In these challenging times, the term ‘adapt and overcome’ is particularly poignant, with the need for resilience and thinking outside the box becoming a necessity for many businesses.
The closure of hotels and restaurants has had a massive impact on the hospitality industry nationwide and we’ve been inspired by some of the ways producers, suppliers and chefs have strived to keep going; to serve their customers and the wider community, or simply to stay afloat. Here are a few of our local favourites…
Nationally renowned butcher, Phillip Warren in Launceston has set up a website – On the Pass, selling premium quality meat (previously destined for top UK restaurants) to the general public. They work closely with head chefs to supply locally sourced, perfectly aged meat to their exacting specifications, so the restaurant closure could have seen a huge amount go to waste. Instead, when it’s ready, the produce is added to the website for people to order – the meat sells out very quickly, but we’ve seen Brat 55-day aged Sirloin, Kiln half hogget and saddle of lamb for The Ledbury, available to purchase and delivered to your door. That’s Sunday lunch smashed!
Ross Geach of Padstow Kitchen Garden and Jack Stein from The Seafood Restaurant have set up Virtual Food Festival, with live chef demos streamed online. Each celebrity chef champions their favourite producer, cooks with their produce and interviews them on a live stream. The festival has links to the producer’s website for viewers to buy produce direct. In a recent event featuring St Enodoc Asparagus, the response was huge and sales have ensured their (very short) season has been saved. More events to come, watch this space…
Cornish Rose Gin producer, Tinkture has been visiting key locations around Cornwall delivering directly to local communities who may not easily have access to buy their products. On offer? Possibly the most eclectic mix of goods you’ll ever hear of, including freshly roasted, ethically sourced Coffee from Yallah, handmade, fresh pasta and sauce from ‘The Appletons’ and hand-picked, home-grown Cornish Flowers by Three Acre, along with Cornish Rose Gin, bottles of Negroni and their own hand sanitiser. We love it!