By George Shaw
Visit Northumberland has announced a new initiaive Taste of Northumberland, to champion the north England county’s food and drink that is grown, made and served in the county.
The initiative brings together a collection of bookable county-wide foodie experiences and tours, with a brand new quality mark that assures consumers of genuine ingredients, artisan skill and locally sourced products. Across the county, close to 100 producers, retailers and hospitality businesses have come together to celebrate the quality, diversity and provenance of Northumberland’s food story. There’s also an interesting piece around the wider context of food tourism.
Highlights of stories and trip itinerary ideas :include:
The Cramlington Forager – guided foraging walks and workshops exploring Northumberland’s edible landscapes, followed by seasonal tastings.
Fell’s Kitchen – this is a memorable outdoor dining experience where a multi-course meal is cooked and served on the Northumberland fells – the views are spectacular as well as the food.
Bamburgh Bees – spend time with local beekeepers learning about honey production and the landscapes that support it.
Hepple – discover the estate and the wild botanicals that have inspired one of England’s most distinctive gin producers.
Triple A Food Tours – meet local producers, hear their stories and enjoy tastings that showcase the very best of Northumberland’s food and drink.
Ad Gefrin – a £16m Anglo-Saxon Museum and Whisky Distillery in Wooler, Northumberland that celebrates and showcases the unique heritage, ancient hospitality and contemporary craft and produce of the region. Ad Gefrin is also home to the first Northumbrian English Single Malt Whisky. England’s most northerly distillery, Ad Gefrin is the county’s first (legal) whisky distillery in 200 years and a member of the English Whisky Guild.
A spokeman for the iniative said:
“The debate around domestic food production has never been more relevant or urgent, both in terms of our collective health and wellbeing, and the environmental and economic impact. Hence, farming issues are rarely out of the news.
“Food tourism has traditionally sat in one of three camps: accreditation schemes championing quality and provenance of the produce/ producer OR initiatives that help to guide tourists through the particular regional landscape via food trails OR it has been a comms exercise told via regional storytelling, pulling in the producer as well as the hospitality sector, thus promoting the county’s identity.
“Taste of Northumberland is doing what so few have been able to do, which is bring together all three of these approaches, combining and offering visitors:
a trusted mark of quality across the county
a connected network of producers and hospitality
a clearly defined visitor journey
Taste of Northumberland sits firmly within this emerging space, with a clear focus on championing the county’s food and drink offering — the single largest contributor to its visitor economy, generating £491 million and supporting 5,018 direct full-time equivalent jobs, representing 43.3% of sector employment. Taste of Northumberland is not conceptual, it is experiential, linking provenance and the tourist in a county wide programme with a product that is much about education as it is about enjoyment, speaking directly to the end consumer.