FOOD & DRINK W E A L L K N O W T H AT CO R N WA L L H A S A N E XC E P T I O N A L R E P U TAT I O N I N T H E W O R L D O F F O O D A N D D R I N K , B U T H O W H A S T H E I N D U S T RY R E S P O N D E D TO T H E PA N D E M I C ? W I T H R E S I L I E N C E , A DA P TAT I O N A N D I N N O VAT I O N , S AY S L U C Y S T U D L E Y O F CO R N WA L L CO N T E N T. he unique and diverse food and drink culture we have nurtured here in Cornwall is the envy of many. We enjoy a rich network of chefs, producers and pioneering entrepreneurs who together make the region a world-class gourmet destination. The recent G7 summit will have only added to that lip-smacking reputation. The assembled World Leaders feasted on a bounty of local produce cooked by talented chefs like Emily Scott and Simon Stallard, and accompanied by award-winning Cornish wines, unique cocktails and classic Cornish beers. No matter what your opinion on the G7 and its high level machinations, this was surely a moment of shared pride for an industry which is very much a closeknit community - intertwined and reliant on every element for its collective success.
WE ENJOY A RICH NETWORK OF CHEFS, PRODUCERS AND PIONEERING E N T R E P R E N E U R S W H O TO G E T H E R MAKE THE REGION A WORLD-CLASS G O U R M E T D E S T I N AT I O N The G7 came hot on the heels of an 18-month period during which the Covid-19 crisis bought the Cornish food and drink industry to its knees. Intermittent mass closure of hospitality businesses, a supply chain in chaos, and unprecedented upheaval were followed by a recruitment crisis which left restaurants and hotels heading into summer chronically short staffed. How then did we put on such a good show for Boris and Co? The answer is that businesses and individuals have shown phenomenal resilience, adaptability and innovative spirit to get us through this, proving that Cornwall has all the right ingredients to ‘build back better.’
22 | FIND THE BALANCE
The food and drink industry in Cornwall responded to the Covid-19 crisis in a typically energetic, creative, collaborative and inspiring way. Across the sector, business models changed overnight, as everyone from microbreweries to luxury hotels invoked resilience in the face of adversity. One great example of this is our wonderful Cornish brewers, all of whom were extremely hard hit in the early days of the pandemic. From the smallest nano-brewery to the big national brands based in the Duchy, the pandemic is still an almighty, ongoing challenge. However, each has met this challenge in its own idiosyncratic way, diversifying and innovating in order to stay afloat and – in some cases – transporting themselves into the future. One example of this is Cornish Crown Brewery, which has used its size (small!) as an advantage, performing feats of agility which the bigger players can only envy. “We condensed roughly five years of change and evolution into about five months,” explains Josh Dunkley, founder of the Penzance-based brewery. “Pre-Covid we were still producing quite a lot of cask beer for pubs. It was a shrinking market then, but that accelerated at warp-speed thanks to the pandemic.” Josh used the break with normality to install new brewing equipment, rebrand and create a website for online sales, shifting his focus almost entirely to canned lagers and IPAs. Essentially he has repositioned the brewery as an exciting new player in the market for craft beer. Meanwhile another microbrewery, this time on the north Cornish coast, was taking adaptability to a whole new level, investing in a pilot brew kit to allow it to experiment with small batches of beer. The Driftwood Spars Brewery near St Agnes has always balanced innovation with respect for traditional brewing methods. The new pilot brew kit will allow Head Brewer Mike Mason to experiment with micro batches of beers and develop new products; the market demands just this kind of agility at the moment. >>
