4 minute read
GUILD NEWS
View from HQ
By John Farrand managing director
WORLD CHEESE THIS year was an enormous tonic. In a sea of downturn, economic upheaval and political pantomime, the love for cheese and its community was evident in our 2,000 square metre dairy showcase in Wales.
And it wasn’t just that love that filled our tanks. The judging process identified 98 Super Golds; 328 Golds; 583 Silvers and 839 Bronzes from the entries, which will help to promote and celebrate cheesemakers everywhere.
The highlight? Seeing judges from 38 different nations filing into the arena past the Welsh choir, Only Boys Aloud, to strong and proud Celtic harmonies. The ex-Britain’s Got Talent finalists created a social media opportunity and therefore a scrum of judges, reminiscent of the throng of a football bar in a dubious corner of Qatar, a Currys electrical outlet on 1st January, or indeed, on Black Friday.
As I write, the dreaded event looms. How on earth do we stop this materialistic, wasteful, profit spike for big retailers? The idea of saving money at a difficult time is laudable, but I’m not convinced it helps many struggling households. In fact, I would warrant the opposite.
My friend and fellow Independent Retail Confederation board member Meryl Hall recently had a cracking idea: ‘Civilised Saturday’.
A chance to shop in independent retailers and encourage stimulating shopping experiences, without the rugby
The Word on Westminster
By Edward Woodall ACS
THE POLITICAL TURMOIL we have seen over the last few months has confirmed that Britain is in a state of “permacrisis”, the Collins Dictionary word of the year. Liz Truss’ short-lived premiership compounded the nation’s challenges, leading to financial markets losing more confidence in Britain. The new Prime Minister is now left to rebuild confidence in the Government and the country.
Beyond the financial detriment to the economy, businesses have been left in a state of paralysis over policy decisions that will have serious implications over the coming years. The Government has a long to-do list, including the future of the energy bill relief scheme, business rates revaluations, implementing a deposit return scheme and addressing health disparities. You may consider these policy decisions inconsequential compared to tough choices on public sector spending cuts, but if Britain’s economy is going to recover quickly, it will be in part through businesses having the confidence to invest. We will be measuring the government’s ability to turn events around according to three pillars.
The Chancellor must reassure markets, but he also needs to demonstrate support for business, requiring certainty on key policy decisions. Secondly, in making these tough decisions, can the Conservative party remain united? I imagine that the looming 2024 General Election would focus minds on unity, but we live in strange times. Finally, the rise of Labour as a government in waiting. Sir Keir Starmer’s party is in a confident mood, leading in the polls and increasing the profile of its policy offer. For the food industry specifically, proposals to set up supply chain resilience task forces and to scrap and redesign the business rates system are promising. Labour has the potential to push the Government in new policy directions and gain further credibility. For the whole country’s sake, I hope that the new PM can get a grip of all these issues and perhaps take a leaf out of Joe Biden’s book - to make politics boring again.
analogy. ‘Civilised’ might not get any traction nationally, as it will be viewed as elitist, but perhaps ‘Sensible Saturday’ would hit the mark.
The message would be to buy on your high street from retailers who know their subject, offer worthy things for a fair price and better circulate the local pound. That’s saner than having your face pressed against an end of isle gondola in a fight for a slighty bigger TV - and it is certainly more sensible than navigating the logistics of 4,434 cheeses from 42 countries for the judging pleasure of 250 experts in one big room in Newport.
Edward Woodall is government relations director at the ACS edward.woodall@acs.org.uk
Great Taste 2023 entry dates
The Members’ Fortnight for entries will run between 9th – 23rd January 2023 2023 followed by general admissions between 23rd January and 7th February. To find out more, visit
gff.co.uk/greattaste
Great Taste Markets 2023
As well as the usual favourites, some new shows have been added for 2023, including: the Scottish Game Fair, the Welsh Game Fair and The Big Feastival. See the full list on our website at: gff.co.uk/markets or email the team for further information at: opportunities@gff.co.uk
Forthcoming training at the Guild
We have received a huge number of enquiries about our Retail Cheese training and will be releasing dates for 2023 soon.Keep an eye on our website for updates at: gff.co.uk/retailcheese or email bookings@gff.co.uk to express your interest.
The Guild of Fine Food represents fine food shops and specialist suppliers. Want to join them?
GENERAL ENQUIRIES Guild of Fine Food
Guild House, 23b Kingsmead Business Park, Shaftesbury Road, Gillingham, Dorset SP8 5FB UK
Tel: +44 (0) 1747 825200
info@gff.co.uk gff.co.uk THE GUILD TEAM: Managing director:
John Farrand
Special projects director:
Tortie Farrand
Sales director:
Sally Coley
Operations & marketing director:
Christabel Cairns
Sales manager:
Ruth Debnam
Sales executive:
Becky Haskett
Marketing manager:
Sophie Brentnall
Operations coordinators:
Matthew Bunch Chris Farrand Sepi Rowshanaei
Data & systems project manager:
Lindsay Farrar gff.co.uk
Finance director:
Ashley Warden
Financial controller:
Stephen Guppy
Accounts assistant:
Julie Coates
Chairman:
Bob Farrand
Director:
Linda Farrand
