It's festival time!
Saturday marked the start of the Hampshire Food Festival! The county is set to celebrate all things food and farming over the next month with more than 60 tempting events taking place across the county. Sponsored by Hildon, the Hampshire Food Festival line-up includes vineyard, farm and distillery tours, pop-up dinners, cooking masterclasses and more.
Festival organisers, Hampshire Fare, toasted the start of the seventeenth Hampshire Food Festival on Saturday 1st July in the grounds of Chewton Glen Hotel. Two beautiful tipis provided shelter from the sun for local producers including Hampshire Cheese, Flack Manor, Chalk Stream Foods, The Pig Shed, Great British Biscotti, Chalkdown Cider, Chocolate by Miss Witt, Catch Fabulous Fish Cakes, Cupcakes Mmm Cookies, Winchester Distillery, Appetite for Adventure, Gorilla Spirits, Jake’s Artisan Foods, Turner Hardy, Yarty Cordials, Lisa’s Larder, Naked Jam, Hill Farm Juice, A Basing Bakes, Mozzo, The Nut Butter Company, Vineyards of Hampshire, Honesty Group, Pothecary Gin, Tom Parker Creamery, Tatchbury Manor, The Southern Co-op Local Flavours, Sundae’s Child and Dangly Hearts. Guests chatted to producers to find out about the passion behind their businesses.
A wine masterclass with Berry Bros & Rudd, sheep-themed arts and crafts and garden tours kept guests entertained whilst many chose to relax to live music from The Real Raj and Steve Picken whilst tucking into lots of local produce. Chewton Glen’s Executive Head Chef, Luke Matthews and his team created wood-fired pizzas in the Kitchen Garden and local Keyhaven lamb was slow-cooked on Kamado Joe grills.
Tracy Nash, Commercial Manager of Hampshire Fare, commented: “Hampshire has so much to be proud of when it comes to food and drink. Today we are really excited to be able to show off just some of what they county has got. The festival is a real team effort with people across the county hosting events. We urge people to be inspired by what’s on their doorstep and use the Hampshire Food Festival as a time to get out and explore.”
It was a busy first weekend of the festival with a Tour and Tasting at Hattingley Valley Wines, Lavender Fields Tours, Gorilla Spirits Open Day and Broughton Buffalo Open Day.
Events are taking place until 31st July, view the programme.