Nick Herbert attends new food festival in Arundel
Arundel & South Downs MP Nick Herbert visited the farmers’ market in Arundel on Saturday (16 October) to help launch the town’s first ever Food Festival.
The festival has been organised by the Arundel Chamber of Commerce and will run from 16th to 24th October.
It began with a special farmers' market featuring tastings from around 30 of the stalls and Mr Herbert was given a tour by Jonathan Brantigan, co-owner of the famous Pallant delicatessen and one of the Arundel Food Festival organisers, to meet the traders.
The festival programme will also include farm tours on the Duke of Norfolk's Arundel estate, ‘wild food foraging expeditions' led by a guide from Forest Knights of Binsted, a butchery demonstration at the Crossbush Farm Shop and a cupcake masterclass at Sparks Yard in Tarrant Street.
On Monday evening Arundel Castle hosted a panel debate chaired by food writer and former Arundel deli owner Rosemary Moon entitled ‘Can we eat our way to a sustainable future?'
The Arundel Food Festival is part of a nine-month ‘Arundel - Sussex in Style' campaign designed to encourage more people to visit the town.
Jonathan Brantigan commented: "The Farmers' Market in Arundel provided the perfect launch on Saturday (16 October) for the first Arundel Food Festival. It is a great showcase for the wonderful food producers and farmers we are lucky to have in this part of West Sussex.
"Over the following week we will have a varied programme of events, from wild food foraging to local vineyard visits; plus a thought-provoking debate to be held at Arundel Castle, featuring leading industry experts, on the future of food and sustainability. Many events have reported selling out already, so we are confident the Food Festival will prove to be a great success for all involved."
Nick Herbert commented: "I think it's a terrific idea to promote Arundel, good food and local producers by holding a food festival, and I hope it goes from strength to strength. Arundel is known for its excellent restaurants, cafes, food shops and monthly farmers' market, but also for being a gateway to the beautiful countryside of the South Downs which is sustained by farming, as well as being close to the sea. It's the ideal small town to host a food festival, and I hope people will join in the many excellent events during the week."
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Notes for Editors
1. The Arundel Food Festival is an initiative of the Arundel Chamber of Commerce, with programme development by food writer Rosemary Moon and food consultant Mike Imms. For more information, visit http://www.arundelfoodfestival.org.uk/.
2. For more information about the ‘Arundel - Sussex in Style' campaign, visit http://www.amplifiergroup.com/node/207.
3. The photograph shows Nick Herbert MP on the cake stall at the Arundel Farmers' Market, with staff and children from Arundel CE Primary School (photographer: Malcolm McCluskey, Sussex Newspapers).
4. For the website of Pallant of Arundel visit http://www.pallantofarundel.co.uk/.