Hampshire Now - your County Council magazine

Celebrating local food and farming

Get ready to gorge on gastronomic goodies - it’s the Hampshire Food Festival! Throughout July, over 70 events are being held across the county to celebrate the best of local food and farming as part of this annual food extravaganza.

Local farming

Visitors to the Hampshire Food Festival can take part in: farm tours, local food-themed menus and celebration dinners, hands-on cookery, chocolate and jam-making workshops, butchery master classes, brewery tours, vineyard tours and wine tasting, cookery demonstrations, barbecues, an ox roast and barn dance, vegetable carving workshops, an orchard walk and juice tasting, maize maze, lavender farm walks, lavender chocolate-making and lavender teas, an amateur chef competition, bakery and fish filleting demos, farm and town centre food festivals, farmers’ markets and more!

James Martin and Rachel Allen headline this year’s festival with a weekend of indulgence at Festival Place in Basingstoke from Friday 20 to Sunday 22 July. James and Rachel will be demonstrating delicious desserts, cakes and pastries, supported by a local producers’ market, and hosted by TV presenter and wine expert Olly Smith.

Organised by county food group Hampshire Fare and backed by Hampshire County Council, the awardwinning Hampshire Food Festival is in its twelfth year. Last year the festival attracted over 221,000 visitors. Many events, which are held at different locations across Hampshire, are free or low-cost, and there is plenty to see, do and taste for adults, children and families.