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Welcome

Bringing Dumfries & Galloway’s food and drink industry together

Hello.

It’s been a while, but now seems like a good time to get the Savours band back together.

Savour the Flavours event

Why?

Because we think businesses need a safe place to talk with each other in real time.

To bounce ideas around, share experiences and advice, share what’s worked and what hasn’t, have a moan about whatever you want to have a moan about, and generally to socialise and commiserate.

Create a spark

All the best food and drink ideas...

...that have ever been had in this region have happened when people have chatted and sparked off one another. So, that’s what we want to encourage.

Savour the Flavours whisky
Savour the Flavours whisky

Share knowledge

There has never been a more important time to be sharing knowledge and ideas

But it’s mighty difficult to have a blether when we’re all social distancing, so thank goodness for the internet.

Join our meeting

So, what we’re going to do is organise Zoom gatherings

If you’re a food or drink business in D&G then you’re warmly invited to take part. We’re organising them in early evening so you can have a drink or two without pretending you’re drinking water or juice.

Join

Savour the Flavours event

Background

Savour the Flavours ran as an industry led project, funded by LEADER and Dumfries & Galloway Council, between 2009-2013. It sought to be an organisation that supported the whole spectrum of Dumfries & Galloway’s food and drink industry; working with producers, chefs, retailers, manufacturers, event managers, schools, caterers, market organisers and consumers to help raise awareness of the local produce to be found in Dumfries & Galloway.

Led by food and drink businesses themselves, the organisation created a stronger, more robust and more connected local food and drink industry in Dumfries & Galloway. It also pioneered a food festival called Flavour Fortnight, which highlighted the important economic potential of food tourism, business diversification and collaboration.

A series of independent evaluations concluded that “Savour the Flavours is leading the way and should be highlighted as a model example to others. The organisation has created an exciting and innovative vision for the food and drink sector of Dumfries and Galloway and is empowering the food and drink sector to achieve this vision.”

Since Savour the Flavours was zipped up in 2013, the core team have continued to collaborate on a range of projects that have helped cement the importance of food and drink to the Dumfries & Galloway economy.

Savour the Flavours of Dumfries & Galloway Project Evaluation by SAC Food & Drink and MKA Economics.

Our Team

Liz Ramsay

Liz was the Project Manager for Savour the Flavours. A former food producer specialising in direct to consumer sales of premium organic lamb, Liz has subsequently been working as a consultant on a range of food, farming and hospitality projects, working with businesses and organisations including Selkirk Arms Hotel, Galloway Cattle Society and Stranraer Oyster Festival.

Ian Findlay

An award winning graphic designer and photographer, Ian created the visual identity of Savour the Flavours, using graphic design and photography to communicate the vibrancy and quality of the regional industry. Ian has continued to work with a range of local food and tourism businesses, including The Ethical Dairy, Visit South West Scotland and Saucy Desserts.

Rachel Findlay

Rachel is an expert on building business-friendly websites and digital technology with a focus on function and ease of use. She was the web developer behind the Savour the Flavours and Flavour Fortnight websites, and has since built a large number of websites for businesses in the tourism, hospitality, food & drink, e-commerce and community sectors.

Lorna Young

A marketing and rural economic development consultant, Lorna ran the regional sector interface, DG Food and Drink, for Dumfries & Galloway Council for a number of years, is a member of the Food Tourism Scotland Board and works with a range of businesses and organisations in marketing events, developing business ideas, devising strategies and selling products.

Events

A regular online food & drink discussion, social hangout and knowledge sharing event, for D&G businesses.

If you run a food or drink business in Dumfries & Galloway - whether you're a producer, a retailer, a chef, a visitor attraction, a wholesaler - you are invited to take part in this regional discussion.

These will be relatively relaxed online get togethers, this is about social and peer support as much as it is about business survival.

If you would like to be added to our mailing list to receive notification of future online meetings, please contact us on info@savourtheflavours.co.uk

Next meeting: TBC

Consultancy

Savour the Flavours activity is being delivered on a voluntary basis to support businesses and organisations in navigating the economic and trading impacts of covid.

The team behind Savour the Flavours also work on a number of other projects relating to the food & drink and tourism industries. Our services include marketing, design, digital solutions, supply chain development, photography, stakeholder consultations, strategic development and business support. Our clients include community organisations, businesses, charities and public sector organisations.

Please contact us if you would like to know more about our consultancy services.

Contact

Any Questions?

What is Savour the Flavours?

It was Dumfries & Galloway’s regional food organisation which ran from 2009 to 2013 and it was the catalyst for creating a local food culture in this region. We helped businesses get started, hosted food festivals, helped farmers’ markets work together, encouraged collaboration, took businesses to events – lots of good stuff.

Who is funding this?

No-one, we don’t need funding to talk.

What are you planning to do long-term?

There is an urgent need to clarify whether local food and drink will continue to be an economic development priority for Dumfries & Galloway and, if so, to determine whether this will be led by Dumfries and Galloway Council or by South of Scotland Enterprise. Understanding the longer term plans for food and drink economic development and business support by public agencies will determine the direction of travel for the Savour the Flavours brand.

Does it cost anything to take part?

Nope.

Why have you added tourism in?

Because food & drink production, hospitality & food service, visitor attractions, independent retailers and food distribution businesses are deeply intertwined in Dumfries & Galloway. It’s all the same industry, connected by supply chains.

Will you be organising any actual events?

We've not planned anything other than zoom meetings at the moment – anything else is entirely up to the industry.

Is there an agenda?

No, but there are general discussion topics. This is as much about connecting and socialising, as it is about work or business – the idea is that these events are very relaxed and informal, with discussion topics decided by those taking part.

Can I join the zoom meetings?

If you run a businesses or organisation in Dumfries & Galloway that’s in the food, drink, hospitality, food retail sector, then of course. If you’re from a public agency, a supplier to the sector, a training provider or an organisation seeking to provide services to this sector, then please respect this as an industry-only event. We are creating a safe space for the industry to speak freely amongst itself – no sales pitches please. We will share resulting information and data with relevant agencies and organisations on behalf of the industry, at the industry’s request.

Can you help me learn to work Zoom?

It’s easier than you probably think. Register for one of our events, you’ll receive a link to the meeting by email. When it’s time to join the Zoom meeting, just click on the link and it should take you right to it. Zoom can be used on laptops, mobiles, ipads – almost every device you can think of. Please remember your device will need to have a microphone and camera to fully take part (if you use a desktop you’ll probably need a webcam accessory). For more information on Zoom, click here.

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