September 26/27th 2015
Winter Gardens and Town Square, Weston super Mare
10am – 5.30pm Admission Free
If you love great food you’ll love the Weston Super Food Festival. Shortlisted for the national Young British Foodie award and a finalist in the Love British Food ‘Bring Home the Harvest Awards, the popular festival returns on September 26th and 27th for its 3rd successive year.
The organisers promise a wonderfully tasty celebration of all that’s good about real food. And that means food that’s produced by small producers with love and care using quality ingredients to deliver great taste and real flavour.
The festival will focus on local and regional produce showcasing all the wonderful food and drink that’s made the West Country famous. The organisers are ardent supporters of local shopping but you’ll also find specialist food that you might not be able to source locally from some of the best award winning organic and artisan producers from around the UK.
As you browse, taste and buy your way around the festival you’ll be able explore the bustling, vibrant, indoor and outdoor food markets and grab a tasty snack from the gourmet street food stalls. And by street food the team mean delicious and innovative ‘food to go’ – not the usual fast food horrors!
There’s Real Ale and Cider Bars too where you can enjoy a locally brewed pint.
Relax in the Town Square and enjoy your purchases in the covered, outdoor eating area and live music marquee – perfect for enjoying the festival whatever the weather. Visit the festival on Saturday and you’ll catch the quirky food themed Open Mic competition, and for a small charge on Friday and Saturday evenings sit back and enjoy food-themed films courtesy of the wonderful Backyard Cinema.
Appropriately for a seaside resort, this year’s festival will have a distinctly ‘fishy’ theme! With sponsorship from Marks & Spencer, the festival organisers are delighted to be supporting its Forever Fish campaign and will be working closely with the Marine Conservation Society (MCS) at the event. Through Forever Fish, M&S has made a pledge to help protect sea life, oceans and beaches, including fishing only from sustainable sources, and encouraging its customers to eat lesser known and British fish species.
Visitors will be able to pick up a free copy of the MCS sustainable fish guide and glean some great tips on which fish to buy and cook. The Professional Demonstration Kitchen will focus on fish dishes too, showcasing menus that demonstrate how to make the most of some of the lesser known fish varieties that M&S champions.
Children will be able to play a part too with a marine conservation poetry competition to be launched in advance of the festival, and themed activities over the festival weekend in the Kids’ Food Fun area.
The Town Square sees the welcome return of popular foodie celebrity Mike Smylie’s Kipperland where visitors can learn all there is to know about the humble herring. Watch Mike prepare fish, and taste kippers direct from his live smokery. For the first time the Weston super Food team are also delighted to welcome The Cockle Man who will be selling fresh fish and shellfish from the Dorset coast.
And for something a little less ‘fishy’ enjoy various wine and beer tasting sessions, try your hand at butter making, watch films and try dishes from many different countries at the Taste the World experience on Sunday.
In the Food Fun area you’ll find lots of different food-themed activities from cooking, to food-themed Lego and iPad animation to entertain the kids. There are competitions too for everyone to enter from the very tasty Weston super Bake Off to the wacky knitted fruit and vegetable competition and the World Vegetable Bowling Championships.
Check out the on-site Edible Festival Garden in the Town Square too, for inspiration on how to grow your own delicious produce in your garden, patio or window box.
The Weston super Food Festival is fun, free – and very, very tasty! For the complete programme visit the website at www.westonsuperfoodfestival.co.uk.