One-day event is a ‘foodie’s paradise’, showcasing the best local produce

Sidmouth’s third food festival takes place on Saturday, August 18 in the grounds of Kennaway House.

The free event will include cookery demonstrations and tastings, with more than 25 stalls offering a range of food and drink from local producers.

The exhibitors include Sidbury Vineyard, Devon Fish Cakes, Toad Marsh Venison, the Olive Branch Deli, and – for those with a sweet tooth – Trow Farm Fudge, Cherry Tree Preserves, and the Milli Vanilli icecream tuk-tuk.

The cookery demonstrations will be by chefs from Kitchen In The Wood, Neil’s Restaurant, The Salty Monk and the Victoria Hotel.

The festival was started in 2016 by Kerry Gibbons from the Sidmouth farmers’ market, to promote the quality and variety of locally produced food. The event was supported by the East Devon Sustainable Development Fund and the Vision Group for Sidmouth.

The farmers’ market was taken over byKennaway House last year and the charity is also running the food festival, with many of the original exhibitors still on board, including Angelchops Cakes, Trow Farm Fudge, Peddlers Coffee and Flaming Good Pizza,

Nikki Dawkins, the manager of Kennaway House, said:

“I am so pleased that Sidmouth Food Festival is taking place yet again at Kennaway House this year, it is such a great venue to showcase our local fresh food and drink producers, with some of the best in the west, there will be a fantastic variety of exhibitors and demonstrators. The demonstrators are from some of our top class restaurants; throughout the town and a little further.

“This is a one-day only event, so anyone who appreciates food and drink at its best should not miss this wonderful occasion! A lot of planning has gone into making this day a special one and that’s the intention, a foodie’s paradise!”

She added that she was very happy to see Kennaway House hosting the event.

“It is such a versatile venue that it just needs to be used. It is a community building that should be used by the community and what a nicer way to share than with sharing food with lots of people, the community, our community?”

The food festival runs from 10am until 4pm with the first food demonstration at 10.20.