Set the date for Local Food Britain’s first Countryside Food Festival

15th August 2018

Local Food Britain is hosting its first Countryside Food Festival on Saturday, September 15 in the stunning surroundings of Nutfield’s Priory Farm. 

 (Image: A unique setting for our first countryside food festival’ - Tracy Carroll, founder of Local Food Britain)

The Surrey-based food network will bring together its members to create a festival that will stimulate the senses of food lovers - and raise funds for Macmillan Cancer Support.

The event will showcase artisan bread makers, wine producers, distillers, charcuterie and cheese specialists, street food and much more. It will be held on Priory Farm’s Discovery Walk, allowing festival goers to also explore the interactive nature trails which meander around this area of outstanding natural beauty. 

Live radio broadcast

BBC Radio Surrey’s Danny Pike Show will be broadcasting live from the festival between 9am and 12pm.

“Whilst Local Food Britain has been involved in events in the past, it has long been our wish to organise a food festival of our own,” says Tracy Carroll, founder of Local Food Britain. “We are really enjoying putting together some great ideas so that visitors can immerse themselves in the sight, smell and taste of food and drink made by producers from across the south east. We have a special relationship with Priory Farm which goes back a long way so we are delighted to have their support and to use this unique venue to showcase what our members do best. In addition, the Discovery Walk is a fabulous venue for a day out, which families just love.” 

Pop-up firepit cooking

Visitors can nibble and sip their away around the festival and enjoy one-to-one chats with the producers. And if they want to widen their foodie knowledge, they can climb aboard a vintage bus to pick up tips from expert speakers.  There will also be a ticketed pop up brunch and lunch cooked over a fire pit by The Salt Box. The feasts will be served in the picturesque barn overlooking the lakes at Priory Farm. 

Children’s cookery classes
The event has something for all the family with a rare chance to picnic at various points along Priory Farm’s Discovery Walk.  And to celebrate its 60^th anniversary, the Surrey Hills Society is planning a special walk, taking in the festival. Children can enjoy a pop-up cookery class hosted by Chef and cookery tutor Laura Scott. They’ll get the chance to prepare (and eat!) delicious vegetarian Asian noodle salad and Vietnamese style vegetable summer rolls.

There will be three courses running throughout the day and booking is essential. 

Windfall pressing
Visitors can also bring their windfalls and have them pressed into juice by countryside manager and smallholder Andrew Wright, known to more than 33,000 social media followers as `AndyBoxHill’.   

Quest for the best preserve
The Preserves with Passion 2018 awards will also take place at the festival.  This is a unique quest to find the best home-made jams, jellies, and chutneys in the south east and the winning preserve will be recreated and packaged as a Limited Edition for the Bartie’s Sussex Faire range, owned by Local Food Britain member, John `Bartie’ Bartlett, who will chair the judging panel. All profits from the sale of the winning preserve will go to Macmillan Cancer Support.

Opening times and entry fee

The festival will open at 10am until 4pm and there will be plenty of free parking. Entry is £2 per person, and free for children aged under 16, and includes entry to Priory Farm's Discovery Walk (normally £3 per person). A 25% donation of all ticket sales will go towards Macmillan Cancer Support.

For more information, or to book tickets for the firepit feasts or the children’s cookery courses or to enter the Preserves with Passion awards, visit Local Food Britain’s website www.localfoodbritain.com Keep up to date with all the latest news about the festival by following us on twitter @LocalFoodFinder and like us on Facebook @LocalFoodBritain