Eat, drink and be merry at third food festival

Plans are well advanced for the third Reepham Food Festival on Sunday 26 May. All the stalls in the Market Place and Bircham Centre gardens are now booked, and visitors can look forward to a wide range of food and drink-related events and displays from 10 am – 4 pm.
 

Photos: John Tym

 
The festival will kick off with the Junior Masterchef competition at Reepham High School on 10 May. Ten finalists will battle it out under the watchful eye of judges, including Andrew Jones from the Dial House and Sarah Hardy, editor of Feast Norfolk magazine. Prizes will be awarded on Festival Sunday.
 
On Friday 24 May, the Dial House will be firing up Big Bertha the Barbecue with the first lobster of the season and sizzling steaks. It’s the King’s Arms turn on Saturday 25 May with local produce featuring strongly in a special evening menu. Both restaurants will take bookings as usual.
 
More than 50 stalls have signed up to show their produce on the Sunday. Many are new to the festival, so there will be many tastes to try and buy. With food and drink stalls in the Bircham Centre gardens, there will be plenty of space to picnic and enjoy your purchases.
 
There will also be demonstrations on food preparation and cooking from WI experts and chefs from the Dial House. Children will have plenty to do, with hands-on food science experiments, competitions and trails.
 
The Food Festival will close with a community supper at 6 pm in Reepham Town Hall. This will be a buffet featuring produce from stallholders and other local suppliers, and will be an all-ticket event. Tickets (adults £15, under 14s £8) will be on sale in April at Very Nice Things and the Norfolk Farm Shop & Deli (both in Market Place, Reepham) and through the festival website.
 
This year’s main sponsor is Vattenfall, which is developing new offshore wind generation facilities in the North Sea.
 
The Reepham Food Festival is organised by Reepham & District Rotary Club with help from other local volunteers. More help on the day is always welcomed.
 
Full details and updates can be found at www.reephamfoodfestival.org.uk
 
Richard Cooke
 

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