People

The fine food industry is full of inspiring professionals with a wealth of experience and expertise under their sleeves – find out what makes them tick and discover their take on the ever-changing market right here

  • “Refurb – a leap of faith”

    16 March 2018 Expert Eye
    The importance of being furbished has nothing to do with one of Oscar Wilde’s great works, although retailing has often been described as pure theatre. Rather it relates to the general desire at this time of the year to improve and spruce up the look of…

  • The Interview: Jane Milton

    16 March 2018 The Interview
    A passion for food and a knack for making things better are behind Jane Milton’s illustrious career

  • The Independent Shopper: Gordon Stott

    14 March 2018 Industry
    Gordon Stott, Pub Chef of the Year 2017 and landlord of The Sun Inn, on his admiration for quality produce and getting to know his local retailers and suppliers

  • The Independent Shopper: Jérôme Henry

    15 February 2018 Industry
    Jérôme Henry, the renowned French chef behind Edinburgh’s newly opened Le Roi Fou, tells us about his favourite independent shops and suppliers

  • The Interview: Jason Atherton

    08 February 2018 The Interview
    A worldwide restaurant empire hasn’t distanced the Michelin-starred chef from his British roots

  • The Independent Shopper: Nigel Barden

    01 February 2018 Industry
    Nigel Barden, stalwart of the fine food scene and judge of the upcoming Q Guild Butchers Awards, tells us about the independent food and drink shops he couldn’t live without

  • The Interview: Michael Gove

    01 February 2018 The Interview
    Michael Gove, secretary of state, talks to us about the future of British food

  • “Happy Christmas!”

    19 December 2017 Speciality Bites
    On the basis that most retailers should be far too busy to read any digital content this week, and several suppliers are shutting or winding down, I will keep this week’s piece extremely brief. Learning lessons from Christmas past:

  • “Seeing the bigger picture”

    11 December 2017 Speciality Bites
    I was in London over the weekend and as I last visited the Tower of London when I was 10, I thought we should pay it another visit. To stand in the same space as William the Conqueror nearly 1,000 years ago is amazing, when you…

  • “Endings”

    04 December 2017 Speciality Bites
    It’s been a couple of weeks of endings for several businesses. At Cotswold Fayre, two of our new suppliers for 2017 have stopped trading less than a year after we started with them. Thor Drinks has done it properly and gone into administration but the other,…

  • “The art of selling”

    27 November 2017 Speciality Bites
    Following on from last week’s thoughts, I have been wondering whether digital technology has reduced the need of those within SMEs to be able to sell. The thought stream sometimes seems to be that if you put yourself out on social media enough then business will…

  • “Do face-to-face relationships matter any longer?”

    20 November 2017 Speciality Bites
    As I write this week’s thoughts I am simultaneously preparing for the Cotswold Fayre New Supplier’s Conference tomorrow. This annual event is when we spend a day with our January launch suppliers and allow them to get to know us, our company and culture. We also…
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