The spotlight was on Cumbria’s businesses today as the area’s MPs joined forces to host the annual Cumbria Day.
Hosted in Parliament, Cumbria’s MPs put politics aside and brought together a range of food and drink businesses and organisations from their constituencies in celebration of Cumbria Day 2019.
The day saw Parliamentary staff, MPs, peers and senior ministers including Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Liz Truss MP as well as House of Commons Speaker, John Bercow MP sample a selection of the finest produce from across the county whilst meeting a number of the area’s local enterprises and organisations.
The MP for Copeland Trudy Harrison welcomed along Keswick based café, Kat’s Kitchen who specialises in plant based dishes as well as cakes, bakes and sweet treats.
Kat Hale of Kat’s Kitchen, said: “It has been a real honour for Kat’s Kitchen to represent Cumbria and Keswick at such a special event in Parliament today and it was lovely to meet everyone who came along to sample our cakes and Goulash, which were all very well received.
“Cumbria is home to so many diverse businesses so it was wonderful to meet and work alongside just a few of them to help share and promote our beautiful county - my husband and I felt very proud to be part of an event that aims to show off the amazing place that is our home.”
Mrs Harrison, said: “Cumbria Day 2019 has been a huge success and working alongside my Cumbrian colleagues to showcase our local businesses and world-class food and drink industry here in Parliament has been a privilege.
“I would like to thank Kat and Nigel from Kat’s Kitchen for giving up their time to travel to Westminster and represent Keswick and Copeland with their outstanding homemade vegan produce.
“Last year, Cumbria and the Lake District enjoyed over 47 million visitors, bringing in £2.9 billion to the local economy and supporting almost 65,000 jobs, however, locally it is vitally important that we continue to back our independently run businesses throughout the year to ensure they to remain on our local highstreets and in our towns and villages for generations to come.”
The event, which has been sponsored by Sellafield Ltd is now in its fourth year.
Jamie Reed, Sellafield’s Head of Corporate Affairs, said: “We’re delighted to support Cumbria Day again. This week’s showcase will provide businesses from across Cumbria the opportunity to meet key stakeholders and demonstrate how they contribute towards the local and national economy. As important as Sellafield and the nuclear industry is to Cumbria, we’re about so much more.
“Cumbria Day gives our area the opportunity to showcase more of what the county does and just how good we are. I believe that Cumbria’s best days are ahead of us and it’s always good to see all of our Members of Parliament working together for the benefit of the County.”
Also showcasing their businesses were Tractor Shed Brewing, Allerdale Borough Council, Cumbrian Adventures, Cows and Co, Pioneer Foods, Pennington Coffee, Kirby Lonsdale Brewery, Hawkshead Relish, CM Home Fragrance and Deli.sh.
