Everyone is finding it tough at the moment and wants life to get back to normal.

We will be profiling local independent businesses regularly over the coming weeks in a feature called UP CLOSE IN MALDON DISTRICT to help showcase our town centre and village traders. By spending locally, you help support local jobs - and so build our communities back stronger.

This week we talk to Eleanor Taylor, the woman behind the Grape and Grain Experience at Maldon's Promenade Park.

THERE is a simple yet key thing that Maldon entrepreneur Eleanor Taylor discovered during years spent on the production team of TV travel and food shows, including work with the Hairy Bikers, Gordon Ramsey and Nigella Lawson.

No, it wasn't anything to do with celebrity gossip – rather, it was what can help to play a major part in making a place like Maldon successful.

Eleanor explains, "My job meant travelling a lot and going to lots of different towns and seeing what works well and what doesn't.

"I saw a lot of High Streets struggling because of heritage identity – their food identity and the produce associated with a place."

So when Eleanor moved to the town she noticed straight away the food heritage of the district and the great brands associated with it and villages close by, such as Maldon Salt, Maldon Oyster and Wilkin & Sons, to name just a handful.

However, she was also aware that although Maldon had a lot to offer, many people from outside didn't know this and so didn't see it as a foodie destination.

"People may have heard of Maldon Salt," Eleanor says, "but hadn't actually thought to visit."

She saw an opportunity to change that - Maldon Oyster Festival, which had previously existed but not truly reached its potential. Eleanor realised that with some focus and drive – and her previous experience - she could turn that around. She rekindled the event at Maldon's Promenade Park to success with thousands of visitors.

But when the Covid-19 pandemic struck in 2020, like so many events the festival had to be cancelled – and that's when things took a different turn.

"It was when I was busy talking to local producers and suppliers in the process of cancelling the event that they spoke of the difficulties the pandemic had left them facing.

"They told me of their struggles and so I went to Maldon District Council and spoke to them about providing an outlet for the supplies of local producers in the open air at the Prom. And so the Grape and Grain Experience was born in the summer last year.

"It was hugely popular and a way of introducing local brands to people who had never tried them before."

This summer the Grape and Grain Experience has returned on Friday, Saturday and Sunday each week, right through into the autumn. This year experienced barman and cocktail mixer Dustin is on hand to help produce some amazing drinks, from a gorgeous fruit cup containing gin produced by a new Maldon-based company, Essex Spirits Co. and fruit from Maldon Fruit Supplies, through to wines from New Hall Vineyard, beverages from the Mighty Oak brewery, Wilkin & Sons spirits and lagers from Adnam and Southwold.

Of course, there are also locally-produced Fairfield Farm crisps and paella and other hot food served by a Tiptree caterer at weekends.

Other Maldon-based companies have supported Grape and Grain, too, with a special mention from Eleanor going to Green Recycling, who have provided glass and general waste bins and recycle the contents completely free of charge - just to support local business and the community.

Looking out over the Prom and its stunning estuary views – and sipping the delicious local produce – it's easy to see why the Grape and Grain has caught on. So much so, in fact, that some people who discovered it last year have since moved to Maldon – and some have even found love.

Eleanor smiles, "This has been embraced by the community and beyond – and we have had some people who became regulars last year and they loved it so much that they have since moved to the town.