A new campaign promoting the area's award-winning traditional tastes, world cuisine and vegan food and drink offerings has gone live. 

Taste the Place showcases the best, local independent producers, restaurants, cafes, delis, farm shops, pubs, food festivals and more to highlight the breadth and diversity of the local food and drink offer. 

"There is a wealth of world-leading food and drink on offer across the city and county," said Cllr Pam Posnett, county council cabinet member for rural affairs.

"Leicestershire is well known as the 'rural capital of food' and is home to the world-renowned Melton Mowbray pork pies, Stilton cheese and Sparkenhoe Red Leicester.

"With top-notch vegan and world cuisines available across the county, as well as organic fruit soft drinks, wines and award-winning craft ales, there's a lot to discover.

"This campaign is a great way of encouraging residents and visitors to make the most of the mouth-watering food and drink on our doorstep."

The campaign features:

• A new food and drink event calendar
• 'Taste Adventures in Leicester and Leicestershire' (itineraries, trails and interactive maps promoting the best food and drink independents in an area)
• 'Pub Walks for Foodies' (curated one-hour walks from some of the best independent pubs)
• 'Pick Up and Picnic' (suggestions of where to buy locally-sourced food in farm shops, markets and delis, with suggestions of the best local picnic spots in which to eat it) 
• A new 'City Restaurant Trail'
• 'Leicester Curry Diploma' to highlight key dishes that diners are likely to encounter on a menu in Leicester

Taste the Place focuses on four key themes:

A Taste of England - explores traditional food and drink made or consumed in Leicestershire, including Melton Mowbray pork pies, Stilton and Red Leicester cheeses, ales and ciders such as those from the locally-based Everards brewery that are made in the area, but also promoting traditional pubs, coaching inns and venues where afternoon tea (said to have been invented at Belvoir Castle in the mid-1840s) can be enjoyed. It will promote activities related to the theme including pie making workshops, brewery tours as well as events such as East Midlands Food Festival, Pie Fest, the Artisan Cheese Fair, real ale festivals and more.

The World on a Plate - highlights the world food offer, and the communities and individuals that have helped to develop this local food offer. The multi-cultural food offer reflects the local South Asian, Turkish, African, Jamaican, Indonesian, Czech, Italian and Portuguese communities. Leicester is a former Curry Capital of Britain and also second on the list of world cities with the most Indian restaurants per capita outside of India.

Food for Thought - explores how climate change can also be fought from the kitchen. It will look at environmentally sustainable food consumption that reduces food miles, supports sustainable agri-farming and promotes a 'farm-to-fork' approach. The campaign will highlight producers with retail outlets, delis, farm shops and markets where locally-produced, seasonal products can be purchased as well as businesses that use a local supply chain. 

The Home of Veganism - veganism was first invented in Leicester by Donald Watson in the 1940s, a fact celebrated by the newly-opened Donald Watson Vegan Bar in Granby Street in the city. The Vegan Society was also founded in Leicester and the city is consistently in the top 10 of UK vegan cities. This theme will celebrate the wide range of vegan restaurants, bars, cafes and dessert parlours in Leicester as well as the origins of veganism in the city.