With a forum of experts discussing eating habits and a bigger-than-ever range of exhibitors and events, this year’s Aldeburgh Food and Drink festival is shaping up to be the best yet. Running from 24th September to 9th October, with the main weekend event taking place at Snape Maltings on 25th and 26th September, the festival will once again showcase the cream of East Suffolk’s food and drink producers, with plenty of opportunities for visitors to try before they buy. Other highlights will include cooking demonstrations from celebrity chefs, fun food-related activities, workshops, boat trips, RSPB-guided walks and more.

For the first time ever the festival’s opening day, Friday 24th September, will include a lively conference bringing together senior figures from the world of food and nutrition, staged in the Aldeburgh Music’s Hoffman Building at Snape Maltings. Entitled ‘Why we need to change our eating habits and how it can be done’, the event will be chaired by BBC radio presenter and respected food writer Sheila Dillon, and organised by festival’s President, renowned food campaigner Lady Caroline Cranbrook. Key note speakers will include Tim Lang, Professor of Food Policy at City University, and many other respected nutritional and environmental individuals.

Some of the UK’s top chefs will also be on hand to share their skills and help bring attention to the excellent quality of Suffolk’s home-grown produce and locally manufactured products. The line-up includes Brett Graham from London’s The Ledbury 2 Michelin star restaurant, North Norfolk-based restaurateur Galton Blackiston, TV chef and truffle aficionado Valentine Warner and Thomasina Miers, winner of MasterChef and owner of London’s Wahaca Mexican restaurants, Tim Hughes executive chef of Caprice Holdings, Simon Wadham, head chef of Rivington Grill, London, Matthew Fort, food writer and judge on BBCTV’s Great British Menu will also be joining the team, along with Rose Prince of the Daily Telegraph and Sheila Dillon from Radio 4’s Food Programme, also joining them will be local lady Ruth Watson, food writer and presenter of C4 Country House Rescue.

A varied programme of workshops and seminars will include a ‘Hands On Cookery School’ for kids, hosted by nutritionist Eunice Mayhew, a Claret Masterclass with Adnams’ expert wine buyers Alastair Marshall and Rob Chase, and a Cheese and Wine Matching Masterclass with award-winning food and wine expert Fiona Beckett. An eclectic mix of music will be provided by the Viennese Vegetable Orchestra, a unique collective of musicians, visual artists, architects, designers, media artists and writers.

Fringe events based in various locations throughout East Suffolk aim to engage more people in the festival, as well as increasing the understanding of the wider importance of local, seasonal food and drink and their integration with sustainable farming, fishing and food production. The programme includes organic farm walks, ‘meet the producers’ events, progressive suppers, cookery workshops, training and gourmet food experiences. Restaurants, pubs and hotels in the area will also be supporting the festival with special menus based on local produce and ingredients.

Entrance to the weekend event at Snape Maltings is £5 per person or £8pp for the weekend (under 13’s go free) and will include free parking, a cotton shopping bag and festival programme.

Aldeburgh Food and Drink Festival has launched a new website which will continually be updated with further information concerning the events taking place. You can also following the festival on twitter http://twitter.com/AldeburghFood

 

An exciting line-up of celebrity chefs, writers and broadcasters will take to the stage at this year’s Aldeburgh Food and Drink Festival, sponsored by Adnams. Taking place at Snape Maltings on 25th and 26th September, the main festival weekend will feature an impressive programme of talks, workshops and cookery demonstrations by leading names from the world of food and drink, including Sheila Dillon of BBC Radio 4’s Food Programme, The Guardian’s Food and Drink Editor, Matthew Fort, and culinary adventurer Valentine Warner.

The centrepiece of the Festival’s live schedule will be the Marquee Stage, where visitors can enjoy presentations and demos by respected food writers, including Telegraph columnist Rose Prince. Top cooks sharing their expertise will include 2 Michelin starred chef, Brett Graham from The Ledbury, Ruth Watson of Orford’s Crown & Castle Hotel, Michelin-starred chef Galton Blackiston, Rory Whelan, Head Chef at Southwold’s Swan Hotel, Marcus Verberne from Brown’s in Mayfair and Thomasina Miers, former winner of MasterChef, who has had great success with her Mexico-inspired Wahaca restaurants.

There will be lots more events on the Courtyard Stage, including talks and demonstrations by Madalene Bonvini-Hamel from the British Larder Suffolk, Justin Kett from Aldeburgh’s Brudenell Hotel and Ugur Vata from The Galley restaurants in Woodbridge and Ipswich. Octogenarian former banker Guy de Moubray will be telling us about ‘Easy Entertaining at Eighty’, while Steve and Marie Taylor will be attempting to revive interest in a meat that was once the staple of a rural diet, as they present ‘From Field to Fork – a guide to preparing and cooking rabbit’.

A varied programme of workshops and seminars will include a ‘Hands On Cookery School’ for kids, hosted by nutritionist Eunice Mayhew, a Claret Masterclass with Adnams’ expert wine buyers Alastair Marshall and Rob Chase, and a Cheese and Wine Matching Masterclass with award-winning food and wine expert Fiona Beckett. An eclectic mix of music will be provided by the Viennese Vegetable Orchestra, a unique collective of musicians, visual artists, architects, designers, media artists and writers.

Not to be outdone by Edinburgh, the AFDF will have its own two week ‘fringe’ festival from the 25th Sept – 9th October. Based in various locations throughout the east of the county, the fringe events are inspired by the ‘field to fork’ principle, and are aimed at promoting understanding of the wider importance of local, seasonal food and drink in the context of sustainable farming, fishing and food production.

There are over 80 events including; organic farm walks, ‘meet the producers’ events, progressive suppers, cookery workshops, artisan bread making, barista training (probably a barista training course in London) and gourmet food experiences. Restaurants, pubs and hotels in the area will also be supporting the Festival with special menus based on local produce and ingredients.

Many fringe events are perfect for families, giving kids the chance to have fun while learning about the importance of sustainable food production. For example, Food Safari will be running a ‘field to fork’ experience for 6-12 year olds at an organic small-holding near Southwold.

There’s also plenty on offer for grown-ups, from tours of the Adnams brewery and the Peasenhall smokehouse to a special ‘Fruits of the Sea’ menu at The Boardwalk restaurant in Southwold. On Saturday 9th October the recently opened British Larder Suffolk will be the venue for a cookery demonstration by chef, food writer and consultant Madelene Bonvini-Hamel. You can join the ‘Saints and Sinners Expedition’, a guided walk and introduction to the legends and folklore of Suffolk, with a stop at a local hostelry to revive your spirits. Or how about Beer and Boules at the Turks Head in Hasketon? Alternatively, you can catch Aldeburgh Cinema’s screening of ‘Food, Inc’, Robert Kenner’s Oscar-nominated movie that takes the lid off America’s corporate controlled food industry.