Regional Food & Drink Kitchen Opens at Shropshire Food Enterprise Centre

A state-of-the art development kitchen has now opened at the £7 million Shropshire Food Enterprise Centre in Shrewsbury.

The Shropshire Food Enterprise Centre, at Battlefield Enterprise Park, is managed by HEART of ENGLAND fine foods (HEFF), the regional food group for the West Midlands, on behalf of owners Shropshire Council with funding from Advantage West Midlands.

The Taste Kitchen has been fitted out to a very high specification meeting industrial standards and will be used to support food and drink producers across the West Midlands including Staffordshire, Shropshire, Herefordshire, Worcestershire, Warwickshire and Birmingham and the Black Country.  It will also be used to cater for visitors using the first class meeting, training and event  facilities at the centre with only food and drink from the region being served on the menu.

Producers can use the kitchen to launch new products, showcase to potential buyers, and undertake product development.  The facility is also available for hire by food entrepreneurs who would like to test out their recipes before launching a product onto the market.   HEFF will be hosting a range of events in the Taste Kitchen including consumer focus groups and demonstrations and a series of corporate team building days are due to be launched designed to strengthen teams through cooking together and eating together.  This activity will be supported by newly appointed development chef Ed Warren.

Ed will also be catering for visitors using the meeting facilities.  The environmentally friendly building offers purpose built conference facilities for up to 60 people and a boardroom-style meeting room with seating for ten.  The menus on offer are unique to the conference market sector and will showcase a range of seasonal products.  The food concept will allow visitors to experience a wide variety of regional food and drink in a business environment. 

Food and drink will also be available from 8am to 4pm for those using the kitchen seating and foyer areas for informal business meetings.

In addition, the Taste Kitchen is available outside the centre's normal business hours for hire by small catering companies looking for additional space.

For more information contact Heather Abel at the Shropshire Food Enterprise Centre on 01743 452810.