Indulgent dining and clunk-and-collect – how Yorkshire’s foodies are adapting

A raft of hastily-conceived initiatives to ride the storm –from indulgent “self-isolation kits” of fine wine, cheese and chutneys to “clunk and collect” car boot distribution systems – have been rolled out by firms across the artisanal catering sector, with results as pleasing to the accountants as to the palate.

The Guild of Fine Food, which represents many independent makers and retailers, said it had been taken aback to see the level of inventiveness deployed to keep firms and their employees working.

“This says a lot about the people behind the patchwork of diverse independents across the country. These businesses have stepped up when we need them the most,” said the organisation’s managing director, John Farrand.

Stephen Fleming, who runs George and Joseph cheesemongers in Chapel Allerton, Leeds, said his “survival kits” of cheese, crackers and either wine or beer, had fulfilled a need for indulgence among those either self-isolating or observing the lockdown.

“People need a treat if they can’t be out doing other things,” he said.

The trade in cheese, as well as other goods, delivered over a 5m radius, had “more than replaced” the trade lost from customers walking into his shop, he added.

In the Yorkshire Dales village of Austwick, near Settle, another cheesemonger has invented a system of deliveries by car boot during the crisis.

Andy Swinscoe, whose Courtyard Dairy encompasses a shop, cafe and cheese museum, now allows visitors to order upfront and drive to his car park to collect orders without leaving their vehicle.

“It’s like a drive-through service,” he said. “We can drop the cheese into someone’s car boot and they never come into contact until they get home.”

The system, combined with local and courier deliveries, was keeping the business afloat but he said he feared for the long-term effect on farmhouse cheesemakers, half of whose business to the restaurant trade had disappeared overnight.

“During the Second World War, rationing reduced the number of local producers from about 140 to only nine. A lot of farmers stopped making cheese and they never restarted,” he said.

“We’ve gone into this situation now with a less strong local food industry than we had then, and if we’re not careful this could wipe it out.”

The biggest immediate risk, he said, was the chance of his staff contracting the coronavirus.

“We only have a small team and it’s a specialised job. If one or two go down, it would badly affect us.”

Other suppliers reported having turned the commercial side of their businesses over to families and elderly people in self-isolation.

The VegBoxCo in Guiseley, part of Threshfield Foods, said the increase in demand for home deliveries had helped to offset the rapid decline from catering firms.

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