Fodder, the regional food shop and café on the Great Yorkshire Showground in Harrogate has won one of the most prestigious national awards in the industry. Judges chose the already award-winning enterprise as the Great Taste – Shop of the Year 2014 – from a total entry figure of 3,000 shops, throughout the UK. The award is organised by The Guild of Fine Food and recognises excellence in food retailing. The announcement came at a glittering ceremony in London, on Monday 8 September 2014.
John Farrand, MD of The Guild of Fine Food commented: Fodder had glowing comments from our judges who described the store as ‘food retailing at its best’ – they were impressed by the layout of the store, the signage and especially the merchandising of products explaining the provenance of the hundreds of local and regional food and drink products on sale.
But as we all know, a shop is nothing without a great team and Fodder also has a brilliant team of people who are friendly, welcoming and knowledgeable; they have created an atmosphere where children are welcome and our judge could see that this was a place where families come to shop regularly.
Fodder has a deli, butchers and café and its products are drawn from the surrounding Yorkshire area – with more than 310 small producers and farmers supplying the shop. There are five butchers, five chefs serving a comprehensive menu of locally inspired food, as well as the deli and shop team.
Heather Parry, Managing Director of Fodder and Deputy Chief Executive of the Yorkshire Agricultural Society is thrilled to have won a prestigious ‘Golden Fork’ trophy. The Society runs Fodder as part of its commitment to supporting agriculture and farmers in the north of England; whilst encouraging consumers to buy more local food.
Heather commented: This is the ultimate accolade and to say we are over the moon is an understatement. It is wonderful to receive such recognition from our peers and is a terrific endorsement of the quality of our producers, the expertise and the dedication of our team of staff.
Fodder is no stranger to awards, most recently taking a Visit England Gold in the Taste of England category. It opened five years ago and champions the use of regional food, and particularly, regional suppliers.
The latest products due to be launched this month are a range of ready meals in four delicious flavours, two of which were also recipients of gold stars at the Great Taste Awards. Fodder is unique in that all profits are ploughed back into the Yorkshire Agricultural Society for its charitable work in the industry.
this place is utterly amazing.