beetroot products to get their fix. Sales of Waitrose Sweetfire Beetroot, a sweet and spicy chilli beetroot, are up 23% and Waitrose World Deli Beetroot and Sour Cherries Slaw is up 51%.

And new to the grocer's assortment is its Spiralised Beetroot. Infused with lemon, mint and chilli, it's perfect for brightening up a salad, as a light summer snack when combined with feta and a sprinkling of sesame seeds, or to make a delicious alternative topping for a burger.

For those looking to include more beetroot in their diet, Waitrose has a range of even more surprising beetroot infused food and drink products than ever before, including; the Waitrose Apple, Carrot and Beetroot Yogurt, Waitrose 1 Beetroot, Nigella and Three Seed Oat Biscuits, Waitrose Apple, Beetroot & Blackcurrant Juice, Waitrose Love Life Frozen Ruby Smoothie Mix containing beetroot and Teapigs Up Beet Energy Tea.

Another top seller is the new Waitrose World Deli Roasted Beetroot Crush, crushed roasted beetroot with feta and pumpkin seeds, which is one of the top selling lines in the new World Deli range.

Dr Emma Williams, Waitrose Senior Nutritionist says, “Consumers are becoming increasingly aware of the importance of a healthy, balanced diet, and we've seen they are enjoying beetroot in all its forms. Sales of beetroot are rising as customers look to eat more vegetables in as many different ways as possible.

"Studies* have shown that beetroot juice can increase distance runners' time by 16 per cent, which is great news for those wanting to exercise for longer and could suggest a reason behind the spike in sales. Being naturally rich in folate and a good source of potassium, beetroot is the perfect option for adding flavour and colour to any dish, whether sweet or savoury.”

It's been Britain's favourite cheese for more than 900 years but now shoppers have made history by creating the UK's first ever commercially produced bespoke cheddar.

The move came after Tesco called on customers and a leading British cheese producer, Parkham Farms, to help create a Cheddar cheese to delight and satisfy the palates of today's cheese lovers.

After researching cheese flavour profiles and reviewing cheese-making techniques with the West Country cheesemaker, the retailer has come up with what it believes is the best tasting mature and extra mature own brand Cheddar cheese in the UK.

For centuries milder tasting cheddar was the most popular variety in the UK but recently the stronger mature and extra mature varieties have taken over as shoppers' favourites.

Taste trials with more than 150 customers revealed what they now look for in a Cheddar cheese:

• Mature- a more rounded, deeper flavour with a slight sweetness and a creamier taste
• Extra Mature- a greater burst of flavour but with a slight sweetness and creamy taste

“For over 50 years spicier foods have become more common in our diets, and as our taste buds have acclimatised to the flavours, we see that customers now have a hankering for a deeper and more complex taste profile for their cheese.

“Involving some of our customers in the cheese-making process has been really helpful. They obviously have great taste – as both varieties have won gold medals at two major cheese events and demand has continued to soar.”

Tesco's Extra Mature Cheddar won Gold at the British Cheese Awards in June 2017 and Silver at the International Cheese Awards held at the Nantwich Show this week while the Tesco Mature Cheddar won Gold at the Devon County Show, in May 2017.

Since the new cheeses launched last autumn demand for Tesco's Extra Mature has rocketed by 40 per cent while Tesco Mature has grown by six per cent.

According to retail analysts Kantar Worldpanel, demand across the UK market in the last five years for mild and medium strength cheddar has fallen by five per cent while sales of mature and extra mature have grown by 11 per cent.

The Mature and Extra Mature Cheddars are made by Parkham Farm, on the North Devon coast, where the Willis family have over 30 years of cheddar-making experience.

The 1500-acre Parkham Farm has a fine heritage; a close-knit family business specialising in fine cheeses made from milk produced on the farm itself, using traditional creamery methods.

As the festival season approaches, Waitrose will be holding a Summer Festival of its own from 18th-20th August at Leckford Estate in Hampshire, the supermarket's farm. While enjoying food, drink, music and a variety of activities, visitors will also be able to learn about the 4,000-acre Leckford Estate. The estate grows and produces a wide range of items for Waitrose, including milk, mushrooms, fruit, flour, rapeseed oil and grapes for the supermarket's own Leckford Estate sparkling English wine.

As well as hosting the first Waitrose Summer Festival, the supermarket will also be setting up stall at popular festivals throughout the summer, bringing an array of delicious food and drink to festival goers; including Camp Bestival - 27th to 30th July and The Big Feastival 25th to 27th August (Waitrose also attended Cornbury Festival last weekend).

Rupert Ellwood, Head of Marketing, Waitrose, said : “We are delighted to be hosting the Waitrose Festival, bringing everything that we're famous for into one place. From the very best food, to our knowledgeable Partners and the passion of our producers, we wanted to show customers what it is that makes Waitrose special. We are proud supporters of British farming and our farm at Leckford Estate is the perfect venue to showcase this.

We also wanted to share a taste of Waitrose with other festival goers who may not have shopped with us before by setting up camp for the first time at a few of this year's popular summer festivals. It's a great opportunity to share our love of good food and drink and make Waitrose the best destination for summer eating."

Waitrose Summer Festival

Showcasing British produce, the Waitrose Summer Festival will bring together Waitrose producers, celebrity chefs and experts to showcase the very best food and drink.  Open to the public, the festival will feature a food and drink village with an array of pop-ups, including Good Food Guide recommended restaurants and foodie favourites such as sushi, stonebaked pizza and artisan cheese. Visitors will also be offered the chance to sample some of Heston Blumenthal's summer sizzlers in a Heston from Waitrose pub-style pop-up.

The Waitrose Summer Festival will play host to a number of special guests including Martha Collison, Tom and Henry Herbert, Ching-He Huang and previous MasterChef winner Dhruv Baker. Guests can attend workshops, and food demonstrations, see seasonal recipes being created, and find out about the latest food trends. More top names from the food and health industry will be announced in due course.

There will also be tours of the farm with the opportunity to learn about where Waitrose produce comes from and how it's grown.  Guests can also enjoy a range of delicious food and drink from Waitrose producers too, who will be on hand, ready to share their expertise and knowledge, along with tastings of their delicious food and drink.

Waitrose has today announced it will be extending its commitment to Fairtrade produce by making 100% of its own-label tea Fairtrade certified by October 2017.

This will mean all 46 Waitrose tea products will be Fairtrade, which clearly symbolises to customers that the tea farmers are benefiting from good working conditions, a fair deal and funds to spend on their local community. Farmers can choose how to spend the Fairtrade Premium generated - whether on developing their business or on community projects such as schools, health clinics or leisure facilities.

Forty-three of Waitrose's own-label tea products are already Fairtrade certified with the exception of its three Earl Grey tea lines, which will complete the conversion in October.

Rupert Thomas, Commercial Director at Waitrose, said:

“We're proud supporters of the Fairtrade Foundation and have seen first-hand their strong track record of supporting farmers who most need it.

“We've found that our customers are extremely loyal towards Fairtrade products and appreciate our long-standing and continued commitment - it highlights the investment in and support for the people, communities and businesses that produce our food.”

Emma Mullins, Tea Supply Chain Manager at Fairtrade Foundation, said:

“This move means all Waitrose's own label black and green tea will be 100% Fairtrade. This is fantastic news that will help improve the lives of some of the poorest tea farmers in China, who have previously invested their Fairtrade Premium in schools, sanitation, and tea quality and productivity projects, benefiting farmers and the wider community.

“Congratulations to Waitrose for taking another vital step in making their supply chains sustainable and making a great cup of tea even greater.”

The retailer currently stocks 250 Fairtrade-certified products. 100% of its own-label speciality sugars are certified Fairtrade, along with the majority of its own-label block chocolate, including its Waitrose 1 Indian Ocean Bar with Coconut, which was recently awarded the much-coveted Gold award in the 2017 Academy of Chocolate Awards. Waitrose was also the first retailer to switch 100% of its bananas to Fairtrade in 2007.

Waitrose first committed to the Fairtrade Foundation in 2007 and both work collaboratively to share best practice, experiences and a joint ambition to build upon their sustainable supply chain models.

Apricot lovers are in for the sweetest of summers this year, after Tesco announced it expects a record amount of English-grown apricots to be available in its stores over the summer season.

Apricots flourish in continental climates with cold winters,  but without spring frosts. So traditionally they have grown in countries like Spain, France, Morocco, Turkey and Iran.

Tesco were the first UK retailer to start selling English grown apricots and started working on a production partnership with one of the UK's largest stone fruit producers from Kent back in 2010.

With the first of the season's English apricots about to hit Tesco stores this week, there's great news with an incredible 180 tonnes expected to be picked over the summer- the largest amount ever grown in the UK.

Tesco stone fruit buyer Karen Bee said:

“Apricots are fast becoming one of the summer fruits of choice across the UK. Bursting with flavour, our English apricots are really sweet, have a beautiful orange blush and are firm yet juicy – everything that a classic apricot should be.

“The English variety are every bit as good as imported apricots and joins the ranks of British strawberries, cherries, apples and pears , as some of the best quality and tasting fruit grown in the world.

“The arrival of great quality English apricots over the last few years has helped  to invigorate the demand for this stone fruit.”

In the last year UK demand for apricots has rocketed by an unprecedented 75 per cent, making it one of Britain's most in demand fruits.

Apricot trees still need a lot of sunshine and as a result all the production at the moment is in the southern counties, with growers based either in Kent or the Isle of Wight.

Until the late noughties English apricot production was not thought possible because of our cooler temperatures.

But the arrival on the market of apricot cultivars or tree hybrids bred especially for climates like the UK's, that would flower later in the spring, have made English apricot production possible.

Nigel Bardsley, of Bardsley Farms in Kent, a partner supplier to Tesco and the UK's largest apricot grower said:

“This year we have had pretty much perfect growing conditions with a cool winter needed to allow the trees to rest, a warm spring and lots of summer sunshine with a bit of rain in between.”

The number of UK producers commercially growing apricots has doubled in recent years to eight.

Looking for the next big thing? Whether buying for retail, foodservice or wholesale; there is no better place to discover what will be shaping the fine food industry than at Speciality & Fine Food Fair.

The Fair's new Discovery Zone is a real opportunity to uncover what new brands and trends are emerging. This is a dedicated area for up and coming food and drink businesses which have been trading in the UK for less than 36 months.

Many new products being showcased in the zone this year are focused on health. It's not just about the ingredients that are in them but what's not too; with many claiming to have no added sugar, no gluten and no artificial flavours and colours. Natural food and drink is on trend too, along with a penchant for all things nutty and products featuring flavours from around the globe.

Kara Bowen, Event Manager, said: "Buyers and decision makers looking for the latest fine food and drink need look no further than Speciality & Fine Food Fair 2017. For those looking for innovative trends and brands breaking through, the new Discovery Zone is a must see. From what we are seeing so far, health and wellbeing is heavily influencing the new products being launched this year but luxury, both in terms of ingredients and packaging, is just as important."

City of Wolverhampton’s inaugural Festival of Food and Drink has been hailed a huge success by organisers – and will return next year on July 7 and 8.

More than 18,500 people attended the event in the heart of the city centre on Saturday and Sunday after snapping up free tickets.

Families revelled in the sunshine off Wulfruna Street, with a wide range of food and drink available alongside live music, an open-air cinema, Champagne/Prosecco bar, and traditional fairground games across both days.

Organiser William Power of Street Banquet and Director of E11EVEN GROUP, said: “It was a great event. We almost doubled our anticipated attendance and I am absolutely over the moon with its success.

“The way the city embraced the festival is astonishing and I would like to personally thank City of Wolverhampton Council for all of their support.

“It shows the ambition of the council for the city and to attract people to the city. No one I have worked with before in their first festival year has ever got close to these numbers.

“The Wolverhampton businesses seized the opportunity to work with national street food vendors; the best street food was available - and will be again next year. Put the date in your diaries now.”

Visitor comments included ‘it was family friendly, multi-cultural, and there was a fabulous choice of authentic food at reasonable prices’, ‘this event had a really good feel about it, like being at Notting Hill Carnival’, and ‘I was blown away, we need more events like this - it’s fabulous’.

Councillor John Reynolds, Cabinet Member for City Economy, said: “I am delighted the flagship event of our Visit the City of Wolverhampton programme has been so successful.

“It is another example of Wolverhampton putting itself on the map and it also illustrates why we were recently named as one of the top three UK cities to raise a family.”

Around 1,000 visitors chose to pay on the gate at the festival, which resulted in £1,000 going to the chosen charities of Mayor of Wolverhampton, Councillor Elias Mattu, and the other half to event costs.

Mayor Mattu said: “I’m tremendously proud of holding our first festival of food and drink which has bought so many new visitors to the city and given residents an opportunity to have a fabulous family day out.

“I’d like to thank the promoter for his kind donation and for everyone involved in making the weekend an occasion to remember.”

Birmingham’s premier independent steak restaurant, Anderson's Bar & Grill, has won ‘Best Steak House’ in the 2017 Midlands Food, Drink & Hospitality Awards. The awards ceremony took place on Monday 26^th June at Edgbaston Stadium

Up against some big names including Marco Pierre White Steakhouse and Fiesta Del Asado, Anderson’s Bar and Grill’s longstanding reputation as one of Birmingham’s best independent steak houses offering 100% British reared, quality, rare breed beef coupled with their knowledgeable team, proved to be a cut above the rest.

“We take great pride in our steak offering, from the quality of our beef to the knowledge our staff deliver to help inform our diners’ choices, so to win this award for the first time is a great boost for our team! Continuing to source and make great quality, rare breed British beef accessible to our diners requires a great deal of time, knowledge and work but it’s worthy cause when it means getting our diners familiar with these near forgotten breeds.

I’d like to say a huge thank you to our fantastic team who thoroughly deserve this award and, of course, our loyal diners for their votes and continued support over the years.” Said Tony Cox, Operations Director.

This award is Anderson’s third restaurant award in 3 years, having previously won ‘Best Restaurant’ in The Food Awards England in 2015 and 2016.