Adam looking forward to making connections at "fantastic showcase" for Food and Drink sector

Adam Bennett, chef director at the Michelin-starred Cross in Kenilworth, believes the inaugural Warwickshire Food and Drink event will be a 'fantastic showcase' for all that the county's vibrant food and drink sector has to offer.

One of the UK's most highly-renowned chefs, Adam will be among hundreds of visitors at the event at the Warwickshire Golf & Country Club, Leek Wootton, on Wednesday 22 November.

He is looking forward to mixing with the more than 200 exhibitors covering all aspects of Food and Drink in the county - and making new connections to help him further enhance the nationally high reputation established by the Cross since his arrival there in 2013.

"I'm really looking forward to Warwickshire Food and Drink," Adam said. "It will be a fantastic showcase for everything that's going on in the county.

"Making connections is what every business needs to do and this event will offer great opportunities to do that. It will bring people together, enabling producers to get their messages out there and restaurants and retailers to find out what great things might be on their own doorstep.

"It is a brilliant idea. I was recently down in Cornwall on holiday and it was really noticeable how suppliers there put forward their produce. It was very impressive. The Warwickshire Food and Drink event will help us do the same.

"Sourcing produce locally is very important to us at the Cross in Kenilworth. We use local suppliers whenever we can. When I had an allotment it occurred to me, 'why would we bring in produce from afar when it might be right in our own neighbourhood?'

"There may well be suppliers locally that are just not known about - and if you can get great produce locally then that's perfect."

It is also great for a small county like Warwickshire to have Michelin-starred restaurants on the patch - and chefs of the calibre and repute of Coventry-born Adam. He is passionate about delivering the highest standards and also ensuring that the requisite skills are passed on to the next generation so that those standards remain.

"It is very important to us at The Cross to train people well," he said. "We are a small team but always have two or three apprentices on the staff and that has worked really well for us because we have had pretty much the same team together for three for years which is quite rare in this business."

*  For more information on Warwickshire Food and Drink, please visit www.warwick-food-drink.co.uk or telephone Laura Taviner on 01926 418004.