This year’s Hampshire Food Festival will run from July 1st-31st with over 100 different events held across the county, all celebrating Hampshire’s finest food and drink.

Event details for this year's Festival will be published late May or register to receive a free Hampshire Food Festival programme in the post when these are published at the end of May.

Latest news: Gordon Ramsay gives his support to The Hampshire Food Festival!

Hampshire Food Festival events include a water buffalo walk and New Forest deer safari, bread-making, chocolate and jam-making master-classes, tours around a mushroom farm, herb nursery, kitchen gardens, apple orchard and a vegetable crisps factory, Hampshire cider celebrations and beer festivals, a New Forest treasure hunt and local cheese supper, farm walks and tractor-trailer tours, cider and apple juice making demos, heritage events and educational workshops.

As this year’s Festival celebrates The Year of Food and Farming, there will be plenty of fun for children to explore farms, meet farm animals, get hands-on and taste local food. The Festival also incorporates The New Forest & Hampshire Show and Alton Agricultural Show.

Vegetarian food writer Rose Elliot will be cooking an ‘Asian Sensation’ and Ainsley Harriott will be giving cookery demonstrations. Hampshire chefs will showing how to cook dinner party desserts and barbecue dishes, and local producers will be cooking quick and easy recipes at Hampshire Farmers’ Market Taster Days.

Many restaurants, hotels and pubs will be serving Hampshire menus and celebration dinners, culminating with the prestigious annual Hampshire Life Food & Drink Awards dinner.

Hampshire Food Festival visitors can also win a luxury two night break at Lainston House Hotel near Winchester, which is renowned for their use of local produce. Lainston’s Executive Chef Andy MacKenzie was awarded Hampshire Chef of the Year at these awards last year.

In the meantime, fantastic local food and drink is available all year round, so please continue to explore the county and try something new every week. Many of our event hosts offer tours and special menus throughout the year so take a moment to look through the producer details on our site to find out more. You can also visit a Hampshire Farmers' Market almost every weekend which are mini food festivals in their own right! For more information on food events in Hampshire, visit our Hampshire Fare what's on page.

The Festival is supported by Hampshire County Council, South East England Development Agency and the South East Food Group Partnership.