CHAMBER NEWS
Forth Valley Chamber hosts Business Dinner Celebrity chefs Jean Christophe Novelli and Nick Nairn will head up a full programme of cookery demonstrations at Perthshire On A Plate this summer
Tasty offerings at Perthshire Chamber event Perthshire Chamber of Commerce is hoping to cook up another success as they prepare to host their annual Perthshire On A Plate (POAP) food festival. And this year the spotlight will turn on the “Auld Alliance” with French favourite Jean Christophe Novelli and Scotland’s Nick Nairn topping the bill at the two-day celebration of food and drink on 4th & 5th August 2017. Food and drink plays a key part in Perthshire’s economy and Chamber Chief Executive Vicki Unite said it was appropriate that the county hosted a major food festival to recognise both local producers and locally-based culinary talent. “Perthshire On A Plate provides an exciting and colourful platform on which to showcase the best of local food and drink,” she said. “This will be our second year as an integral part of the long-established popular annual Perth Show which – being an agricultural festival – is the perfect fit for us.”
“We hope to encourage relevant local businesses to host stands featuring their native foods and drinks which are incredibly popular throughout Perthshire. This could include stands from Polish, Chinese and Indian communities – or our twin cities in Germany or France - bringing an international flavour to the whole food festival.” POAP, supported by Quality Meat Scotland (QMS), will again feature the popular “PopUp Restaurants” area where local eateries offer bite-sized samples of their typical menu favourites.
In addition to the two celebrity chefs, POAP will feature a full programme of demonstrations each day by local chefs and food experts.
Last year two of the producers showcased at POAP secured overseas contracts and Vicki emphasised the benefits of joining in the foodie fun.
“In addition to the Cookery Theatre, we will have a Food Pavillion where local producers can showcase and sell their individual lines,” said Vicki.
“Stands cost only £100 for the two days and it’s a very cost-effective way to bring your produce, restaurant or talent to the attention of a captive 10,000-plus audience passing through the showground.”
“Perthshire can boast a wide variety of top names from major producers to small artisan operations and they will feature alongside fledgling and evolving businesses.” Business Scotland
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POAP 2017 will also focus on the diverse communities and their culinary cultures which make up Perthshire’s broad food offering.
Anyone interested in taking part in the food festival should contact Perthshire Chamber of Commerce on (01738) 448325.
Forth Valley Chamber hosted a Business Dinner with key partners, members and leaders in the region, to discuss key business issues and opportunities. Tim Allan, President of SCC, attended and spoke at the dinner, acting as one of his first engagements since taking on the role. Michelle McKearnon, Chief Executive, Forth Valley Chamber of Commerce said after the dinner that “there are a number of issues our members are sharing with us, such as dealing with skills shortages and the impact of Brexit on retaining migrant staff. This is an overall concern for the business community and is of particular concern for the hospitality, hotel and tourism industry who are seeing the effects of Brexit & staff retention impacting their businesses already.” Tim Allan, President of SCC also shared his views and said that “skills shortages are a big issue in Scotland and an area we have to tackle headon to support businesses to grow. It is important that business has continued access to international talent as a way to deal with skills shortages and add an international dimension to a business but Governments must also support the development of a skilled workforce in Scotland as a long-term strategy.”