The Source is the South West’s biggest and best trade show for anyone with a serious interest in speciality foods, quality drinks, profitable catering and inspired hospitality. Taking place at the beginning of February, The Source gives buyers the opportunity to meet all the suppliers they need to be ready for the season ahead. This year marks ten successful years of the organising partners Hale Events and Taste of the West working together and in that time the show has become a complete one-stop shop for everything a food business needs – covering not just speciality food and drink but everything from raw ingredients to high quality food service products, furniture to EPoS, kitchen design to business services.
The Source trade show takes place at the Westpoint Exhibition Centre in Exeter on the Wednesday 8th and Thursday 9th of February 2017. With over 200 exhibitors, you will see the best from local, regional and national food and drink producers, as well as service providers, alongside a superb selection of Taste of the West members. It’s a unique opportunity not to be missed. Discover unusual local products with fascinating provenance, whilst meeting passionate producers and suppliers face-to-face. Many of the products at the show have won awards – such as the Great Taste Awards for the curries from Bini Fine Foods, and the Gold Taste of the West award for the Garlic flavoured rapeseed oil from Bell and Loxton. Other award winning exhibitors include Westaway Sausages, judged to be the best UK brand for Traditional Pork Sausages at the 2016 British Sausage Week Awards, Skinner’s Brewery, recently winners of 5 CAMRA awards at the Falmouth Beer Festival, and Devon’s Powderkeg Brewery, who won Best Lager at The IWSC Beer Awards for its pilsner ‘Cut Loose’.
Amongst the familiar faces at the show, such as Abbots (S.W.), A E Roddas, Chunk of Devon, Hunts Foodservice, Total Produce, and Voyager Coffee, are many companies that are new to the show. For the first time you can see the top quality real ales from the Dartmoor Brewery, the award-winning, authentic, Indian restaurant style curry products from Anglo Indian Chef, the fiery potions & elixirs from the Chilli Alchemist, and the award winning indulgent artisan ice-cream & sorbets from The Cowlick Creamery.
Special show features include a Newcomer’s area especially for new companies that have yet to exhibit at a trade show. You can’t have seen them anywhere else! The show offers special rates for such companies from the South West, like Ebb Tides, Powderkeg Brewery, Artisan Chai and Louise’s Larder, giving them the chance to showcase their products to retailers. One of the biggest challenges new companies have is getting their products to market, and the Source has always been proud to play a part in introducing these companies to a wider audience. This year the Newcomers’ area at the show is sponsored by Diverse Fine Foods, and it would be hard to find a more perfectly suited sponsor. Diverse deal with luxury, smaller brands to take them to market via high end food outlets. When they select a product, they really get behind it, selling the provenance, individuality, concept, as well as the product itself. They are also committed to bringing independent retailers the very best products available. Where better than the Newcomers area to find unique quality artisan products, with stories behind the brands, to give those retailers an advantage over their competitors?
Be inspired by the chefs in the Demonstration Kitchen, add new ideas to your menus, and learn from the best? It’s a rare opportunity to see leading chefs showing off their skills and sharing their latest ideas. – add value to your business by taking full advantage of their expertise and knowledge. This year three of the winning chefs from this year’s South West Chef of the Year will be taking to the stage – South West Chef of the Year 2016 and South West Professional Chef of the Year 2016, Jamie Coleman, South West Young Professional Chef of the Year 2016 Timothy Kendall and South West Student/Apprentice Chef of the Year 2016 Harrison Brockington. Their winning recipes used ingredients from brill to John Dory, and rib eye to rabbit, so appetising smells and tastes are guaranteed!
As an added bonus the successful and growing Westcountry Tourism Conference will be running alongside Source, with two 1/2 day events bringing together leading tourism businesses and industry experts. The conference is designed for businesses working in the tourism industry across Cornwall, Devon, Somerset, Dorset and further afield. In 2016 the conference sold out, attracting over 300 delegates, who also had the opportunity to attend the show.
If you are looking for that special ingredient for your menu, that unique product for your shop, or the essential equipment for your kitchen, then the Source trade show will both inspire you and help your business grow. Give your business the impetus it needs going into the new season with this huge spread of comparative tastings, networking opportunities and inspirational experiences.
For more information about the show, to book a stand, or register to attend, please call 01934 733433, visit www.sourcetradeshow.co.uk, or follow @SourceFoodDrink.
