Thousands "Indulge Inbedford" during special dining week

Thousands of people celebrated Indulge in Bedford Week which was designed to promote restaurants and dining out in the town.
 
More than 10,000 hit the www.comearoundtobedford.co.uk website seeking information on the campaign. Hundreds of people took their first ever visits to the participating restaurants to sample specially priced signature dishes at lunchtime or in the evening.
 
Many of the website visitors, and others reading local newspapers and listening to Chiltern Radio, entered competitions for tickets to a fabulous gala dinner evening at the Bedford Swan Hotel on Friday March 7th.
 
The winners of the BedfordBID tickets were: Grace Foster, a regular Bedford shopper who entered by phone; Julie Watson of Bedford who entered via the website; Tracey Gray of Bedford who went to the website on the recommendation of a friend; Peter Young of Shortstown - another first time website visitor and John Goulding whose wife Jacqui logs-on weekly to look at special offers and news. All of them brought a guest and were delighted to find a BedfordBID voucher for 20 on their plates.
 
Chiltern Radio’s winner worked at Medico Carers of Shefford and brought with her a table of friends and colleagues.
 
The night started off in style with a champagne and canap reception at the riverside Swan Hotel. This was followed by a six course meal prepared by a series of celebrity chefs and a series of entertainments, music and dancing. Giving his expert approval to the menu was TV celebrity chef Martin Blunos.
 
The five star event was a Cooks for the Cure evening in support of the Teenager Cancer Trust - national campaign which was made local by Bedford College’s Head of Hospitality Raj Mandal.
 
Through his links with John Retallick and the Craft Guild of Chefs, Raj brought the idea of the charity dinner to Bedford and the Swan Hotel manager Glenn Farrer. Glenn made the link with the Indulge in Bedford Week as Chairman of the BedfordBID. It was decided to bring all these influences together to raise money for charity. The celebrity chefs all gave their service for free, students from Bedford College assisted in the kitchen and served at tables, Bedford Swan donated the Coach House and wine for nearly 200 guests.
 
Overall the evening raised 12,500 for charity - beating the 10,000 target!
 
Mo Aswat, Executive Director of BedfordBID said: “This has been one of the most successful promotions we have run on behalf of businesses in Bedford. The website has become a focus for people wanting to keep up to date with special offers, deals and news about the town.
 
“Bedford Swan and Bedford College are both members of BedfordBID and have played an active part from the earliest days of the scheme. Their willingness to continue to be involved has helped to raise the profile of the town centre for everyone. BedfordBID is a team effort and I think Indulge in Bedford has been a prize winner for all.”

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