Big crowds are expected in Burnham-On-Sea today for the town’s sixth Food and Drink Festival.
The celebration of locally-produced food and drink will see many of the region’s best producers and brewers taking part.
Over 90 traders will offer tastings and samples of products, which will range from local Somerset specialities like cider and cheese, to Japanese cuisine and chocolate made from goat’s milk.
Stalls will be set up in Victoria Street, College Street and Princess Street plus several venues will also be busy with stallholders – the Baptist Hall, Methodist Church and Princess Theatre.
.MAY 23rd FOOD FESTIVAL SCHEDULE
Here is a full run down for the day:
9am Show opens
9am workshops start in Somerset Skills & Learning (Princess Street)
11am KDS Fresh Ideas Stage: Marcus Bawdon (outside the Baptist Church, College Street)
1200 KDS Fresh Ideas Stage: Izzy Simmons (Baptist Church, College Street)
1pm KDS Fresh Ideas Stage: Bini Ludlow (Baptist Church, College Street)
2pm Entries close for the Great Burnham Bake-Off (Somerset Skills & Learning)
2pm KDS Fresh Ideas Stage: Angela Langford (Baptist Church, College Street)
3pm Voting closes for Best in Show
3:30pm Best in Show and Welly Wanging Champions announced (At Food Fest FM on College Street)
4pm The Great Burnham Bake-Off winners and champions announced (Somerset Skills & Learning)
4pm Show closes
Bev Milner Simonds told Burnham-On-Sea.com: “We are really pleased to have an expanded range of entertainment for our younger visitors – in addition to giant tractors, we have cute sheep, rides and games, welly wanging, an ace face painter and plenty of seating to take the weight off your feet while listening to the buskers.”
“We are also welcoming a Louisiana-style strolling 18-piece jazz band – Big Noise Street Band – who will be all over the festival from 1pm. And keep your ears tuned in for Food Fest FM broadcasting all around the festival with the latest news, some mellow tunes and competition announcements. There is even a ukulele workshop in the Methodist Church.”
Saturday’s festival takes place in five indoor venues and three street markets all in the northern end of the town centre on College Street, High Street, Victoria Street and Princess Street. So it makes for a great, free day our whatever the weather!
Several local charities, including NFU Mutual, will be featured at the festival talking about their connection with the countryside and food production.
The festival is free to attend and all the competitions are free to enter too. There is one for cakes; meringues; bread (open to young bakers, families, individuals and professional bakers) and the welly-wanging competition too.
The Best in Show competition has been expanded to include a people’s choice and visitors votes will see the top stall crowned by the end of the day.
The KDS Fresh Ideas Stage will be open from 11am with four sets of demo chefs on stage all cooking up storm – we have local young talent, a BBQ, an Indian chef and the star chef is Angela Langford, BBC Masterchef 2014 finalist.
Judges have been announced for the festival’s bake-off – with entrants welcome to put their skills to the test – and the final line-up of chefs who will be demonstrating their culinary talents has also been announced.
The judges will be Bini Ludlow, who has set up an authentic Indian cookery school in Somerset, alongside Rosemary Jackson from sponsors Retreat Caravan Park and the Reverend Sharon Eldergill from St Andrew’s Church.
Elsewhere at the festival year six student Isobel Simmons will become the youngest chef to demonstrate their cooking skills on the KDS Fresh Ideas stage, at the Baptist Church in College Street, with the St Joseph’s Primary School pupil planning to bake a rainbow cake when she takes to the stage at noon.
Festival co-director Sarah Milner Simonds said: “Getting younger cooks involved in the festival and showing-off their skills to their peers and visitors is a great dimension to the festival.”
“We love to champion local talent and we wish Izzy the very best of luck in Junior Bake Off later this summer.”
The festival is running from 9am on Saturday in the town centre, with street markets on Princess Street, Victoria Street, College Street and the High Street.
