Issued on behalf of the Cowbridge Food and Drink Festival
All 76 stalls at the Cowbridge Food and Drink Festival have sold out - weeks ahead of the event.
The gourmet event is to be held on the October 29-30, and is poised to be one of the busiest weekends Cowbridge has ever seen.
The Welsh Whisky Company, Glam Lamb and the Snowdonia Cheese Company have all snapped up stalls at the festival, alongside other exhibitors that include Ballantynes Wine, and renowned local delicatessen, Farthings.
Visitors will have the chance to browse through the stalls at the farmers’ market and produce fayre, featuring high quality fruit and vegetables, champagne, sushi, baked goods, dairy produce, cider and garden plants.
Alongside the stalls and competitions, there will also be food demonstrations by staff from the Food Standards Agency Wales, who will play interactive games to test your food and nutrition knowledge.
The FSA mobile theatre will also host demonstrations from Wales’ leading chefs, including Dudley Newbury and Angela Gray.
Children have not been forgotten either. On the Sunday, Cowbridge Town Hall will host four workshops run by the Cardiff-based Cookhouse.
Suitable for youngsters aged seven to16, these HSBC-sponsored workshops will be free of charge. They will be able to practice various kitchen techniques to create a delicious dish.
Local businesses will also be getting into the festival mood. Bar 44 will be judging a cocktail competition, and the tastiest and most innovative non-alcoholic and alcoholic cocktail will feature on the bar menu for a year. Details of the competition are on the festival website, or email info@bar 44.
Richard Ballantyne of wine merchants Ballantynes has lined up a programme of talks from a major Champagne house, local wine producers and the Welsh Whisky Company.
The weekend will also be host to Salon Culinaire - a cookery competition open to all.
Entrants will be able to show off their culinary skills in a wide range of classes, including the challenge to create two Glamorgan sausages with an interesting chutney, or producing and displaying savoury canapés.
And in true ‘Jamie’s Kitchen’ style, the under-16s class is to pack a healthy lunchbox, suitable for a child to take to school.
Experts from the food and restaurant industry will be on hand to judge the classes - £50 will be awarded to the winner of each individual competition, as well as £250 to the overall winner.
For more details of classes in the competition, apply to Farthings at Home on Cowbridge High Street, or call Natalie Dobson 01446 771602.
Other events will include a Real Ale Festival at the Vale of Glamorgan Inn; a mobile cinema at the Town Hall, showing films with a food culinary theme; a world-record attempt to make the largest ever version of a well-known Welsh dish; and a party on the Saturday evening to get people into the mood for Halloween, at Cowbridge Leisure Centre.
The two-day event has been possible due to support from a number of organisations, including grants of £10,000 from the Vale of Glamorgan Council; £9,000 from both the Welsh Development Agency and Cowbridge Charter Trust, £5,000 from Capital Region Tourism and £2,500 from Cardiff International Airport.
Alan Crossley, Funding Manager of the Cowbridge Food and Drink Festival, said: “We are very grateful to all our core funders and many supporters in kind - the list is endless”.
For more information about this press release please contact Sarah Kilcoyne at Effective Communication on 029 2066 0119, mobile 07974578877, or skilcoyne@effcom.co.uk
NOTES FOR EDITORS:
• The 2005 Cowbridge Food and Drink Festival will be held on the weekend of October 29 and 30.
• Ticket entry will provide entry to: Main Food Hall Marquee, Food Demonstration Theatre, Real Ale Festival and Salon Culinaire Exhibition.
• The ticket does not provide entry for any other commercially-run events not forming part of the festival committee’s programme.
• All town street entertainment is free of charge.
• Car parks and park and ride systems are free of charge.
• To keep up to date with all the latest festival news log onto www.cowbridge.co.uk or contact the Festival Office, Eagle House, Eagle Lane, Cowbridge CF71 7AL. Telephone: 07875 290428.
• For enquiries about accommodation in the Cowbridge area during the festival weekend contact www.gardenofcardiff.com
