AMOUNT AWARDED

£5,500

Event Background and eventscotland Funding

The Dundee Flower and Food Festival is an annually held event which brings together exhibitors, chefs and over 25,000 spectators in Dundee’s Camperdown Country Park. The Festival hosts a free three day cookery demonstration programme with high profile local, national and celebrity chefs. The 2010 event was headlined by TV celebrity duo The Hairy Bikers and hosted the launch of the 2010 Scottish Food and Drink Fortnight.  The event received £5,500 through EventScotland’s Year of Food and Drink programme which contributed toward the creation of ‘Heritage Kitchen’ - a dedicated area showcasing the best in local produce, and the promotion of a range of regional food and drink initiatives in the newly created festival demonstration.

Tourism

With an increased food and drink offering and a host of supplementary elements including the Heritage kitchen making their debut in 2010, the festival pulled in a record 25,000 strong crowd to the scenic Camperdown Park grounds. Over 67% of all visitors travelled from outside Dundee.

Business

With over 220 trade stalls and over 1,000 exhibits the event offers substantial opportunities for local, regional and Scottish businesses to showcase their produce. The event utilised strategic partnerships with the local Chamber of Commerce, Farmers’ Markets and economic development representatives to develop and generate interest and involvement with the event.

Media

Featuring various high profile celebrity chefs, the festival generated substantial regional and national press coverage with a focus on the quality and provenance of food on offer. Following a concerted social media campaign the event successfully managed to attract a new previously unreached audience and strengthened existing relationships with regular festival goers.

Participation and development

The event provides free entry for children under 16 and features a children’s activity marquee offering over 800 children’s exhibits and providing young people with opportunities to take part in competitions and food cookery sessions. The event works each year to help promote local food related community groups and projects including the Dundee International Women’s Centre and the Dundee Fairtrade group.

Environmental

The city of Dundee has a strong and successful track record in promoting environmental and cultural projects - and the flower and food festival has in many ways become an annual celebration of the city’s good environmental credentials and strong community pride. The event has benefited from support from the Love Food Hate Waste campaign - which provides handy tips, advice and recipes for leftover food to help combat unnecessary food waste. The event also focuses heavily on the values of home composting.

Key Outcomes

25,000 visitors
200 trade stalls
1,000 exhibitors
47 Food and Drink Stalls
Launched 2010 Scottish Food and Drink Fortnight