Hampshire Food Festival

30 June 2010, 12:00 | Updated: 5 July 2010, 13:15

Celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, The Hampshire Food Festival is underway with the whole of July packed with local food and farming events.

The Hampshire Food Festival, organised by county food group Hampshire Fare, began as a weekend event in Winchester in 2000, and has since grown to a month long celebration with around 100 different events held across the whole county. All events must feature Hampshire food and drink in some way to be part of the Festival.

This year James Martin, Raymond Blanc, Atul Kochhar, John Burton-Race, Ed Baines, Alex Aitken and Rose Elliot are all taking part. Many of the UK’s top chefs have also given generous messages of support for this 10th anniversary Festival (published in the programme), which aims to encourage people to buy local food and drink, and back Hampshire’s farming economy.

Last year, The Hampshire Food Festival attracted over 155,000 visitors and generated an estimated £3.1 million of visitor spending into the Hampshire economy. Derek Beaves, Hampshire Fare Chairman said: “The success and reputation of The Hampshire Food Festival goes from strength to strength each year. Visitors love the opportunity to take part in so many events and discover Hampshire’s food and drink, to visit farms and talk to producers, see how food is produced, and above all, taste a whole range of Hampshire’s own food and drink. 2010 sees the 10th anniversary of the Hampshire Food Festival so we’re inviting everyone to join the celebrations!”.  The Hampshire Food Festival is backed by Hampshire County Council.

Events range from free farm open days and free celebrity cookery demos to fine-dining gourmet dinners, with everything from cookery workshops, guided foodie themed tours and town centre food festivals in between. There are lots of activities for children, and numerous opportunities for local residents and visitors alike to explore Hampshire’s countryside and find out about local food. 

Details of all events, held across the county from 1st-31st July, are in the free Hampshire Food Festival programme, which you can download here or call 0845 6035638 for a copy to be posted to you.  The programme includes free competitions to win a host of prizes from luxury short breaks in Hampshire to a bounty of local produce.

For more information click here