Berwick Food Festival will be a Feast for all the Senses

North Northumberland and the Scottish Borders now have a thriving food scene and this year there are more stalls than ever in the Producers' Market. Brimming with produce, they will feature hand crafted cheeses, locally reared meats, free range eggs, hand made preserves, locally caught fish and seafood, home baked bread, pies and preserves, cakes and chocolates and locally grown vegetables. There will also be kitchen equipment and a range of fair trade and organic produce.

In addition a whole range of organisations will be on hand to offer advice on everything from cutting household food waste to conserving wildlife. There will also be chance to get a personal MOT from The Healthy Initiative. New for this year will be the Oxfam Campaign stall showing how we can support communities that don't have the wealth of produce we enjoy in our region. The Co-operative Trailer will feature its From Farm to Fork Campaign, which helps children find out more about how their food is grown and its Plan Bee campaign to save the honey bee.

Throughout the weekend, local chefs and producers will be showing people how to prepare and cook the produce they buy at the festival.

Jack Smith from the Queen's Head Hotel will be making a terrine of Berwick Lobster and red Mullet followed by Doddington Rack of Lamb while Morgan Whitelegg from the The Barn at Beal will cook Lime Tempura with Northumberland Scallops and Samphire followed by Pot Roast Brockmill Farm (Beal) Pheasant and a Chocolate Orange Souffle. They will be joined by John Forestier form the Wheatsheaf at Swinton cooking Pan Seared Turbot, Puy Lentil and Pancetta Casserole and grilled Scottish Langoustine with lemon butter sauce. Katrina Reynolds from the Allanton Inn will demonstrate how to put together a seafood platter to tempt the tastebuds.

The much-loved Jimmy the Lamb Man will be demystifying the best ways to cook different cuts of local lamb and Willy Robson from Chainbridge Honey Farm will talk about his work as a beekeeper and the secrets behind their delicious honey. Throughout the weekend there will be plenty of fun with the festival's own version of Ready Steady Cook with a few well known local faces.

Just as important is where our food comes from and back by popular demand will be the Animal Farm. With assistance from local farms and sponsorship from Renton Swan Vets, visitors will be able to see many rare historic breeds close up including Tamworth Pigs from Peelham Farm in Foulden, Saddleback Pigs from Hunting Hall, Middle White Pigs and Shetland Sheep from Lowick High Steads, some miniature Donkeys and back by popular demand the Barnacre Alpacas from Hartburn near Morpeth.

There will be a display of Traditional Breed fleeces and wools from the Wool Board in Galashiels organised by Jean Bennett. Jean and her team of spinners will be on hand throughout the weekend to demonstrate wool crafts and to answer questions. The local Sheep Tales Project managed by community arts organisation Think Make Grow in partnership with the North Northumberland Mission Partnership of the United Reformed Church will display some of the artwork produced by local school children as part of its ongoing work to record the heritage of sheep farming in the region.

This recording of our food production and heritage has always been an important part of the festival. This year Berwick historian Derek Sharman, will introduce the imaginative new initiative Mouth of the Tweed led by local businesses and community organisations including Slow Food Berwick and the Berwick Cittaslow Committee.

The aim is to develop and promote the town's unique heritage of producing and processing food and drink, in the past and the present.

A network of food related locations, activities and enterprises is being created that will add substantially to Berwick's attractions as a distinctive place to live in and to visit. In addition the team from Gunsgreen House will be on hand to explain more about the restoration of this former smugglers palace in the Borders and talk about a time when tea was taxed at 120%!

Throughout the summer Helen Henderson of the Fenton Centre has been collecting traditional family recipes as part of a Slow Food Slow Wisdom Project, the recipes will be on display at the Slow Food stand and the winning recipe will be demonstrated in the Slow Food kitchen.

New for this year will be the Slow Food Cinema screening a series of short food related films. Mainly covering the more serious issues around food, they will focus on Fair Trade, projects to alleviate global poverty and world farming practices. There will also be special screenings of Babette's Feast at the Maltings on September 8th and Ratatouille on September 11th supported by Berwick Film Society and Berwick Film & Media Arts Festival. David Foxton will be serving a specially inspired evening menu at his theatre restaurant from September 8th -10th.

Starting lunchtime Friday 10th September, a Beer Festival organised by Borders based DM Event Catering will once again feature an amazing line up of beers and ciders. At least 11 award winners will be on hand pull including the Champion Beer of Scotland, the CAMRA Champion Beer of Britain and a host of other UK and world medal winners. Delicious catering will be available in the Barracks courtesy of Café Curio who will offer a range of light meals including sandwiches filled with local produce, Berwick Fish Chowder in an edible bread bowl and a Northumberland Ploughman's Lunch. Well Hung & Tender will have a range of burgers based on their unique tasting, award winning Scottish beef and there will be a Hog Roast courtesy of the Great Northumberland Bread Company.

Berwick Food Festival will take place at The Barracks, Berwick-upon-Tweed from 10.00-17.00 on September 10th and 11th. Entrance is £2 for Adults, Children under 12 Free and includes entrance to the Barracks Museums and all festival activities. Funding for Berwick Food Festival is being made available from Berwick Town Council, The Co-operative and Renton Swan Vets. Anyone wishing to find out more about the weekend should visit the main festival website www.berwickfoodfestival.com