NEWS RELEASES
Bangers are a smash!
13th January 2004
THE best banger in the Horsham District belongs to Pulborough butcher Alec Coughtrey, according to a poll of expert sausage shoppers.
Alec’s secret recipe Pork & Leek came out top in a battle between nine leading sausage makers who fought it out for the first People’s Choice Best Banger Award run as part of the Horsham Food and Drink Festival.
But second generation butcher Alec made mincemeat of the opposition, winning by a clear majority with a total of nearly 600 votes.
“We always knew we had a winner,” said Alec modestly.
More than 2,000 shoppers were eager to have a nibble in the Best Banger competition, chomping their way through sausages in Pulborough, Billingshurst, Horsham, Henfield, Partridge Green and Warnham, before casting their votes.
The competition was such a success that organisers Horsham District Council, which sponsored the competition with A Taste of the South East, have decided to make it an annual feature of the Festival.
Scheduled to take place again in September 2004, the first Horsham Food and Drink Festival boosted sales of locally produced food and drink by as much as 300%. And with around 80 food businesses offering discounts, tastings and tours - including a sell out visit to Twineham Grange cheese factory and brewing demonstrations in Horsham - the three week celebration demonstrated that it’s easy to buy local.
“Improving the links between local food and drink producers, retailers and consumers is vitally important to a rural district such as ours and the feedback following the Festival has shown that the message ‘Buy Local, Eat Local’ really did hit home,” said Cllr Roger Paterson, Cabinet Member for Economic Development & Innovation at Horsham District Council. “Nearly three-quarters of businesses thought the Festival helped boost public awareness of local food and drink and a massive 84% of businesses who took part in 2003 want to participate again this year – I think that says it all.”
Horsham District Council’s website now includes a Buy Local directory for shoppers wanting fresh local produce. Producers, retailers and caterers who grow, make or sell local food and drink can enjoy a free entry on the website by calling Chris Baister on 01403 215100.
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CONTACT: Richard Morris, Communications Manager
(01403 215549)