A Thought for Food will transform the lawns of the stately home into an English village, with an authentic village bandstand, pub, green and schoolhouse.

The focus will be on the very best of the South's region producers - those already receiving national recognition and those yet to be discovered.

There will be all kinds of food, from Dorset blueberries to fresh fish and seafood caught in Chichester Harbour.

Drink is very much on the menu and will include appearances by world famous sherry producer Javier Hidalgo and Fuller's Head Brewer, John Keeling.

Also at the event will be the four finalists of the News-backed You CAN Cook! competition to find the region's best amateur chef: Ian Foice of Gosport, David Field from Fareham, Linda Gale of Bitterne and Silvana Correa de Castro of Southsea.

Supported by the Co-op and in partnership with Fat Olives Restaurant and The News, the final of You CAN Cook! will feature the 'foodies' cooking live on stage on Sunday with top local chef Lawrence Murphy.

There will be free buses running from Emsworth to Stansted for the event, which opens at 10am today and continues until Sunday.

For a full programme of the many events taking place in A Thought for Food, go to www.athoughtforfood.co.uk