Bishop Auckland Food Festival

Yesterday, I went to a Local Food Festival. I was fairly lucky regarding the weather, as while it had rained earlier, while wandering around Bishop Auckland Castle, the home of the Bishop of Durham, the rain held off.

It was a very well attended event and while I made some wonderful discoveries, there is a sameness to many of the exhibitors. While I am very much in favour of good well produced local food, often the farmers are making and producing rather similar products. Sausages, Cheese, Bread.

Part of the problem seems to be that Farmers have been encouraged to diversify and add value to the food they produce and sell. However, as the people providing the advice and guidance are a small pool of people, all the farmers are often given the same suggestions. Therefore, the farmers and producers end up creating products that are very similar. As long as there is a demand for these products then the Farmers will have created long term businesses. But I am often left wondering who buys, or should that be who can afford to buy many of these products. As frequently there are healthy premiums placed on these foods.

While there are plenty of people that are interested in good food, this was evident by the 30,000 people who attended the festival. However, while folks were buying the foods and products, I was also constantly overhearing people complaining about the prices. As people will buy many of these products as an occasional treat, or for a seasonal festival such as Easter or Christmas, these are far from everyday foods.

I am well aware that markets like the Bishop Auckland Food Festival are a place to showcase what the Farmers and Producers create, there was no one there selling or promoting everyday foods. There was no one selling locally grown Vegetables as an example. Most were promoting their Farm shops. As the name imply's, these are shops that are based on the farm. Therefore, to sell their produce requires people to travel to them. With the price of travel going up as well as people starting to genuinely reduce their travel for environmental reasons, the logic of having a “Farm Shop” on the farm starts to look less logical. This comes back to the same small group of farm business advisor’s “Selling” everyone the same ideas.

Sooner or latter there will be a farmer or a group of farmers that will see the logic of opening Farm shops in towns rather than on the farm. And not just looking only at the premium end of a saturated market but the majority market products that most people can afford.

I personally love Farmers Markets and Food Festivals, they are far away from the food(s) that the majority eat regularly and the way the majority shop. While Farmers Markets and Food Festivals are a great way for Farmers and Producers to meet the public and their customers, far to often the people that will visit a food festival are the affluent. The normal person can not afford these foods. I can see a growing gulf between the Farmers and the real consumer rather than these markets and festivals closing the gap.

There were a couple of exceptions at this Food Festival and one of them was a company supplying Pink Veal and you can read my posting on them at http://wearvalleyherbsandspices.blogspot.co.uk/