Wet weather failed to dampen the spirits of crowds of people who flocked into Burnham-On-Sea on Saturday (May 24th) for the town’s fourth Food and Drink Festival.
Although umbrellas were out in force, the eight-hour festival featured over 80 stalls, plus displays and demonstrations by chefs and local food producers.
The outdoor market in Victoria Street, College Street and Princes Street was well supported, with further stalls also busy at the Baptist Hall, Methodist Church and Princess Theatre. Several stalls sold out of stock by mid-afternoon during brisk trade.
The festival also included the Burnham Brew Off, the Great Burnham Bake-Off and a Chilli Cook-Off which included the south west heats of The UK Chilli Cook-Off.
Festival Director Beverley Milner Simonds said she and fellow director Sarah Milner Simonds were pleased with how the event had gone.
“We are really delighted by the support shown by the large number of people who attended despite the wet weather. It really gives us lots of encouragement and confidence for the future of the festival.”
“It was also great to see that awareness of the festival is spreading with visitors from Cardiff, Birmingham, Tewkesbury and Gloucester attending. Everyone had a great day.”
MP Tessa Munt added she’d enjoyed the event. “It’s been a fantastic event for Burnham again with good crowds across the venues despite the weather. The festival really puts Burnham on the map.”
Burnham’s Mayor, Martin Cox, added his praise too. “It’s been a super day – there was a great range of stalls with lots of tempting food and drink. Burnham was buzzing again in spite of the rain.”
Visitors also enjoyed a range of cooking demonstrations on the ‘KDS Fresh Ideas Demo Stage’ in Burnham Baptist Church, including young chef Maia English (right) and others Barry Lewis, South West Chef of the Year winner Andy Chan, Kieran Lenihan, the Head Chef from Farrells Restaurant, and Chris Westgate, who is a forager and the person behind Heavenly Hedgerows.
The bake-off baking contest was won by overall champion Asta Howard, with an impressive home-made professional cake – more details here. And the brew-off competition was won by Mark Davies – more details here.
