Events
Jersey Dairy attends Real Food Festival
Jersey Dairy attended this year's Real Food Festival as part of the Jersey Zone. The group of local companies were all looking to increase export sales of Jersey produce hosting a joint stand in London from 8th to 10th May.
The seven businesses were brought together and supported by Jersey Enterprise. This is the second year that Jersey Enterprise has helped local firms take part in the Real Food Festival, which acts as a showcase for more than 400 small producers and is a key event for commercial buyers and top restaurants as well as food critics and enthusiastic food lovers.
Wayne Gallichan, Director of International Trade for Jersey Enterprise, said: “The event was a great success for the Jersey team and we are delighted with the response. Taking a Jersey stand to the Real Food Festival is all about generating export opportunities for local companies and raising the profile of Jersey as a producer of world-class food and a food destination.”
Last year, Jersey’s presence at the Festival led directly to a number of new opportunities, one of the most successful of which has been a tie up with top London restaurant, Fifteen. Staff from Fifteen were so impressed with the quality and range of Jersey produce they discovered that they set about forming stronger links with the Island and number of local producers. This work has culminated in a special Jersey based menu being presented to Fifteen customers for the entire month of May. Andrew Parkinson, Executive Head Chef, also gave a cookery demonstration at the event using local scallops, Jersey Sea Bass, Jersey Royal potatoes, Jersey tomatoes, Jersey cream and Jersey asparagus which was very well received.
Another welcome boost for the Jersey representatives came in the run up to this year’s event when Shaun Rankin, head chef at the Michelin starred Bohemia restaurant, attended the Jersey stand on the friday.
The other firms that took part on the Jersey stand were: La Mare Wine Estate, the Jersey Oyster Company and Jersey Royal Potatoes as a product. All reported strong interest in their products, with La Mare selling out of traditional black butter and apple brandy and the Jersey Oyster company selling many oysters over the three days.