British Food Fortnight kicked off with a banger yesterday… as commuters at St Pancras station in London were treated to an edible map of England.
The national tourist board unveiled a giant cake representing the county’s huge array of food festivals to mark British Food Fortnight which starts on Saturday and runs until October 6.
Travellers lined up to sample – among others – oyster cake (Whitstable Oyster Festival), sausage icing (Ludlow Food Festival), edible flowers (the Royal Horticultural Society’s new Taste of Autumn Food Festival).
VisitEngland also released figures showing just what a foodie nation we have become. Stats reveal that 13 million day visits last year involved a trip to a food festival or farmers’ market, and what’s more, 26.2 million of us want to go to a food festival this year.
Here are a selection of food fests around the country… don’t forget to take your appetite!
From patch to plate
New for this year is the Taste of Autumn Food Festival by the Royal Horticultural Society. It takes place across four RHS gardens and will feature an array of local artisan produce and TV chef James Martin, botanist and Gardeners’ World regular Pippa Greenwood, and chef and food writer Rosemary Moon. The festival is from October 12-13 at Hyde Hall in Essex, Rosemoor in North Devon and Harlow Carr in North Yorkshire. Between October 16-20, the event will be hosted at RHS Garden Wisley in Surrey.
Celeb-spotting
There are a number of other celebs appearing at food festivals this autumn At Taste Cumbria, celebrity chefs Paul Rankin and Aldo Zilli will be charming Cockermouth with their culinary charisma from September 28-29. And Simon Rogan will once again be setting up his pop-up, L’Enclume – this time with two Michelin stars to its name. Mary Berry will headline Malvern’s Autumn Show from September 28-29. Appearing as a special guest at the Three Counties Showground in Worcestershire, Berry will be sharing her top tips for delicious family cooking. Paul Hollywood, also of Great British Bake Off fame, will show off his pastry skills at this year’s Flavours of Herefordshire Festival which takes place between November 2-3.
Protected produce
Granted a PDO (Protected Designation of Origin) for its delicious delicacy, Leicestershire’s town of Melton Mowbray hails its eponomous pork pies in a Food and Drink Festival of its own. Held over October 6 and 7, you grab a mouth full of pork pie and cheese but other tables are furnished with exotic meats such as ostrich and zebra as well as Iranian culinary dishes – a nod to the area’s bustling multicultural community.
Urban treats
London celebrates Urban Food Fortnight until September 29. For two weeks there will be ultra-local menus from some of London’s top restaurants, pop-up events, supper clubs in growing spaces and allotments, botanical cocktail nights, foraging walks and urban cookery classes. Up north, Manchester celebrates its own Urban Food and Drink Festival with events all over the city from September 26 to October 7. From street food at Albert Square to an indie wine festival in Manchester Town Hall, there’s bound to be something for all to enjoy.
Get cooking
What began in 2007 as a humble food festival has quickly grown in popularity and become one of the UK’s best. The well-known Aldeburgh Food Festival will return to the Suffolk town on the weekend of September 28-29, cooking up a host of fringe events celebrating Suffolk produce, the land and people who produce it.
By the sea
Head down to Rye for Wild Boar Week (October 26 to November 3) which pays homage to the town’s local delicacy. Hunted to near extinction in the 17th Century, surviving boars continued to breed in Kentish farms leading to dramatic increases in the last 20 years. Fancy a pasty? Learn crimping techniques at the 10th Cornwall Food and Drink Festival. From September 27-29, Truro’s Lemon Quay will transform into a foodie heaven for three days of eating, drinking and entertainment.
Weird and wonderful
The Isle of Wight’s annual Sweetcorn Fayre takes place in Arreton Old Village from September 28-29. There will be a world record breaking attempts to create the largest sweetcorn fritter. On the mainland, learn how to smoke herring at the Hastings Herring Fair between November 9-10. And if you can’t wait for Halloween, check out the Spalding Pumpkin Festival which falls in the first week of October.
For more foodie inspiration, see www.visitengland.com/eat
