HAMPSHIRE FOOD FESTIVAL SET TO RETURN
ONE of the biggest events on Hampshire's food calendar is now just weeks away.
The award-winning Hampshire Food Festival will return next month with more than 60 food and farming events.
Food-lovers from across the county are being encouraged by the festival to try out some of the events on offer.
The festival runs throughout July across Hampshire, from Romsey and Winchester to Calshot and Southampton Docks.
Urging foodies to try out some of the events, commercial manager Tracy Nash said: “The festival is an opportunity for people to go behind the scenes of the county’s thriving local food culture.
“See where our ingredients are grown and learn more about what our country is so good at producing.
“There’s a chance to taste lots of delicious things along the way and meet the people behind the food.”
Well-known TV chef James Martin provided the foreword for the festival’s programme, adding that the festival is the chance to celebrate all that is going on in Hampshire’s thriving food scene.
Some of the events throughout the month includes a tour of Flack Manor brewery in Romsey, with a taste of the beer and the brewery’s sausages on offer on July 15.
The New Forest will also host a music and food festival at The Pig in Brockenhurst. Food-lovers can tuck into smoked and uncut food on July 9.
Southampton is also set to host a week of alfresco dining on Oxford Street from July 15 and pop-up fish restaurant at Shamrock Quay from on July 22, 23, 29 and 30.
The festival is set up by community interest food group, Hampshire Fare and celebrates the food and drink culture across the county. Formerly one weekend long, this year’s festival now consists of more than 75 events.
It began in 2000, has grown in popularity in its 16 years across Hampshire.
One of the main Southampton-based events includes a masterclass at Uptons of Bassett, which was chosen by the public, in a vote through Hampshire Fare and the Daily Echo, as the county’s best butcher.
On July 12 from 6.30pm, when the butchers on Winchester Road will give would-be gourmet chefs an insight into the world of smoking and using woods to create different flavours.
Foodies can also tempt their taste buds with a seven-course tasting menu in Romsey every day throughout the month.
The White Horse Hotel and Brasserie on Market Place has created the menu full of Hampshire Fare produce, which is available from Monday to Saturday at 12pm until 3pm, and Monday to Sunday from 6pm until 10pm.
A canape evening, hosted by two MasterChef finalists, is also on offer for bite-size food lovers. Winner Jane Devonshire and fellow contestant Juanita Hennessey can be overseen in the kitchen, using county ingredients at the Myers Touch on Winchester’s SpringVale Road on July 13.
Programmes for the festival are available from farm shops, pubs and hotels around Hampshire, with a full list of events available at: http://www.hampshirefare.co.uk
Source http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/news/15344911.Hampshire_Food_Festival_set_for_return/