A SHOWCASE of mouth-watering fare from North Yorkshire took centre stage at a major event in the UK's food and drink exhibitions calendar.

A record 25 of Yorkshire's food producers came together under the Deliciouslyorkshire banner at Food And Drink Expo, at Birmingham's NEC arena, treating exhibition-goers to a range of delicacies, from artisan cheeses and chutneys to balsamic vinegar ice cream.

Karen Carlyle, executive director of the Regional Food Group for Yorkshire and Humber (RFGYH), the custodians of the Deliciouslyorkshire brand, said it was the "best ever Expo" for Yorkshire.

"Throngs of buyers have been to the stand and the show has been particularly successful for first-time exhibitors. Yorkshire has a wealth of wonderful food producers and it makes sense for us to team up and make a real impact on those all-important buyers."

"United under the Deliciouslyorkshire brand, we see ourselves as ambassadors for the entire county and the way we do business here.

"Although the wonderful food and drink produced speaks for itself, we know we have to work hard to get the attention of the buyers. And we do this through years of experience, plus the help of our funders - especially Yorkshire Forward."

Among the 'debutantes' enjoying their first Expo with the RFGYH was Nigel Sampson, of Sherburn-in-Elmet-based Holme Farmed Venison, who found that industry trends were replicated on a bigger scale at Expo.

"Our venison sales are creeping up, week by week and month by month, through our existing customers," he said. "Our experience has been reaffirmed by what happened at Expo.

"Our position in the hall really helped - people had to walk into Yorkshire whether they liked it or not!

We found a lot of interest from organisations with an American connection - they seem to have bigger budgets to spend on things like school meals. So it was a great help to us to have such a strong regional identity."

The Pie People, from Scarborough, which makes frozen, unbaked savoury products for the food service industry, launched the brand and a range of premium pie fillings at Expo.

The company's Phil Davies said market research had revealed there were too many "average" products in the frozen unbaked sector to which their venture aimed to bring a new level of quality.

"We did thousands of tastings at Expo and everybody was very impressed. It's been great to see a cross-section of people all nodding approvingly," he said.

"Our ingredients are predominantly sourced regionally, so exhibiting with Deliciouslyorkshire was a perfect fit for us.

"Without the funding that Yorkshire Forward and the RFGYH puts in, we couldn't afford to do it.'

Updated: 11:24 Thursday, March 30, 2006