Cockermouth Food Festival Hailed A Success

New research has revealed that this year's inaugural food festival in Cockermouth was a huge success - bringing in over a quarter of a million pounds for businesses.

The ‘Taste Cumbria’ Food Festival was held over the weekend of September 25th-26th as a big event to help in Cockermouth’s rebirth post-flooding.

Independent research carried out on the day showed that the festival brought in at least an estimated £370,000 into the town and was attended by over 17,000 people.

The event attracted vistitors from across Cumbria, but also holidaymakers from France, Austria and Australia. Eight out of 10 said the festival was “value for money,” while 97 per cent said they would recommend it.

Nine out of 10 said they would visit Cockermouth again and every business taking part said they would do it again and that the event had been good for trade.

The festival saw demonstrations from celebrity chefs John Torode, Antony Worrall Thompson and Aldo Zilli, as well as food tasting and a variety of workshops.

There are already plans being made for the second Taste Cumbria Food Festival over the same weekend on the 24th and 25th September 2011.

Katie Read was the Festival Director and works for West Cumbria Tourism and is employed by Cumbria Tourism.

She commented: “Over the weekend itself, the Taste Cumbria Food Festival was hugely successful and now the research shows the economic value of it. We always knew that West Cumbria has some of the best brewers, chefs, food shops, produce and restaurants in the country; and this was a real opportunity to show the world.”

Taste Cumbria was funded by the Northwest Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE), which is funded by Defra and the European Union and managed by the Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA). 

David Hunter, Head of Rural Development at the NWDA, said: “The festival showed not only that Cumbria was open for business but that it can boast some of the finest food and drink this country has to offer. Organising a festival of this calibre in such a short space of time was a challenge but it was a tremendous success thanks to the hard work of all those involved.”

Mary Houston, Food Tourism Co-ordinator for the Northwest, said: “The day was a feast of all things foodie in Cumbria with bustling traditional farmers markets, celebrity chef demonstrations and the area’s best restaurants, bars and pubs joining together as well as Cockermouth’s own great eateries throwing open their doors and getting involved.”

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1: For further information please contact Cumbria Tourism Press Office on 01539 825075 or on pressoffice@cumbriatourism.org

2: Cumbria Tourism is the lead organisation for tourism in the county and is at the heart of the Cumbria Visitor Economy.  It is also the largest membership organisation in Cumbria with more than 3,000 members.  Over 15.3 million annual visitors to Cumbria contribute more than £1.1 billion to the local economy and support around 36,000 jobs.  To find out more about the work of Cumbria Tourism, visit www.cumbriatourism.org

3: Cumbria Tourism is supported by the Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA). The NWDA leads the economic development and regeneration of England's Northwest and is responsible for: Supporting business growth and encouraging investment; Matching skills provision to employer needs; Creating the conditions for economic growth; Connecting the region through effective transport and communication infrastructure; Promoting the region’s outstanding quality of life.

4: The Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE) is jointly funded by the Government and the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development. It was launched in 2008 and will run to 2013. 

Along with Natural England and the Forestry Commission, the NWDA is responsible for delivering RDPE in the Northwest.  RDPE is investing £374 million in the region, £75 million of which has been allocated to the NWDA.  The remaining £299 million is being delivered by Natural England and the Forestry Commission.

5: To book accommodation in Cumbria – the Lake District, visit www.golakes.co.uk