Delicious Dine-Out Festival, the Jersey Hospitality Association’s Autumn celebration of local produce and culinary skill, is set to return between 1st October and 24th November.
The festival offers tantalisingly tasty menus, special dishes and exciting produce from across Jersey’s huge array of restaurants, hotels, cafes, pubs, caterers and producers.
The Jersey Hospitality Association (JHA) launched Delicious Dine-Out Festival last year, working with industry members and sponsors to create a year-round celebration of local food and drink. Dine-Out Festival concentrates on special menus and dishes in the Autumn, challenging chefs and their teams to create amazing food with at least one local ingredient as the star of the dish and providing diners with an unmatched choice of venues and experiences to choose from.
The JHA is working with producers and suppliers to create a clear journey that shows how locally grown, reared and caught food makes it to our plates, our Island’s produce and the seasonality of our Island.
Ana and Marcus Calvani, Co-CEOs of the Jersey Hospitality Association, said: “We came up with the idea of Delicious Jersey in 2023 to raise awareness of the incredible produce that comes from our Island and a solution to join the dots between multiple Island industries. We believe it is incredibly important for us all to be aware of what grows, is farmed and is caught on our Island and the people who work tirelessly all year round to make our Island a delicious place to live.
“Not only do we all need to be aware, but we all need a chance to celebrate this as well. The hospitality industry is critical to the balance and sustainability of our Island’s economy. Not only does it attract and support other industries, but it also creates quality of life for all of us Islanders that we should not take for granted. Delicious Jersey is not just about celebrating, it’s also about looking at the responsible journeys that create sustainable food production and healthy eating and drinking. It takes a lot more than just a talented chef to put local produce on a plate, there’s many local passionate farmers, fishers and producers, as well as suppliers involved in the chain that we want to celebrate as well. We want Islanders to get a better understanding of how they all work together to make our Island an incredibly special place to call home.”
JHA members have created exciting menus featuring local ingredients and a 32-page magazine listing all participating businesses is being delivered to every mailbox in Jersey this coming week. A brand-new website www.deliciousjersey.com will also launch at the beginning of the festival.
Malcolm Lewis, JHA Chair, added: “Last autumn, Dine-Out highlighted important themes such as cutting waste, improving soil health and eating more healthily while also supporting the hospitality, fishing and farming sectors. We want to reinforce that message about the importance of our local food supply with a focus on how Jersey’s abundant seasonal produce minimises food miles and waste. Right now we are celebrating all things Delicious during the Dine-Out Festival, but in Spring next year we will see the launch of The Delicious Jersey Food Festival and in the Autumn next year, the launch of The Delicious Jersey Seafood Festival, both exciting events that we hope will be enjoyed by both locals and foodie visitors from around the world.”
Pictured: Ana and Marcus Calvani. Credit Max Burnett
