Food for thought
Skill development
Front row: Ann Simon, Tourism Manager; John Hazeldine, Administration Officer; Sharon Riley, Economic Development and Tourism Assistant. Back row: Paul Riley, Economic Development Manager; Allan Wood, Public Relations Officer; Michael Turvey, Chief Executive and Town Clerk.
Mr Turvey is quick to praise all of the staff involved in making the festival a reality and highlights the fact they learn new expertise during planning that can be used in further projects. He added: “A lot of skills are needed to ensure the festival is planned well and carried out well. Staff gain greatly from the learning process they go through to hone these skills to perfection. The Council benefits from staff deploying these skills on other projects just as the community benefits through the greater use of these enhanced expertise.”
He also points out the positive impact the festival has had on Christchurch’s work with the private sector. He said: “Our relationship with the private sector has improved enormously because of joint working and we now collaborate on other projects in ways which would not have happened before. We often hear the clichés of community leadership and partnership. The Food Festival shows community leadership and partnership actually working. Here is the reality.”
Fine food and drink
With thousands of visitors flocking to Christchurch to enjoy the festival over the eight days, its presence has a significant impact on the trade of the local shops, bars and restaurants. During the eight days, establishments are packed out as visitors look for places to purchase goods, eat a hearty meal or simply sit back and relax with a drink.
Neal Butterworth, Editor of the Daily Echo & Advertiser, is a Paul Harris Fellow. The bestowal was for his role as Editor of the paper which has raised £6 million for The Butterfly Appeal.
According to Councillor Wilkes, the more successful the festival becomes, the more likely the chance of entrepreneurs investing in new food and drink establishments in Christchurch. She said: “We are already seeing this with an unprecedented number of new restaurants opening or being planned. A high quality eating experience is part of our niche tourism market and the festival does a great job to ensure we develop the full potential of that.”
‘Best of the Best’ awards
The hard work and dedication of those already running eating and drinking establishments in Christchurch is celebrated at the festival’s annual ‘Best of the Best’ awards ceremony, sponsored by local newspaper the Daily Echo.
Best Overall Restaurant winner: Splinters, with Dr Alistair Somerville-Ford and, back right, Vicki Harrison from Christchurch Food and Wine Festival Committee. Image courtesy of Bournemouth Daily Echo.
For 2007, Lychee was named ‘Best Asian’ for its: “Overall Asian experience” and The Thomas Tripp was crowned ‘Best Public House’ for having: “A very good choice of beers and lagers which are cheaper than average and well kept.” Splinters was also given the title of ‘Best Restaurant’, described by judges as providing: “A warm greeting…mains were well presented and perfectly cooked… the service throughout the evening was perfectly timed.”
Neal Butterworth, Editor of the Daily Echo & Advertiser, believes that as the leading print media in the area, it is vital that the Daily Echo works closely with the local community to promote events such as the Christchurch Food & Wine Festival. He said: “We are a community newspaper that works hard to publicise and promote such events and by working with the organisers through our daily and free titles, we can reach hundreds of thousands of local people who might be unaware of the hard work and excellence that typifies such festivals. It is also important that we create editorial and commercial partnerships with local businesses across the area to help them flourish and grow.”