Eat Reading

Are you a Reading foodie? If you are, you’re in the right place because this is Eat Reading, the hub of all things good about food in Reading.

Over the next 18 months, exciting, fun things will be happening with emphasis on sourcing, growing, buying, cooking and – most importantly – eating and drinking.

Reading is highly ranked as a retail centre and a key point at the centre of the UK knowledge economy. For this commercial success to continue, the cultural side of Reading has to match the economic offering.
And what better way to understand the culture of a place than by it’s food?

Eat Reading has a long term vision to build a community of food appreciation in and around the town.
The community will include producers and consumers and will have an all inclusive ethos. To be launched throughout 2010, Eat Reading will commence with the following initiatives:

Reading Food Heroes

Firstly, Reading Food Heroes will be a search for the best food and beverage producers, retailers, chefs and restaurateurs. The best kebab will be celebrated equally alongside the finest caviar from a Michelin starred restaurant.

Eat Reading will recognise food heroes by inviting them to join the community, but there will be no hierarchal levels of membership; you are either voted in, or not as the case may be.

Voting will be inspired by public nomination, and although there will be no distinct categories, Eat Reading is limited to those in the food and drink sector.

Inductees will enjoy the benefit of being recognised as best in class through the Eat Reading website, and through the many public and media initiatives that will follow. They will also be able to display the Eat Reading logo in their shop fronts and promotional materials. This honour will not be held in perpetuity, and if standards were to slip, the Eat Reading endorsement can be rescinded. However, over a period of time it is envisaged the ranks will swell with newly inducted food heroes to reflect an ever improving and growing food scene.

Reading, Steady, Cook!

The second strand is Reading, Steady, Cook! It follows a familiar format whereby amateur and professional chefs participate in a series of cook-offs. The idea is to create dishes derived from The Royal County, either sourced or better still produced in or around the town. The first stages of the competition will be at a variety of local pubs and restaurants.

There will be a live cook off at a summer outdoor event in a town centre location, judged by a panel of food celebrities. This is a fun event aimed at increasing food participation and awareness, and will include live music and a buzzing atmosphere.
On the periphery of the event, food stalls operated by local restaurateurs will offer ‘street food’ versions of their dishes, cooked live and sold to the public. This will help create a food festival atmosphere and will introduce all ranges of cuisine to a celebratory event.

These are two of the initial strands that will make up Eat Reading. A culturally vibrant Reading is an attractive Reading. We hope that you can see the possibilities this could have for the wider community and our economic base. Please, help us make this happen.
 

Eat well.