30th October 2008

Food, or more precisely, cheap food, is headline news.  Soaring prices, the cost of our obesity epidemic, the dominance of supermarkets and the increased awareness of industrialised meat production have put the food industry firmly in the spotlight.  Into this arena comes the Real Food Festival - a champion for every producer that is committed to delivering high quality, tasty and healthy food via fair, ethical and sustainable methods.

The Real Food Festival ‘09 is celebrated today (Friday 31st October) at the House of Lords at an event hosted by The Earl of Erroll together with The Lord Newborough of Rhug Estate Organic Farm.  Leading the long list of Real Food Festival supporters are real food champions Raymond Blanc, Patrick Holden, Director of the Soil Association and Rosie Boycott, Chair of London Food, all of whom speak of the importance of supporting real food production.
Rosie Boycott, said: 'It is vitally important that we promote and celebrate great food at events such as the Real Food Festival. In London we are witnessing an explosion of interest in high quality food, providing fantastic opportunities for producers in the capital. The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, and I are determined to champion London's vibrant and diverse food sector in order to boost accessibility to healthy, locally sourced food.'

The Real Food Festival 2009 will take place on 8-10 May at London’s Earls Court.  Over 500 small producers that have been hand-picked by the Real Food selection committee and subsidised to take part will come together to showcase delicious food & drink produced ethically, fairly and sustainably in the UK and around the world.

Eco icon Zac Goldsmith is another keen supporter of the event, ‘The Real Food Festival not only offers an extraordinary variety of delicious food and drink, it actively champions traditional farming methods, bio-diversity and a return to the human scale. At a time of volatile oil prices and rising food security concerns, it makes sense on every level to reduce the distance between producer and consumer.’

Visitors to the event can see, taste and buy fabulous artisanal produce.  They can watch chef demonstrations, discover the origins of the food on sale, participate in cookery workshops, get involved in leading debate about how our food is produced, see real livestock and talk to the producers themselves.  The Real Food Festival is an ideal day out for food lovers, families and those that really care about the future of our food:  it is unique in bringing the producer and the consumer closer together. 

Supporters of the Real Food Festival include Henrietta Green of FoodLoversBritain.com, the official online partner.  Henrietta comments, ‘We are delighted to be working with the Real Food Festival as their online partner.  Its philosophy of championing local food and regional quality producers chimes with FoodLoversBritain.com.  The Real Food Festival promises to go forward to become a must-go event for every food lover.’