HEREFORDSHIRE FOOD CHAMPION 2010

Thank you all who nominated me.  I was extremely pleased to be shortlisted for the award!


Please, please would you be kind enough to nominate me as a "Herefordshire Food Champion" in the up and coming Flavours of Herefordshire Awards 2010?  As you may know that I've won the Flavours of Herefordshire "Best Breakfast" for three years on the trot and am giving that one a break this year.  But the Herefordshire Food Champion award is a new category for this year and I'd love to be considered.

Your vote along with a few words to sum up what you feel is my ethos and approach to serving, promoting and supporting local Herefordshire food and food producers would be much appreciated.

Apparently, the HEREFORDSHIRE FOOD CHAMPION is based on the number of votes from the public!  If you would like to nominate me please send your entry including the following details:

The following bullet points are the criteria on which I'd be judged and I have made a few notes besides each.............

1. Length of service to Herefordshire Food and Drink? - I opened Lower Buckton Country House in 2000 when I made a conscious decision that my food and drink served would be sourced from Herefordshire and from within a twelve mile radius of Lower Buckton.  Everything either home-produced, grown reared, baked stirred & cooked at Lower Buckton or locally sought, bought and caught from small-scale, micro-businesses and farmers' markets which is all served in season.
2. Depth and breadth of knowledge of food produced in the county? Describe how aware the nominated champion is of the food produced in the county:  My depth of knowledge is demonstrated by the amount of food and drink which is sourced from small-scale micro producers in the county and my utter commitment to supporting local businesses and the rural economy.  I have a working knowledge of all the county's food/drink producers and the ability to impart my passion to all who're interested enough to listen!
3. Charisma and enthusiam of the individual?  Describe the nominated champion's enthusiasm for the county - do they do anything special?  Well, I'll leave you to comment on that but I hope that my enthusiasm is reflected in the passion I have for our local seasonal food in the county and that I believe that our food has a history, provenance and story to tell from plot to plate.  The fact that I can tell our guests not just the name of the person who makes the cheese but can show you the fields in which the cows grazed that produced the milk and the name of the farmer who milked the cows and so and so on.  The women who make our apple juice collect the apples from friends' non-sprayed, private orchards and press them at their small-holding about eight miles away; we think their juice sublime.  All our meat is either our own home-produced free-range pork or from Doug Griffiths' Butchers in Leintwardine who has the only remaining slaughterhouse for many, many, many miles at the rear of his traditional shop.  A true Food Hero indeed!  These are sort of food producers who interest me.  The small, the struggling, the ones who battle against all the odds.  The farmers who've diversified, who've learned a new art in order earn "value added" from their product.  The ones who've not been afraid of change but have remained principled and true to their roots in agriculture but developed to meet a more discerning and enlightened market.
4. How they promote Herefordshire in their work to the county, the UK and the rest of the world?  My Cookery Courses and Food Safaris are specifically devised to promote our local food and drink and to inspire participants through taste adventures exploring Herefordshire's food and drink rich culture and heritage.  The Cook Days evolve around whatever local, seasonal food is available at the time from which we're inspired to create spontaneous dishes.  My Food Safaris are magical mystery tours and regularly visit a cross-section of food and drink producers across the county.  Over the years I've made various TV and radio appearances: from a networked radio station in USA to prime-time TV in the UK all promoting Herefordshire produce.  The most recent was being featured on BBC R4 Traveller's Tree in May of this year when the reporter followed one of my Food Safaris.  I'm a founder member and committee member of Slow Food Herefordshire which organises various food-related events through the county.  I've twice represented Slow Food at the Salone del Gusto in Turin.  First as one of 30 cooks/chefs representing the UK at Terra Madre2006 and secondly as the Herefordshire representative at Terra Madre2008
5. FOOD FESTIVAL I regularly give cookery demonstrations at local shows and food festivals but the reality of my passion for local produce in Herefordshire is "my own" Mortimer Country Food Fair which I co-organise with a neighbouring business(Aardvark Books).  We started the fair as a show-case to specifically highlight our local businesses within our community and to bring them together for a day to promote our own special corner of north Herefordshire.  This fair has grown in size and takes place every year in Brampton Bryan.  It is living proof of my commitment to promoting our local businesses and therefore supporting our local community.
6. I'm constantly promoting Herefordshire food and drink through my websites, blog, Twitter and Facebook
7. http://www.lowerbuckton.co.uk
8. http://www.foodtourism.co.uk
9. http://www.mortimerfoodfair.co.uk
10. http://lowerbuckton.blogspot.com
11. http://twitter.com/agaqueen

BUT MOST OF ALL, I ENJOY SERVING MY BED AND BREAKFAST GUESTS "HEREFORDSHIRE ON A PLATE"..........

Please, please send your nomination details to:

Food Champion at Flavours of Herefordshire 2010, Visit Herefordshire, PO Box 4, Plough Lane, Hereford HR4 0XH

or email it to jlewis2@herefordshire.gov.uk

Don't forget to include my name and address, so that they know who you are nominating!

Carolyn Chesshire, Lower Buckton Country House, near Leintwardine, Herefordshire SY7 OJU

Please hurry because entries have to be in by Sunday 1 August which really means by Friday 30 July, I suppose!