31/07/2010

The survey, conducted by Visit York, polled over 4,000 people from all over the UK and overseas* and found that almost half of all respondents put the classic Sunday lunch accompaniment within their top three choices of the best thing to come out of York and Yorkshire; second place went to Yorkshire Tea with 18% of the votes cast; closely followed by Wensleydale Cheese with 16% of votes.

Leading lady, Dame Judi Dench took centre stage in terms of the most popular person to have come from the region with 15% of votes, giving her fourth place overall. The Bronte Sisters meanwhile reached the wuthering heights of fifth place with 14%.  Captain James Cook navigated his way into sixth place with 12% of the votes and Michael Palin travelled to seventh place with 11%.

The survey was conducted by Visit York to celebrate the opening of its new £900,000 state-of-the-art Visitor Information Centre, which acts as a gateway of services for the region, offering visitors plus local residents and businesses with the keys to unlock both York and the wider Yorkshire and Humber area.

The first known recipe for Yorkshire Puddings can be traced back to 1747 in the ‘Art of Cookery Made Plain and Simple' where author, Hannah Glasse, altered the name of the dish from Dripping Pudding to how it is known today.

Originally intended as a cheap and filling first course for people who could not afford to buy meat, the well-loved batter mix was placed underneath meat cooked on a spit to catch the dripping juices. In present day the popularity of the dish continues to grow with it cropping up in a number of dishes such as Toad in the Hole, or as a sweet dish with jam, golden syrup or sugar. The ways in which the batter mixture can be presented have continued to evolve, with Yorkshire puddings being appreciated in many countries worldwide.

Gary Verity, Chief Executive of Welcome to Yorkshire said, ‘We're delighted so many visitors love Yorkshire's signature dish and there's no better place to try it than here in the county where it was first created.'

Dame Judi Dench said, ‘I'm thrilled visitors have voted me their favourite person from York and Yorkshire.  There must have been some quite stiff competition, the city and county are dear to my heart and it's a place I will always return to.'

Supported by Yorkshire Forward, Welcome to Yorkshire, the City of York Council, the Business Link Legacy Fund and York Conservation Trust, the new state-of-the-art Visit York Information Centre replaced the service located at the De Grey Rooms in Exhibition Square. An attraction in its own right and the first port of call for every visitor to the area, the new provision opened at the end of May.

Visit York Information Centre, 1 Museum Street, York YO1 7DT

www.visityork.org/

Notes to editors:

The Survey:

• 4,176 people answered the survey, which was hosted on Visit York's website www.visityork.org/
• The survey asked respondents to rate their favourite three ‘Best Things to Come out of York or Yorkshire'.
• 72% of those surveyed live in the UK but outside Yorkshire; 13% live in Yorkshire and the remaining 15% live overseas.
• 74% of the respondents were aged between 36 and 65.
• 62% of the respondents were female.
• Top ten results were as follows:
• 1^st = Yorkshire Pudding
• 2^nd = Yorkshire Tea
• 3^rd = Wensleydale Cheese
• 4^th = Dame Judi Dench
• 5^th = Bronte Sisters
• 6^th = Captain James Cook
• 7^th = Michael Palin
• 8^th = Terry's Chocolate Orange
• 9^th = Robin Hood
• 10^th = Pint of Black Sheep Ale

Visit York:

• Visit York is supported by Welcome to Yorkshire, City of York Council and other tourism businesses. Yorkshire Forward, The Regional Development Agency, funds Welcome to Yorkshire, which is charged with improving the Yorkshire and Humber visitor economy.
• Visit York's aim is to market York as a must-see world-class destination to the leisure and business visitor, and ensure investment to develop the quality of tourism in York.  Visit York is responsible for leisure and conference marketing, visitor services (running the city's Visitor Information Centre), training and developing the tourism product. 
• Visit York is the driving force of the city's tourism industry.
• Key facts: 7.1 million visitors (2008) and £443 million total visitor spend (2008).