As the MP for Northampton North it is a great pleasure to support all businesses in my constituency. When I was Minister for Tourism I mentioned to industry stakeholders in Northamptonshire that many counties around the country had organised food and drink events at Parliament to promote and support the enterprise of their areas. In the last couple of weeks I had the opportunity to support the “Taste of Northamptonshire” event which took place in the Jubilee room in Parliament.
The “Taste of Northamptonshire” event was a celebration of some of the brilliant produce our county has to offer and gave businesses the chance to showcase their wares to decision-makers and key figures from across the country.
It was supported by all seven Northamptonshire MPs, in particular my friend and colleague Andrea Leadsom MP (South Northamptonshire) and the organisation “Made in Northamptonshire” which is a multi-stakeholder co-operative working collaboratively to support local producers of food and drink to grow their businesses.
Attending the event were a selection of cheese producers, organic farmers, artisan bakers, suppliers of craft ales and sparkling wines, and more – including two producers from my very own Northampton North constituency: Green Kitchen Preserves, purveyors of some delicious jams and preserves, (http://greenkitchenpreserves.co.uk/) and What’s Poppin’ (https://www.northamptonshiresurprise.com/organisation/whats-poppin/) which produces some of the finest popcorn money can buy!
Hundreds of people from across Westminster including other MPs, journalists, and Parliamentary staff, queued for entry. The event was certainly a resounding success!
Further information about “Made in Northamptonshire”, as well as an online shop through which you can purchase some of Northamptonshire’s finest produce, can be found here: www.madeinnorthamptonshire.org/.