Rutland Food and Drink Week starts today

The Discover Rutland Food and Drink Week 2019 starts today.

The event is sponsored by Leicestershire and Rutland accountancy firm Newby Castleman.

It's clients includes Rutland eateries The Olive Branch, Grainstore Brewery, Hambleton Bakery and Scandimania.

The Food and Drink Week aims to bring together local food providers and celebrate and promote the “County of Good Taste”.

The Olive Branch is a multi-award-winning gastro pub in Clipsham that currently holds the coveted title of The Good Pub Guide 2020 County Dining Pub of the Year (Rutland and Leicestershire).

The pub was also shortlisted in the Top 10 Best Pubs and Top 10 Best Wine Pubs in the same guide.

Above: Gourmet cuisine from The Olive Branch.

During Rutland Food & Drink Week this year, The Olive Branch will be offering special two- or three-course lunch and evening set menus, each featuring ingredients sourced from local suppliers. Additionally, it will be hosting a cookery demonstration on Thursday October 31.

Newby Castleman has been providing ongoing financial and tax advice for The Olive Branch since its beginnings in 2000, when the pub’s owners approached the chartered accountants with their business plan to transform and re-open the village pub, which had lain vacant for three years.

Image above: Cuisine from The Olive Branch.

Image above: L-r: Paul Barnett of Newby Castleman with Sean Hope and Ben Jones of The Olive Branch.

Founded in 1995, Grainstore Brewery in Oakham is a traditional pub that brews its own range of beers on the premises.

It has earned The Good Pub Guide’s “Own Brew Pub of the Year” accolade on multiple occasions, offers pre-bookable brewery tours and hosts the annual Rutland Beer Festival every August.

As members of Discover Rutland, Grainstore Brewery will be participating in Rutland Food & Drink Week with a special offer of two main courses and a four-pint jug of beer or bottle of wine for £25.

Newby Castleman and in particular John Griffin, one of the firm’s partners, has provided services for the brewery for the last 20 years. With the help of the accountants’ payroll, pensions, purchase order processing and bookkeeping support, the business has continued to go from strength to strength.

Image caption: L-r: John Griffin of Newby Castleman with Grainstore Brewery owners/directors William Davis and Peter Atkinson.

John Griffin of Newby Castleman commented: “It’s a pleasure and a privilege to announce our sponsorship of the Discover Rutland Food & Drink Week for the first time. We have no doubt that the event will be a wonderful celebration of the flavours, creativity and talents of the county and its food producers and purveyors.”

Discover Rutland has announced that this year’s Food & Drink Week will open with the Uppingham Beer Festival from Friday 25th October, to be followed by the Rutland Food & Drink Festival on Sunday 27th October.

Uppingham Food and Drink Festival will conclude the event on November 2 and November 3, with the Discover Rutland Annual Ball rounding off the week on November 3.