“How to make a food town”

Fine Food with

Charles Campion

Food writer and critic

• It’s time to go left field rather than safety-first
• “Fashion or for keeps?”
• “New year and new possibilities”
• “What is in a name?”
• “The art of shopping”

But anyone watching for the last decade or so would have seen this small town turn into something of a foodie hub. There’s another butcher – Hannan Meats – which operates on a larger scale out of a spotless factory on a Moira industrial estate.

Hannan has a number of aging rooms lined with Himalayan salt blocks, and sells magnificent salt-aged Glenarm shorthorn beef as far afield as Fortnum & Mason and a number of London’s top restaurants. Like McCartney’s, Hannan has also won the Supreme at the Great Taste Awards. The very tail end of last year saw a crisp new restaurant – Wine and Brine – open on the sensibly named Main Street. Not so long ago editors would commission a succession of articles about Ludlow, pointing out the five butcher shops, the Michelin-spangled restaurants and the annual food festival. But keeping the public educated and motivated in favour of good food is a tricky business.

At the end of August this year, Moira held its second ever food festival in the town park. It was a charming day out despite several vicious showers when it rained hard enough to sting. There was a large tent full of local producers, Abernethy Butter was there and the Krazi Baker was selling epic potato breads hot off the griddle stuffed with crisp Guanciale (pig’s cheek bacon). There was a grand array of local beers, ciders and gins all sold from a giant tepee. Children and dogs scampered hither and thither paying little heed to parental instruction. Grown-ups sat on straw bales and nursed a glass or two of local ale or cider. The mainspring of this food festival is a lady called Joanne McErlain who is to be congratulated on keeping the event to a single day and hanging on to that precious local vibe. The stall-holders were all happy with the level of sales, the locals were happy with their purchases, the demonstration tent was packed, and everywhere there was a contented murmur.

When it comes to festivals, charm is a potent attraction and one that is easier to create when working on a smaller scale. Gradually the people of Moira and its surrounds are changing the way they see food and drink. It’s no longer merely fuel but something that they can engage with. There will be a third Moira Food Festival next year, but in the meantime locals will be slightly more interested in the provenance and quality of that steak, those vegetables, that sausage. Ultimately this will change the tone of the place, and that will benefit small and large producers alike. It is so much easier to preach to the converted. Go down the sales chain and you will probably end up stalled at an uninformed consumer. Build-up your customers’ love of, and interest in, food and drink and you will at the least have a sporting chance of engaging with them.

Look out Glastonbury, the Moira Food Festival is on your heels.