Lime Venue Portfolio & The Venues
Collection, part of Compass Group, have launched a new demonstrator farm that they claim will change the way event food is sourced
and managed.
The Biohub at Ings Farm is a regenerative agricultural initiative
that will enable the group to grow its own produce using the latest in
sustainable and circular agricultural techniques, reusing waste to create
quality and diverse ingredients using basic nature. The produce will then be
used to help serve partner venues within the Lime Venue Portfolio, of which The
Venues Collection is part.
Joanne Barratt, MD of Lime Venue Portfolio and The Venues Collection, said: “It really is difficult to explain just how fundamentally important this launch is for our industry and the massive impact it will have not just on event food, but global food production in general.
“This is another sign of the meetings and events industry, working in collaboration with our colleagues in hospitality, to do something genuinely groundbreaking and world changing. It’s a really proud moment for everyone connected with the project.”
The farm itself is a 92-acre plot near Harrogate, North Yorkshire, that has been developed
into a biological platform of social and ecological activity. RegenFarmCo
(CIC), a specialist regenerative agriculture consultancy, has led on the design
and management of the Biohub at Ings Farm, working closely with chefs, culinary
teams, and their wider supply chain across the group, developing sustainable
crops and ingredients.
The launch is the result of a collaboration between the Lime Venue Portfolio & The Venues Collection's sister company Levy UK + Ireland, the brand’s food partner, RegenFarmCo, Yorkshire Water, and Quorn Professionals and is designed to help educate current and future generations of chefs and farmers on sustainable farming practices.
The announcement continues both brand’s innovation within meetings and events food and follows in the wake of their announcement to ban air freight across its supply chain, the implementation of Carbon footprint labelling across many of its venue menus and Lime Venue Portfolio’s award winning Beyond Food series.
Quorn Professionals, the foodservice division of the
market-leading meat free brand will also take an active role in the biohub
scheme, alongside landowner Yorkshire Water, who will also include the project
in their Beyond Nature® programme, an environmental initiative which helps its
tenant farmers practice a sustainable and biodiverse approach to land
management and agriculture.
The Bio hub site will also be
used by all parties as a learning hub; facilitating training for the next
generation of farmers and chefs centred around the latest developments in
sustainable farming, resource management, and the diversification of food
production systems.
Dr Vincent Walsh, head of farm innovation at RegenFarmCo,
said: “Whether addressing the climate crisis, improving our food security, or
responding to changes in consumer behaviour, the way we manage our land and
grow crops needs to change. And while innovations in agritech, and new low
carbon methods of cultivation are incredibly important, it’s projects like the
Biohub which will help ensure the farm to fork journey becomes genuinely
sustainable.”
