Helen Peacocke anticipates a mouth-watering experience at this year’s even bigger Thame Food Festival

 

Those who attended the Thame Food Festival last year don’t need reminding that it was a remarkable event which attracted hundreds of foodies, not just from Oxfordshire, but the country.
This year’s festival, which takes place on Saturday, September 28 in the centre of this historic little market town, promises even more, including demonstrations by an exceptional line-up of chefs led by Raymond Blanc, the festival ambassador.
Adam Simmonds, from Danesfield House, Marlow, who represented the South East on BBC1’s Great British Menu this year will be demonstrating, as will Shaun Dickens of The Boathouse in Henley-on-Thames, Chris Godfrey, head chef of Michelin-starred pub The Sir Charles Napier in Chinnor and Mike North of The Nut Tree Inn at Murcott, all cooking inspiring dishes from their menus.
Festival patron Lotte Duncan has been involved with the festival since it began in 2008 as just a few food stalls and a cookery demonstration in the town hall. She is amazed at how quickly it has developed into a popular fixture that now compares favourably with major festivals throughout the country. Indeed she was thrilled when it won the Cultural Events and Tourism Award at this year’s Oxfordshire Business Awards in recognition of the festival’s success in attracting visitors to the area and promoting Oxfordshire as both a tourist destination and focus for the cultural events.
“One of the special things about the Thame Food Festival is that you’ll see the big-name chefs everyone is talking about side by side with local growers and smallholders. The great thing is that every one of the chefs are taking part because they genuinely want to promote local produce. The Thame Food Festival provides them with the perfect platform,” she says.
Lotte goes on to stress just how excited she is about this year’s festival.
“We promised it would be bigger and better this year, and with 150 stalls, two demonstration theatres, a pop-up pub, children’s workshops, music, book signings and street food, that’s exactly what we are delivering. It is going to be the biggest festival yet,” she enthuses.
“It began as an event for the community and that is still the ethos at the core of everything we plan. It now brings people from far and wide to the town and the surrounding villages together for a celebration of what is grown, produced and cooked in our area.”
Real ale fan Jim Crew from Shabbington, near Thame, has made his contribution to the festival by winning a competition organised by the Vale Brewery Company. He came up with the winning name for the festival beer: Thame’In of the Brew. Jim’s idea for the name came from the fact that the beer needed a link to Thame, have a traditional feel to it and yet be nice and simple.
Thame’In of the Brew is a 4.1 per cent mid-strength seasonal bitter that’s burnished gold, made with English hops and English malted barley, giving it a truly traditional harvest feel. It will be on tap at the licensed outlets during the festival and remain on sale at watering holes throughout the county for the rest of the month.
Street food will be available in plenty too, including an authentic new range of Moroccan sauces and pastes from Belazu who will be serving delicious vegetable terrines and chicken flatbreads from their Mediterranean canteen at the festival.
Rumsey’s, the makers of exquisite hand-made chocolates, who run coffee shops in both Thame and Wendover will also be selling their produce.
Creative ways to ensure that good food doesn’t go to waste will be demonstrated by the Oxfordshire Waste Partnership who will be teaming up with the Pudding Pie Cookery School to show visitors how to save money and eat well. Those making a pledge to reduce their food waste by signing up to do things like plan their weekly shops, eat leftovers for lunch or make the most of their freezer, will get a free recipe book full of helpful ideas.
For full festival details go to www.thamefoodfestival.co.uk