National World Food and Drink month: Why I love working as a food reporter in Portsmouth
Portsmouth is renowned for being a thriving hub where food and drink businesses offer remarkable cusines on a daily basis.
I have worked at The Portsmouth News for the past two and a half years - and my passion has always been showcasing businesses in the food and drink industry. For starters, I’m a big fan of food, and secondly, I love watching the progression of independent venues as they thrive in the city.
Portsmouth caters for everyone - and that’s what makes it different. Whether you want a family friendly venue or somewhere you can have a coffee with your dog, or both, Portsmouth will always have a long list of places you can visit. The city, despite being large in size, always feels like a close knit community - and local people are the first to support businesses in the area.
One of my favourite things about working as a food and drink reporter in Portsmouth is the fact that businesses work together to ensure everyone succeeds. From collaboration events to pop-up shops, the local businesses pride themselves on working as a team.
During September, National World will be celebrating food and drink across its 139 titles including The News - and I will be showcasing some of the best places to visit based on reader opinions and our personal favourites.
Editor-in chief Mark Waldron, who has worked with editors and reporters to coordinate the month, said: “We dedicate a lot of time covering the hospitality sector - which is vital to all our communities - and have specialist food and drink champions across all our cities to keep our readers up-to-date with what is happening.
“We delight in telling the stories of new openings, new menus, new looks and new initiatives and talking to the local people behind these. But our coverage of closures clearly demonstrates this remains a challenging time for this sector.”