Abergavenny Food Festival launch their 2019 programme

The festival - on September 21 and 22 - will feature food experts sharing their stories, passions and inspiration, along with a range of one-off feasts, masterclasses, tasting workshops, demos and cookery classes from some of the best in the business.

There will be around 220 food and drink producers trading across nine market sites.

READ MORE:

• Early highlights announced for Abergavenny Food Festival

Along with what was previously announced, will also feature:

Food historian Polly Russell

(Picture: Caroline Peel)

Author and founder of the World’s 50 Best Restaurant Awards Joe Warwick.

(Picture: Caroline Peel)

Cook, food writer and stylist Georgina Hayden; plus Miranda York and poet Anna Sulan Masing with their culinary story salon ‘Voices At The Table.'

Food writers, Diana Henry and Bee Wilson, will be at Borough Theatre discussing the challenges and realities of feeding families well.

(Bee Wilson - picture: Torie Dieppe - and Diana Henry - picture: Chris Terry)

Bee Wilson will also be appearing at The Castle for an informal talk from her book ‘First Bite: How We Learn to Eat’ on introducing children to diverse and nutritious foods.

There will also be a Young Chef of the Year competition, hosted by José Pizarro and Franco Taruschio,

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Cook School and Rougemont Independent School, will be offering free kids cookery classes – with guest appearances from chefs Freddy Bird and Jenny Chandler – throughout the weekend.

The Festival Farmyard, in Castle Street car park, will have a kids takeover, 10am - 12pm, each day. Youngsters can meet rare breed animals, learn how to plant seeds, churn butter, climb tractors, hear talks from Little Bo Sheep and Pig Tails, and join Wild Tots Abergavenny for nature play.

AFF will also host Ivan Tisdall-Downes and Imogen Davis, from London restaurant Native, who will take a group foraging around Abergavenny.

(Ivan Tisdall-Downes and Imogen Davis. Picture: Caroline Peel)

Visitors will gather herbs and plants, learn to identify edible plants and create a foraged fest in the outdoor cooking area.

This year, the festival – in collaboration with Hybu Cig Cymru – will launch a Welsh Chefs Demo Stage, including: Hywel Griffith of Beach House in Oxwich, Tom Watts-Jones from the Michelin recognised Hare and Hounds in Cowbridge, and Matt Waldron of Park House in Cardiff.

Gareth Ward of Ynyshir, recently named the best restaurant in Wales at the National Restaurant Awards, and Tommy Heaney of Heaney’s in Cardiff will be featured on the Market Hall Stage, and Laurian Veaudour of Cardiff patisserie Cocorico will deliver a masterclass on mouth-watering patisserie.

(Gareth Ward. Picture: Fjona Black)

The grand finale of the Cooking Over Fire demo area will see culinary super-stars producing a feast to showcase maple syrup in unique and creative ways.

Joining hosts Sam and Shauna of Hang Fire Southern Kitchen, will be James Golding, Chef Director at a major UK hotel group and member of the Royal Academy of Culinary Arts' sustainability committee, Georgina Hayden and Great British Bake Off finalist and founder of 'Manon's Little Kitchen', Manon Lagrève.

Weekend and day wristbands are on sale now, with entry free for under 16s, and 10 per cent discount for groups of 10 or more. There is 20 per cent discount for those with an NP7 postcode – they use the code ‘LOCAL’ and must provide proof of address.

For information and wristbands visit