Two traditions "Roll" into one
On Pancake Day 2009, Tuesday February 24, Chester city centre will host the eighth annual Cheese Rolling Competition. However, this year, it will be followed by a traditional Pancake Race, creating a “Flipping Fantastic” day of activities … this isn"t as cheesy as it sounds.
Leaders of the new Cheshire West and Chester Council will start the events by passing a wheel of Cheshire cheese around the city Walls. The race, where home team Cheshire is hoping to retain the world-renowned cheese rolling title for a record sixth year running against mature competition from Stilton, Made In Cheshire and Cheshire Cheese Ladies Team, will start at 11am by The Cross, Bridge Street.
Cheshire cheese is one of the region"s most famous exports and the Taste Festival, which runs from April 11 to 13 at Chester Racecourse as part of the Chester Food and Drink Festival, is celebrating this in its launch event – the “infamous” Cheese Rolling Championship.
As cheese rolling lands on Shrove Tuesday, the Festival organisers have added an extra event to the programme: Pancake Race Day will see local businesses prove their pancake tossing skills while negotiating an obstacle course to win a coveted golden frying pan.
Sue Harrison, Chair of Chester Festivals, said:
“I am delighted that so many of our leading politicians and business heads have agreed to take part in the unique event that is cheese rolling in Chester. This ancient ritual of cheese rolling dates back to the Romans and as the opening event for the Taste Festival it is symbolic of a fresh attitude that shows everyone within the city and county all working together. This year”s new addition of pancake tossing adds to this important event and provides a full day of activities in Chester. I am pleased that once again the wheel of cheese will be blessed in Chester Cathedral before it is passed from dignitary to dignitary on its journey around the Walls. This really signals food and drink as one of Cheshire"s most important products."
The Chester Food & Drink Festival is taking place from April 4 to April 18 and will include many activities and events such as the very popular Cocktail Competition at Cruise nightclub, St. John Street, Chester, where the city"s finest bartenders will reveal their latest creations.
Also helping to bring the tastes and smells of the Festival to the city centre, a series of theme nights, special family offers and accommodation promotions in city centre restaurants and hotels will all help to make Chester the focus of food and drink within the UK.
For more information about other events happening over the Chester Food & Drink Festival, please visit: www.chesterfoodanddrink.com.
Chester"s Food and Drink Festival is sponsored by Chester Racecourse and PR consultancy, Marketing Projects. More sponsors to be announced.
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CHEESE Notes:
The Competition is a celebration of the fact that Cheshire cheese, arguably one of the oldest cheeses in the world, has seen a huge revival in its popularity in recent years. Market share has climbed steadily over the past 12 months as punters realise that the pale, bland mass-produced cheese, which often carries the Cheshire name, bears very little resemblance to the genuine article.
Cheshire cheese dates back to Roman times and was originally said to be made in a mould shaped like a cat, later made famous as the smiling Cheshire Cat in Alice in Wonderland. When the Romans invaded Britain back in the 54 BC they found a hardy race for whom cheese was their chief diet. It is a recognised fact that the Romans built Chester due to the value they placed on the cheese produced on its salty plains (and to keep the Welsh at bay).
Mentioned in the Domesday Book, a favourite in the Elizabethan court and admired and written about by Charles Dickens, Cheshire Cheese continued to flourish and was considered the best in the country. While Romans are no more, the secret of the excellence of Cheshire Cheese remains, and, thanks to the award-winning efforts of producers such as HS Bourne and Joseph Heler, consumers are rediscovering the wonderful, true taste of Cheshire again.
The term ‘Big Cheese’ derives from a medieval term of envy for those who could afford to buy expensive whole wheels of cheese.
There are only six dairies licensed to make Stilton cheese in the whole world. They are based in Leicestershire, Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire, and there are very strict rules to which they must abide to keep the product pure. For example stilton must be made using local milk and can only be made in a cylindrical shape. More information at: www.stiltoncheese.com.
There are over 400 varieties of British cheese available. Approximately £1.5 billion of British cheese is bought annually. Cheshire Cheese is the UK’s largest selling crumbly cheese with sales of around 6,500 tonnes per year, this compares with Stilton"s sales of approximately 53,000 tonnes. Sales of cheese in the UK grew 1-2% during 2002 compared with 2001. However, compared to other EU countries, the UK is among the lowest consumers of cheese: consumption per head in the UK is roughly 55% of the average consumption in the other 14 member countries.
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