The best September food festivals
It may be the end of summer, but at least September is the best month for UK food festivals! Here are some of our favourites.
Dumfries & Galloway's Delicious Flavour Fortnight Festival
Welcome to Scotland’s artisan food and drink festival, a celebration of all things food and drink over a 16 day programme. A lot of hard work has gone into the organisation of this festival – there are several masterclasses on offer (how to be a beekeeper, how to make artisan bread, how to make Scottish cider…), as well as tours around dairy and deer farms; visits to herds of Highland cattle; behind-the-scene guides of bakeries, brewery and creameries; and secret visits to some of Dumfries and Galloway’s hidden food-producing gardens that have never before been open to the public.
There are also tapas nights; garden tours; chocolate days; wild food foraging; gastronomic quiz nights; Farmers’ markets; ceilidhs; herbal tea-making; and ‘sausage Saturday’ to look forward to.
When? August 31 – September 15
More info: flavourfortnight.co.uk
Brighton & Hove Food and Drink Festival
The Brighton & Hove Food and Drink Festival is the largest festival of its kind in the south of England, running every Easter and for ten days in September. Events are aplenty and include a Sussex wine bus tour, which involves hopping aboard a vintage Routmaster to explore Sussex’s award-winning wine industry. Stop-offs include the Wiston Estate (expect to taste a selection of sparkling English wines), and a leisurely gourmet buffet lunch at Ridgeview Wine Estate.
Other excitements include ‘a regency food tour’; the ‘Brighton wine and champagne festival’; a ‘vegan challenge’; readings by Terry Pratchett; the ‘wobblegate wobblympics’; and, our personal favourite, ‘Sussex cheese bowling’, which involves rolling cheese on a spotless bowling green.
When? September 5 – September 15
More info: brightonfoodfestival.com
Ludlow Food Festival
Probably the most famous three-day food festival in Britain, and will this year celebrate its 19th anniversary. Shropshire’s Ludlow Food Festival boasts over 160 exhibitors under cover in huge marquees, and the whole thing is centred in and around Ludlow Castle. Top chefs Will Holland, John Williams and Aktar Islam are among the big hitters cooking up a storm on the first day of the festival.
The weekend brings with it masterclasses and food trails, including coffee masterclasses; hands on Egyptian cookery; bread masterclasses; cheese sampling; sausage, bread and ale trails; pudding tastings; another 43 foodie stalls on the Sunday marketplace; cider pressing; slow food taste workshops; knife skills; and music and tea in the moat.
Plus The Pink Lady Photography Exhibition will be shown at the Ludlow Assembly Rooms for the whole weekend and is free to enter.
When? September 13 – September 15
More info: http://www.foodfestival.co.uk/
Norfolk Food Festival
The Norfolk Food Festival extends to October 6 and promises hundreds of foodie events across the whole county. The objective is to encourage everybody to have a better understanding of the importance of Norfolk food and drink to the county’s economy, environment, health, countryside and agriculture.
One of the highlights is a food festival at Holkham Hall to celebrate the variety of food grown, reared, caught, made and sold in North Norfolk – there’ll be 50+ producers there on the day. Other workshops on offer include ‘yoga and food’; ‘homemade by the seaside’; and ‘Norfolk afternoon tea’. Those with a taste for spice should definitely catch the ‘Norfolk hot sauce festival’, too.
When? August 31 – October 6
More info: norfolkfoodanddrinkfestival.co.uk
Abergavenny Food Festival
One of the best food festivals in Wales, and this year both Stefan Gates and Kate Humble will be on the stage.
There’s a huge array of masterclasses on offer, including ‘Scandi Baking’ with Signe Johansen, ‘Respect the Veg’ with Bryn Williams, and ‘Tapas Revolution’ with Omar Allibhoy. There are also tutored tastings – including Peruvian ceviche, chocolate and ciders – and food talks on everything from ‘Remembering Elizabeth David’ to ‘The Autumn Garden’.
There are even ‘walks and forays’ to enjoy, which take a closer look at subjects such as mushrooms, plants, and even ‘granny’s store cupboard’.
When? September 21 and September 22
More info: abergavennyfoodfestival.com
Nantwich Food Festival
Last year over 30,000 visitors came to the Nantwich Food Festival, bringing over £2 million pounds into the local community – and that’s over a period of only three days.
Friday kicks off with a competition to win a massive chocolate egg, and from then on activities include a pop-up cooking school for kids; miniature train rides; fruit facials; pork pie masterclasses; a WI demonstration; Clandestine Cake Club; and a brewery tour.
There’s an impressive 41 events on the Saturday, including cow milking; pudding tasting; a pizza-making workshop; and cocktail tastings. Sunday is equally exciting – expect cake decorating workshops; puppet shows; a beer festival; a ‘man v food’ burger challenge; and lessons in how to make sourdough bread.
When? September 6 – September 8
More info: nantwichfoodfestival.co.uk
Stratford-upon-Avon Food Festival
Located at Stratford racecourse, the Stratford-upon-Avon Food Festival is aiming to attract 20,000 visitors this year, with stars such as Paul Hollywood and Sophie Michell pulling in the crowds.
There are interactive workshops, a cookery theatre, a music stage, and a taste theatre over the course of the weekend. The School of Artisan food will be teaching people how to make bread, cheese, chocolate and ice cream, while Anita Sharma-James from The Spice Trade will be teaching everyone how to use Indian spices the correct way.
When? September 14 and September 15
More info: stratfordfoodfestival.co.uk
Aldeburgh Food & Drink Festival
Over 80 producers will gather at Snape Maltings in Aldeburgh over the weekend of 28-29 September. There will be live demonstrations from celebrity chefs including Valentine Warner, Thomasina Miers and Sarah Raven, alongside the areas’s local stars such as Madalene Bonvini-Hamel of the British Larder, and Paul Foster of Tuddenham Mill.
The Aldeburgh Food Festival adopts a slightly more serious tone than most – it will look at the role of science and communities from a global, national and local perspective, and expert speakers will include Professor Sir Gordon Conway of Imperial College, London, Dr Michel Pimbert, Director of Coventry University, and Caroline Drummond, the latter of who will lecture on sustainable farming.
You can also try your hand at making sausages, pasta, chocolate or bread, and the Cooking Club for Kids is offering a fun and inspirational series of hands-on cooking sessions for 7s and above.
When? September 27 – October 13
More info: aldeburghfoodanddrink.co.uk
Taste Northern Ireland Food Festival
Northern Ireland’s biggest free food & drink festival, Taste Northern Ireland, hosted by Tesco, returns to Custom House Square in Belfast on the weekend of 20th-22nd September.
Northern Ireland’s best loved local producers and chefs will gather for a weekend of tasting, cooking and sharing their passion for home-grown food & drink. The event is under cover in a great big marquee in Belfast City Centre and admission is free.
Visitors can meet the growers, bakers and makers behind Northern Ireland’s food, and be the first to sample brand new products. A petting farm, music and a full programme of top local chefs will also be on hand to entertain.
When? September 20 – September 22
More info: discoverireland.com
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