Foodies to have tastebuds tantalised as Leamington Food and Drink Festival returns

Foodies will have their tastebuds tantalised as a popular event returns to Leamington for its 16th year.

The Leamington Food and Drink Festival is set to be held in the Pump Room Gardens between 10am and 6pm on Saturday, September 9 and Sunday, September 10.

Exhibitors will be cooking up a storm to bring visitors the very best local and regional food, which can all be washed down by a variety of delectable drinks that will be on offer.

The free-to-attend event, organised by BID Leamington, will feature more than 115 exhibitors including 40 town centre businesses.

New exhibitors include The House, 44 Café Bar Bistro, The Neighbourhood, Giggling Squid, Karak Chaii, Taverna Meraki and Ruby Cantonese Restaurant, who will be bringing their delicious dishes to the event.

There will be a host of entertainment for food lovers to enjoy, including cookery demonstrations from Sophie Hyam, of Culinary Bites; Russell Allen, of Aubrey Allen; and Jess Mooney, of Bread for Life; in the Live Cookery Theatre.

The Kid’s Cookery School, hosted by Anne Marie Lambert of Get Cooking, is set to return to inspire children to get creative in the kitchen, and younger visitors will also be able to enjoy making music as part of children’s activities hosted by Rachel Turner, of Rhythm Time.

The event will also be turning up the heat as it plays host to two cook-off competitions, with the Coventry and Warwickshire Foodie Awards ‘Cook off of the Chefs’ final being held at 4pm on Saturday, and the popular Aubrey Allen Cooking Competition being staged from 1pm on Sunday.

A variety of acts are set to perform on the Bandstand across the weekend, with acts including Boperator Boogie Band, Room 17 and Luna Kiss providing the soundtrack on Saturday, while Barton Hollow, The Old Flames, Chasing Deer will take to the stage on Sunday.

Gavin Leach, Director and Head Brewer at Windmill Hill Brewery and 44 Café Bar Bistro, said: “We’re really excited for Leamington Food Festival this year.

“It’s the biggest event on our calendar, and the fact it’s our home town event and around 500m from our brewery is really exciting!

“This year we’ll have our horsebox bar selling our Leamington made beers, as well as having a gazebo for our new bar 44 where we’ll be selling our amazing Hilltop Farm Burgers. These burgers come from cows fed on the spent grain from our brewery, representing a full circle of local produce.”

Libertine Burger founder Charles Harris added: “Leamington is very much the home of Libertine Burger.

“It’s where we started, it’s where our flagship shop is, and it’s where our brand new HQ is, which has given us a hub to operate everything from, including our DIY kits and our truck and van.

“The town will always have a special place in our heart, and that’s why each year we love to be involved in Leamington Food and Drink Festival.

“It’s a brilliant event, packed with local traders and businesses like ourselves, and a real showcase of the amazing food and drink scene in the town. It’s definitely a highlight of our calendar and we can’t wait to be involved again this year, serving up some of our classics and maybe a special or two.”

Alison Shaw, BID Leamington project manager, said: “Leamington Food and Drink Festival is a hugely popular weekend in the town’s calendar of events, and we are extremely excited to be organising it once again in 2023.

“Plans are shaping up incredibly well and we’ve had some great support from businesses based within the town and further afield.

“There really will be something for everyone, with live cookery, children’s entertainment and music on offer, as well as an excellent range of high-quality businesses who will be bringing the very best food and drink from across our region to the event.

“We are very pleased to be welcoming back some food festival favourites as well as some new businesses to the event, and we look forward to welcoming visitors in September.”

Further information about the event is available by visiting https://leamingtonfoodfestival.co.uk/