Businesses from across Exmoor were in Westminster this week as part of a special showcase event in the House of Commons, hosted by local MP Rachel Gilmour.
The Flavours from Exmoor event, held in the Jubilee Room, brought together a group of producers and organisations to represent the strength and diversity of Exmoor’s food and drink offer, alongside the wider visitor economy.
Attending organisations included Visit Exmoor, Exmoor National Park, Exmoor Distillery, Black Bear Brewery, Exmoor Game School, Wellhayes Vineyard, the Exmoor Hill Farming Network, Somerset Larder and the Somerset and Exmoor Local Visitor Economy Partnership. Also in attendance was William Sitwell, local restaurateur, journalist, BBC MasterChef judge and ambassador for the Somerset and Exmoor LVEP, alongside Helen Hill from VisitBritain.
The event welcomed a wide range of MPs, parliamentarians and stakeholders, with Alistair Carmichael, Chair of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee, taking time to meet with businesses and hear directly about their work and the challenges they face.
In addition, two finalists from the 2025 Exmoor Young Chef competition, Lauren Lewis and Maddie Kennedy, attended the event, highlighting the next generation of talent entering the hospitality sector and the importance of continued investment in skills and careers.
The showcase provided a valuable opportunity to raise the profile of Exmoor at a national level and to demonstrate the importance of the visitor economy, which generates over £630 million of economic activity each year across the area. Food and drink remain a central part of that offer, playing a key role in attracting visitors and supporting local businesses.
Visit Exmoor, the official organisation supporting the visitor economy for the Exmoor area and part of the both the Somerset and Exmoor and Devon and partners Local Visitor Economy Partnerships, aligned with VisitEngland, worked with partners to bring together the businesses attending and to ensure strong representation of Exmoor’s food and drink sector.
Emma Thomasson, Chief Executive of Visit Exmoor, said:
“This was a fantastic opportunity to bring Exmoor to Westminster and to showcase the strength of our businesses on a national stage. The quality, provenance and diversity of what we offer is exceptional, and it was important to be able to share that directly with parliamentarians and stakeholders.
It also gave us the chance to highlight the realities of operating as small, independent businesses in a rural area, and to reinforce the importance of continued support for the visitor economy, which underpins jobs, investment and long term sustainability across Exmoor.”
Rachel Gilmour MP said:
“It has been my privilege to work with Visit Exmoor to plan this incredible event. I am delighted to be bringing food and drink manufacturers from across Exmoor to the House of Commons, to showcase some of their incredible products, as well as the stunning scenery included within the ‘Exmoor Farms: A Year on the Moor’ book, through the Exmoor Hill Farming Network.
I hope that many Parliamentarians will attend, to truly get a flavour of Exmoor, and hear directly from my constituents about the critical role they play in the visitor economy on Exmoor, which is a major driver of employment in my constituency. Having these fantastic local businesses in the House of Commons is going to be really special for me.
I am very much looking forward to the conversations which will flow from this event, across all parties, to really show that Exmoor is a part of the South West’s past, present and future, whether it is through agriculture, tourism, or the wider Exmoor economy. I hope that this will be a timely reminder that the rural economy is its own powerhouse and deserves to be treated as such.”
The event builds on previous successful showcases in Parliament and reflects a continued focus on raising the profile of Exmoor’s businesses, supporting the rural economy and encouraging further growth in visitor numbers throughout the year.
For further information please contact: marketing@visit-exmoor.co.uk
Images from the event are available on request.
