Bristol Food Connections will be returning for its third year from Friday 29th April to Saturday 7th May, produced in partnership with Bristol City Council, the BBC and Great Western Railway (GWR).
Food Connections aims to connect people to all aspects of their food: from how and where it was grown, to who served it, how it tastes, how it makes us feel and the way it brings communities together.
College Green will be transformed into a hub of festival activity, with something for everyone. The ‘Brain Food’ programme, kicks off with the BBC Food & Farming Awards on April 28th, and runs until the evening of Monday 2nd May.
The main venue will hold debates on topics such as: ‘What makes a great restaurant?’ with Bristol Lido’s Freddy Bird, Financial Times food writer Tim Hayward, and the Telegraph’s Xanthe Clay. The Shadow Environment Secretary, Kerry McCarthy MP plus a very special guest will debate the future of the food we throw away.
Practical tasting workshops will focus the on revolution taking place with British craft food producers, such as British Charcuterie – with James Swift, Founder of Trealy Farm Charcuterie & Llyr Dunsford of The Charcutier, a Heston Blumenthal Young British Artisan. Trethowan’s Dairy brings Cheese School to Food Connections, with a British cheese & beer-matching workshop.
Performances will take centre stage during the evenings, such as Hammer & Tongue’s food-themed spoken word poetry slam, and Food Porn – a new stand-up comedy show of exploding smells & gastronomic escapades.
At The Travelling Barn, visitors can get their hands dirty with celebrity chefs from Bristol and beyond – such as Olia Hercules, author of Mamushka; Elly Curshen of Pear Café fame, Rosie Birkett of A Lot on Her Plate blog; Matthew Pennington of The Ethicurean & Gil Meller of River Cottage, Tom Hunt of Poco, Tim Hayward, Mitch Tonks of Spiny Lobster, and Romy Gill of Romy’s Kitchen. All cooking demos are free and open to everyone. During the evening, the venue will be hosting live-music from some of Bristol’s best-loved bands and visitors can enjoy the street-food village & bar.
The Edible Education Yurt will host foraging masterclasses, fermenting workshops & compost teas. New to the festival this year, this is an intimate space to learn practical new skills from the experts.
The best street food producers from across the South West will come together to create 3 days of ‘Street Food Central’. And in collaboration with Casus Events, Food Connections welcomes the Producers’ Market back to Millennium & Anchor Square. From chutneys to charcuterie, cheese to beer, visitors will be able to shop until they drop from the region’s best food producers.
There is plenty for the little ones as well: the Riverford worm-dig, bubble blowers & food themed story telling on College Green, as well as the mini-chefs competition at Hamilton House Community Kitchen & Windmill Hill City Farm’s edible growing for beginners.
The Food Connections fringe festival is what makes this a unique event. Hundreds of events across the city help people of all ages connect with good food:
• The East Bristol Brewery tour with Moor, Arbor, Dawkins, Left Handed Giant & Good Chemistry Brewing
• The Lakota Jerk-Off is back! The best jerk recipes battle it out for the title of Jerk Champion 2016
• Eat your words – Language that nourishes – food, culture and language exploration from UWE, featuring some of the UK’s best spoken word poets
• The get growing trail, foraging walks & food tours highlight the wealth of activity happening across the city
• While Understory take us on a sensory exploration of the impact of food on our brains & the relationship between music and how we perceive flavour
• Food Bloggers’ tours of Bristol – Join Bristol’s best food bloggers for tasting tours of their favourite Bristol foods. A unique opportunity to find the city’s hidden gems
• A girl living with a cow, a Sail Cargo pow wow, venison tours of Ashton Court, and Bristol lingo bingo.
The food trail is bigger and better than ever before, with 70 of Bristol’s best food outlets offering something special for the festival. Visitors can eat their way around the restaurants, retailers, bars and cafés curated by Food Connections. Promotions are exclusive to Bristol Food Card holders.
New to the festival this year, The Bristol Food Card aims to reward customers for shopping with Bristol’s independent restaurants & retailers. With over 70 participating venues, from Better Food Company to Bellita, no one will want to miss out on this exclusive opportunity to show love for our city’s thriving food scene. The card costs £5 (bought from the Food Connections website) and is delivered to your door, along with the festival programme.