CREDITON Food and Drink Festival is back!

On Saturday, June 10, at 10am, the town will see the long-awaited return of this very popular community event.  

Amazingly, it has been five years since the last such festival, which was the 10th anniversary in 2018.

The organisers are therefore excited to be coming back to continue their mission to showcase the area’s wonderful local food and drink producers.  

There is free entry for all and the fun will be taking place in Crediton's Town Square and on Market Street, which will be closed to traffic for the day.

LOTS OF STALLS

There will be delicious food to eat “on-the-go” and beverages to sup whilst you peruse all the stalls, listen to music, meet up with friends and make new ones. 

The stalls will be selling locally roasted coffee and hot drinks, “dirty” burgers, locally made cheese, Nachos/burgers, cooked food, locally made deluxe marshmallows, cakes, brownies and cupcakes and even ice-cream sold from a traditional trike.

There will be rare breed pork, sausages, sausage rolls and Scotch eggs, locally produced meat and pasties, award winning vodka and liquers, bottle conditioned ales, small batch craft real ale and multi award winning gin.

Other stalls will be selling fresh pasteurised whole milk and flavoured milkshakes, gin by the glass (and bottle!), organic breads, Ukrainian cakes/biscuits, fermented food products, kimchi cheese toasties and cheese, quiche, sausage rolls and deli items.

There will also be strawberries, noodles, curry dishes, goats cheese and roast pork rolls, cider and soft drinks.

ENTERTAINMENT

There will be Punch and Judy at 10.30am and everyone is advised look out for “The Grannies” and “The Cleaners”, who will be in amongst the crowds with their unique brand of street comedy.

Sandford Sings choir will be performing and Busk-it will be there for the day.

The marquee will have the following demonstrations throughout the event:

10am - The Festival will be opened by the Town Crier.

DEMONSTRATIONS

Central Marquee - Demonstrations and Talks

10.30am - Chef James from The Duck at Yeoford 

Cooking a dish showcasing locally sourced duck.

11.30am - Rose from Red Earth Ferments 

Demonstrating how to make Kimchi.

12.30pm - Amy Oboussier from Living Slow Cookery School

Talk on cooking healthy, seasonal meals in your own kitchen.

1.30pm - A performance from “Sandford Sings” choir 

2.30pm - Amy Oboussier from Hodmedods

An informative talk on the benefits of farming sustainably, cooking with and eating pulses and grains in Britain.

The Festival is being supported by several local organisations, including Crediton Town Council, Ashgrove Kitchens, Peck and Strong and Crediton Chamber of Commerce.

The organisers say that they are really appreciative of the help of the sponsors and organisations as the event is organised solely by volunteers.

DEMENTIA FRIENDLY

This year, with the support of the organisers, Crediton Food Festival is encouraging stall holders to become Dementia Friends, a free initiative from the Alzheimer’s Society UK.

Steve Nicholls of Cox’s Butchers in Crediton, one of the organisers of the Food Festival welcomes the initiative.

“By becoming a Dementia Friend, you are made more aware of how you can support someone living with Dementia.

“Just little changes can make a huge difference to someone like shop signs, labels, checking money, and taking the time talk with the customer all helps with their shopping.”

There will also be a space set aside at the Food Festival so that visitors at the festival can take a break.

Signing up to be a Dementia Friend is something new for the Food Festival and Steve says how valuable it is for the local community to support those living with Dementia so that they can continue to be go about their everyday lives and take part in the life of their community.

Some of Crediton’s existing shops and businesses are already part of the Dementia Friends initiative including Crediton Library, and it is hoped that more will join.

On the day of the Crediton Food Festival, the chef at Kenwyn Residential Care Home in Albert Road will be offering a different range of foods and snacks for the residents to taste, from mini Danish Pastries to a bowl of exotic fruits, alongside their normal menu for the day.

“I hope that the residents will enjoy trying out new flavours and different foods, I am looking forward to hearing what they like and don’t like!”

Crediton Food and Drink Festival will run from 10am to 4pm and everyone is invited to attend.