Lexus Hedge End partners with Winchester Food and Drink Festival

Lexus Hedge End partnered with Hampshire Fare to take part in Winchester's Food and Drink Festival at Winchester Cathedral. It was a fantastic day for families, celebrating a love of local, country food and produce. Lexus Hedge End interviewed Natasha Dochniak, the Commercial Manager of Hampshire Fare, to dive deeper into this spectacular event, the inspiration behind it and the importance of local produce.

What inspired you to run the event?

"Hampshire Fare has 350 members working in food, drink and crafts in Hampshire & IOW. Our mission is to champion local and get consumers to think local first. Hampshire Fare attends events like the Watercress Festival, New Forest Show, Romsey Show, where we give out free Local Produce Guides and talk to the public about the importance of supporting local and at the same time promoting our members. The Winchester Food Festival is the only event that Hampshire Fare puts on itself and this year it was our second year. We wanted to build on the success of last year so made it even bigger with more producer stalls and also added a Taste of Winchester which was a week long event that celebrated and promoted hospitality businesses in the Winchester district in the lead up. Running the event was important this year as it enabled us to increase the awareness of Hampshire Fare and the important work that we do to support our members."

What part of this event, to you, makes this so special?

"I think the event being in the grounds of Winchester Cathedral makes it special as well as having so many local producers showcasing their wonderful produce. The event is a great opportunity for the public to chat to the producer, learn more about their story and try before they buy! People always seem to love a chef’s demo so that is always popular and this year we ran a ‘ready steady cook goes local’ where two chefs went up against each other and gathered ingredients from the producers! I think making it a free community event was really important to us also especially as we were able to add free kids activities this year."​​

How important was it to you to have businesses and different types of food present at the event?

"It was good to have a diverse range of businesses involved as this then allows us to appeal to a broader audience and also allowed us to really showcase the regions culinary talents and entrepreneurial spirit. Events like this are great for producers to start to build a relationship with the consumer which often then develops further after the event and also fosters stronger community ties. Hopefully the people that came along were provided with a more memorable and enjoyable experience!"

What about having Lexus Hedge End present made us a good fit for your event?

"Being a community interest company, events like the Winchester Food Festival wouldn’t be possible without the support of partners such as Lexus Hedge End. Both brands share similar values and so it made for a good fit. It was also important to get partners involved who were all complementary to one another. We had some incredible support from Clarke & Sons, John D Wood and Lexus Hedge End and the Hampshire Chronicle."

Why do you think it is important to raise awareness for local produce and business?

"I think raising the awareness for local produce and businesses is crucial for lots of reasons; by supporting local it keeps money in the local community, local produce often requires less transportation making it fresher and also by supporting local businesses it fosters a sense of community with consumers building direct relationships with local producers and business owners which can lead to better customer service and a deeper emotional connection. To end, local businesses are often more innovative and adaptable which contributes to a dynamic and competitive marketplace."

Lexus Hedge End proudly partnered with Hampshire Fare to host this memorable event and thoroughly enjoyed displaying The New All-Electric Lexus RZ- the first dedicated Lexus Battery Vehicle providing a drive full of confidence, control and comfort. The RZ operates on an all-electric vehicle platform and offers optimised body rigidity, a low centre of gravity and a long wheelbase. 

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