Developed by Inverclyde’s regeneration company – Riverside Inverclyde (ri) – Taste Inverclyde has been designed to help support and highlight the Inverclyde food and drink offering for tourists and residents, aimed at helping to promote the fantastic local eateries and produce that they sell.  Taste Inverclyde will showcase independent restaurants, cafés and bars and in time will include hotels, street food and manufacturers.  Taste Inverclyde is aiming to become the go-to platform for Inverclyde food and drink over the next 12 months, with the aim is to promote and support food tourism across Inverclyde.

Taste Inverclyde will further provide a collaborative forum for food and drink manufacturers, restaurants, cafes and farms within Inverclyde to come together to discuss, innovate and create local produce that can then be sold and tasted within Inverclyde.  It will also offer business support, mentoring and an environment that promotes collaborative thinking.  Launching in autumn 2017, the forum will meet monthly, offering opportunities to network, develop and hear from industry insiders offering guidance for businesses.

Ri is also developing a dedicated food and drink enterprise hub at Baker Street in Greenock in conjunction with support from an RCGF Scottish Government grant, which is due for completion in November 2018.  The incubator hub will offer six units of up to 1,000 sq ft of readied kitchen, storage and shared office and research space.  Businesses will also be supported with regular mentoring as well as opportunities to study towards appropriate food and drink qualifications. There is also a plan to offer retail opportunities to showcase the incubator at the proposed Ardgowan Distillery Visitor Centre in Inverkip from 2019.

We are passionate about food and drink in Inverclyde and we would welcome your feedback on how we can work together to develop an offering Scotland can be proud of.