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Get your free copy21 February 2011, 20:08 PM
- Eight in ten consumers think the quality of ingredients is the most important criteria when buying food and drink, according to a study by the Cornwall Development Company [CDC]
The findings suggest that customers are unwilling to compromise on flavour and provenance, despite rising inflation, an increase in VAT and recent warnings about a ‘double-dip’ recession.
Although 70% of participants acknowledged that they will have to be more careful about how they spend their money in 2011, 86% said treating themselves to quality food and drink, either at home or in restaurants, would be a priority.
Cornwall’s food industry is worth approximately £1.5bn, and the CDC commissioned the study to determine how attitudes towards food and drink have been affected by the current economic climate on a national scale.
Acclaimed chef Rick Stein, who owns several businesses in Cornwall, including a bistro, seafood delicatessen, patisserie, gift shop and cookery school, is a vocal advocate of the region’s fare. “With Cornish line caught sea bass gracing the tables of many a Michelin starred restaurant in the capital and Cornish blue cheese voted as best in the world, the quality I’ve always recognised is suddenly becoming much more generally realised,” he says.
Mr Stein’s view is backed up by recent CDC findings that Cornwall is the area of the UK that people most associate with high-quality produce.
