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
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“Seeing the bigger picture”
11 December 2017 Speciality BitesI 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 BitesIt’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 BitesFollowing 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 BitesAs 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… -
“Do speciality producers really support independent retailers?”
06 November 2017 Speciality BitesI had to pretend to be a chef for the evening last Friday Night. Last June, rashly I had offered into an Auction of Promises for a fund-raising event for our orphanage in Kenya a “Restaurant Quality Meal for 6 Cooked at your Home”. The bidding… -
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times”
03 November 2017 Town CrierLiterary lovers will know this is the opening lines of The Tale of Two Cities, from that Charles Dickens classic, set in revolutionary times -
The Interview: Darren Henaghan, Borough Market
03 November 2017 NewsDarren Henaghan, managing director of Borough Market, talks people, passion and provenance -
“Diminishing returns”
03 November 2017 Town CrierThere’s an adage that it’s easier to sell to an existing customer than to convert a new one. It is in our best interests that we ensure that once a prospect becomes ours, they stay ours – through thick and thin -
“The Goldilocks zone”
03 November 2017 Expert EyeWhat has trading been like so far in 2017 at Partridges? The answer is on the whole not very good. Nothing to write home about or even an article about -
“Breaking fast”
03 November 2017 Fine FoodNext time you find yourself in a hotel breakfast room, take a look around at the other guests. This sensible folk will have got up early to tuck into double fried everything. Once upon a time everyone would have been breakfasting like this. A combination of… -
“The growth of crowdfunding for food and drink start-ups”
30 October 2017 Speciality BitesMany of us now have several e-mails a month from the latest food and drink start-up to try and raise funds through crowdfunding, but how many of us have invested? This week I thought I would explore the area a little further and try and… -
“Does the speciality food sector care about the environment?”
23 October 2017 Speciality BitesComing into work this morning, the headline news was that old vehicles were now going to have to pay an extra £10 to drive in the London Congestion Zone. On the channel I was listening to there was at least one spokesperson complaining that businesses would…
