Lincolnshire's Royal Show Success

Lincolnshire stole the show with a feast of locally produced food and drink at the 2006 Royal Show.

The number of visitors to the impressive Lincolnshire Pavillion exceeded all expectations and by the final day it was certainly difficult to find people who had not already visited.

As temperatures rose at this year's Royal Show visitors flocked to see the superb decorations of flowers, vegetables and bread, which welcomed many admiring visitors.

A surprising popular draw for the Lincolnshire marquee was the new Lincoln Red Ale, launched at the show, which quenched everyone's thirst during the heat.  Even the new DEFRA secretary of state, David Miliband, sampled the new red brew and recommended many to follow his example!

David Miliband was so impressed with his unscheduled visit he cited Lincolnshire as a good example of the promotion of local and regional food.
Select Lincolnshire, a new brand that showcases Lincolnshire's wide range of quality local produce, was successfully launched at the Royal Show.  Jill McCarthy, Manager of the Select Lincolnshire initiative, said:  "The Royal Show provided an invaluable opportunity to not only raise the profile of the Select Lincolnshire brand, but also to meet with key contacts across the agriculture, horticulture and food related industries."   She went on to say that the show was so successful in terms of the high calibre of enquiries that attendance at next year's show would be seriously considered.

Celebrating Lincolnshire's first visit to the Royal Show and the coming together of Tastes of Lincolnshire, Select Lincolnshire, Invest Lincolnshire and Visit Lincolnshire, a special cake was produced by a bakery in Horncastle, Lincolnshire.  The skilfully made cake attracted lots of attention.  Baroness Byford, who attended the cutting of the cake, declared she was "proud of the stand" even though she is not from Lincolnshire.

Cllr Peter Robinson, Deputy Leader of Lincolnshire County Council, said:  "It is important for Lincolnshire to have a presence at the Royal Show.  Our county provides 20% of the nation's food.  Sourcing local produce played a pivotal role at the Royal Show attracting lots of interest, including David Cameron's support of the Farmers Weekly Food Miles Campaign.  Lincolnshire people are justifiably proud of the county's fine produce.  The Royal Show has given us an ideal showcase."

Mary Powell, project manager of Tastes of Lincolnshire, was thrilled to take Lincolnshire to the Royal Show.  She commented:  "Visitors flocked to the cookery demonstrations from celebrity chef and local food champion, Rachel Green, which boosted people's awareness of great local food.  I was impressed with the extremely positive response from everyone who visited the marquee, helping to achieve our objective of encouraging the public to select good quality local produce from Lincolnshire, as well as appreciating what a great place it is to visit."