Hundreds of people turned up at a community tasting event on Tuesday, hosted by Julian and Jackie Taylor-Green of Lindford Village Spar, Hampshire.

The ‘Come Dine With Me’ event took place at their local village hall and was a chance for people see what the store offered, including products from both Spar and local suppliers. An array of tables were set out with various food and drink for people to taste, comprising of curry dishes from Cook, freshly baked bread from Good Taste, beers, ciders and ales from the Hogs Back Brewery as well as wines, fresh meats, pizza, side dishes, crudities and dips from Spar.

There was also a BBQ outside offering samples of Spars own brand meats, as well as face painting and a bouncy castle for the children to enjoy.

Commenting on the event, Julian said: “Having moved to Spar from Londis and completely refurbishing the shop at the end of 2014, not only had we lost a few customers but others were shopping blind, coming in just for what they needed and not noticing our new additions.

“The event was a chance to attract new customers and inform old ones, and it worked. People who had never even been into the shop before came down, and by the morning we had 10 new Facebook likes from the more media savvy among them.”

Jackie added: “A lot of people didn’t even realise we stocked Cook, or that it was such great quality. Going forward we are going to really make this known with more in-store theatre and banners outside the store identifying multiple products.”