Food festival has a successful recipe
Retailers and producers gathered to enjoy an evening of spiced pigs' ears and quail turnovers as Hampshire Food Festival got off the ground.
Visitors to the Vatika Restaurant, Wickham Vineyard, ate, drank and toasted the 140 events to come this month, promoting wine, vegetables, meat and dairy all taken from within the borders of Hampshire.
Celebrity chef Raymond Blanc was in attendance alongside representatives of Hampshire County Council, Southern Co-ops, star chef Atul Kochhar and The News restaurant critic Carol Godsmark, among many other guests. They enjoyed a bizarre array of locally-sourced delights.
Derek Beaves, chairman of organiser Hampshire Fare for the last 17 years, said: 'We've got about 140 events happening.
'You can walk with buffalo, go on farm visits, go to kitchen lectures, see people making cheese, making ice cream – it's a huge list of activities.
'It's a constant battle to get more people aware of what they're eating. It's doesn't just come fully-formed out of a packet.
'It grows in sunlight, it needs to be watered, the animals need good husbandry. It's about showing everything good in Hampshire.'
It is the ninth year the event has run and this will be the biggest yet, with events including the Southsea Farmers' Market on July 18 and 19, a chocolate-making class in Rowlands Castle on July 27, and a Wild Foraging Day and Dinner in East Meon, near Petersfield, also on July 18 and 19.
Last year's festival drew an estimated 85,000 people, and generated about 2.5m.
Lucy Avison, local product manager at Southern Co-op, said: 'The festival is a fantastic celebration of the great range of food Hampshire has to offer, and is instrumental in raising further awareness of buying locally.
'Our stores in Hampshire will be running a host of tasting events throughout July, including a Hampshire cheese and wine party and Hampshire BBQ, as well as selling the delicious Farm Gosden ice cream outside the store on selected weekends.'
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Tuesday 22 May 2012
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