ITALIANS have been enjoying the finest foods north Essex has to offer after a director of the Colchester Food and Drink Festival set up links to export products to Colchester’s twin town.

Don Quinn, who has helped run the Food and Drink Festival for 19 years, offered a range of products to food connoisseurs during a three-day trip to Imola, the Italian town Colchester was twinned with following the Second World War.

It was a non-stop trip over three days last month for Mr Quinn, who said he is hoping to boost tourism connections between Colchester and Imola; both towns, he said, have huge amounts to offer one another.

He said: “We both want to promote tourism – we want people to go to Imola and we want people from Imola to come to England and Colchester.

“We think Colchester has got the infrastructure in terms of the accommodation available [for tourists] – space for hotels has gone up quite a lot and we think we are in a good position to start to bring in more and more tourists to have a long weekend in Colchester.”

“It costs me less to go to Imola than it does to go to Leeds by train.”

Mr Quinn added that the two men he visited in Imola were highly impressed by Essex’s produce which included Tides Fortune gin distilled in Thorpe-le-Soken, Maldon sea salt, Tiptree jam and St Jude regional cheese.

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Yuri Travatore, who matures cheese, and Massimo Seragnoli a branding and communication specialist, also offered Mr Quinn some Italian specialties of their own in return – and it is hoped many of the specialist foods will be available at Colchester Food and Drink Festival next month.

“We are expecting a cheesemonger, winemaker, and a brewer,” Mr Quinn said.

“Three years ago, a small group came over to Colchester to our food and drink festival and they were massively impressed with it.

“We want to have a practical link between Imola and Colchester.”

Colchester Food and Drink Festival, which first started in 2003, will take place this year on Saturday, June 25, and Sunday, June 26, at Lower Castle Park.