I have been out and about getting lots of recommendations from Winchester folks about the local businesses they love the most. There is a lot of love our there for supporting our ‘buy local’ campaign, people are passionate about supporting local businesses which is exactly what we need to see. I popped into Winchester News/café Centro which is run by Tom Romita and spent hours looking the enticing array of Italian produce that is housed here. Tom is so enthusiastic and lovely and with customer service like his it’s not a surprise that he gets mentioned a lot from the people I am meeting!
I had a very interesting evening of networking at the Hampshire Chamber of Commerce Business exhibition in the evening which was held at St Johns house. What a fabulous space that is! There was a great turnout with an inspiring talk from Winchester MP Steve Brine encouraging us all to keep business local wherever possible.
Yesterday was the second ‘First Thursdays’ with lots of stalls, food and music. There was a great atmosphere with stalls lined up in a row tempting us all with free tasting. Tom allowed me to taste most of what I had spent the afternoon looking at in his café, I was very impressed with his lemon olive oil – beautifully presented and so citrusy!
There was some lovely Jam from the Hampshire Jam and Chutney Company who are a relatively new venture but they are definitely causing a buzz and I can recommend their produce heartily. I wish them the best of luck!