The Yorkshire and Humber region likes to call itself the food and drink capital of the UK. While other UK regions may challenge its claim, there is no disputing the above-average importance for the region of food businesses, which account for £2.5bn ($3.5bn) of economic output and employ more than 50,000 staff.

Close to two-thirds of the fish eaten in the UK is processed in plants alongside the Humber estuary. A third of the UK’s beer is produced in the region, which also has one of the country’s biggest pig industries, and a fast growing speciality food sector ranging from ethnic producers, such as Mumtaz Foods , to traditional cheese makers such as Thirsk-based Shepherd’s Purse.