Monday 14 June during their Summer Social event the Tastes of Anglia (ToA) family of members, customers and staff will be celebrating the hard work of Colin Clarke on his retirement from the team at the regional food body. Colin has been at the heart of ToA’s revival from a low-key Government backed quango back in 1999 when he started as Chief Executive to now being a flourishing self-funded not-for-profit business from which he retires as Company Secretary and Group Chief Executive.

An unsuccessful attempt at early retirement a decade ago resulted in sheer frustration for Colin meaning it was to ToA’s gain when he returned to the cut and thrust of company life aged 53 to lead a period of rejuvenation in dissolving the business’s reliance on ever-decreasing Defra funding and to finding its own commercial direction. The achievements of ToA during his tenure are impressive and in no small part down to his expertise and strategy – in 1999 the membership stood at just 119 and it turned over some £90k compared to over 325 members now alongwith a turnover of over £1.3million. One key development was Colin’s launch of Table, ToA’s distribution arm supplying local food and drink into retail and foodservice customers with General Manager Tony Bower.

Colin is understandably emotional to be leaving, citing his work with ToA as “probably the most enjoyable time of my career, in that it has been spent in a close enthusiastic team dealing with real people and helping them personally, often from entrepreneurial small businesses… I am also pleased to have left behind hopefully firm foundations for continuing success, giving stability at this generally worrying time for the economy and I wish all my colleagues the best of luck and every success for the future.”

Julie West, current Chief Executive is pleased that Colin is not completely retiring - fortunately ToA will still have access to Colin’s sage advice and ideas as he will remain on the board of directors. “Colin has given a decade of sterling service to Tastes of Anglia and we thank him wholeheartedly for all his hard work and dedication to ourselves and of course to the cause of local food and drink in the East of England. It is testament to his success that so many of our producer members have passed on their regret that he is retiring and their great compliments to the part he has played in their achievements”.

Before joining ToA, Colin rose through the ranks of big business, having held a variety of Sales and Commercial Directorships for major blue chip and national brands including Dairy Crest and Britvic, having first joined Midland Bank after a rural childhood as a farmer’s son.

Being a much smaller venture than the PLCs he was used, Colin relished the hands-on nature of the job at ToA; many of his career highlights and anecdotes relating to the unpredictability of events such as starting up Table in a small portacabin at Otley College and the day he and a few colleagues heaved in 500 cases of Marriage’s flour in the rain because the lorry couldn’t get in the gates! With other occasions where vans broke down travelling to exhibitions or he spent ages trying to find venues or parking before the joy of Sat-Nav, it really has been a glamorous lifestyle! But Colin continues “everyone mucking in together created a real camaraderie and team spirit, something I’ll also miss greatly”.