If it’s September, it must be the Aldeburgh Food and Drink Festival, a two-week celebration of Suffolk’s thriving food and drink scene. If you’re a foodie, looking for ideas, or just enjoy a really good festival you won’t want to miss it. Here are some highlights
It’s impossible to live in Suffolk, or visit the county, without realising that great food and drink is what we’re all about.
Not only do we produce high quality ingredients – cereals for staples like bread and beer, outstanding meat, fish and dairy, fresh fruit and vegetables – we turn them into deliciously original dishes and products – homemade pies, sauces and condiments, cordials, oils, ice creams, cakes and desserts to name a few.
Then we serve them up on tables at home and in restaurants across the county. It’s what we’ve become known for – one of the attractions for people visiting Suffolk and one of the reasons many of us stay here. No wonder we want to celebrate our achievements and spread the word. And that’s what the Aldeburgh Food and Drink Festival is all about.
It’s a two-week celebration which starts with the festival weekend at Snape Maltings on September 24-25, and a whole programme of fringe events held at various locations in the east of the county that lasts right through to October 9.
To get your fill, check out the full festival programme
Festival weekend Location: Snape Maltings, next to the River Alde
What to expect:
More than 90 food and drink producers from Suffolk, many from just a few miles away, all gathered to sell their produce including raw milk, organic vegetables, sourdough bread, award winning beer and spirits from sponsors Adnams, cyder from Aspall and delicious street-food. Two cookery demonstration stages hosting visiting and local chefs. Free children’s activities and hands-on cooking workshops.
What it costs: Adult day ticket £8, weekend ticket £14, under 15s free
Chefs on the menu:
You can expect to see on stage . . .
Dhruv Baker, winner of MasterChef 2010. Born in Mexico, moved to India with his family at the age of four, he blends the culinary techniques and heritage of European cuisine with the wonders of Asian spicing.
Galton Blackiston, chef owner of Morston Hall Hotel, north Norfolk where his restaurant has held a Michelin star for the past 16 years.
Martha Collison, youngest ever baker on The Great British Bake Off, made it to the 2014 quarter finals while studying for her AS levels.
Dan Doherty, executive chef of Duck & Waffle, at the top of the Heron Tower in the City of London, which pays homage to classic British cookery. A regular on BBC 1’s Saturday Kitchen.
Eleonora Galasso, foodie and blogger, runs clandestine pop-up restaurants, consults for major international brands and reports about local producers on her blog.
Anna Hansen, born in Canada and raised in New Zealand, runs The Modern Pantry, which now has two AA rosettes and was listed as a Bib Gourmand in the Michelin Guide 2009.
Angela Hartnett, one of the UK’s most loved chefs and restaurateurs, known for sophisticated yet simple, Italy-inspired cooking. Murano in Mayfair, where she is chef proprietor, holds a Michelin star.
Henrietta Inman, Suffolk raised skilled pastry chef, owns her own business, Henrietta Inman, specialising in delicious patisserie made with whole, natural, nourishing real food ingredients.
Anna Jones, cook, food writer and stylist, worked for many years as part of Jamie Oliver’s food team. Author of A Modern Way to Eat, and A Modern Way to Cook.
Joudie Kalla is Palestinian and focuses her cooking around this particular Middle Eastern cuisine, creating healthy, vibrant, moreish dishes that are easy to make and packed full of goodness.
Brad McDonald, born in Mississippi, re-launched The Lockhart in Marylebone in 2014, and opened Shotgun, a cocktail bar and BBQ joint on Soho’s Kingly Street.
Kylee Newton, passionate self-taught preserver selling her wares under Newton&Pott at London’s Broadway Market, and delis throughout the UK.
José Pizarro has lived in the UK for 15 years and worked at some of London’s most prestigious Spanish restaurants. In May 2011 he opened his first solo venture, José, followed by Pizarro.
Oliver Rowe, a Londoner who first learned to cook in Tuscany, has his own café, Konstam, and restaurant, Konstam at the Prince Albert, both in London’s King’s Cross.
Ben Tish, of The Salt Yard, is at the forefront of modern Spanish/Italian tapas style cuisine. Appears regularly on Market Kitchen, Saturday Kitchen, Drop Down Menu and Masterchef, BBC Radio 4’s The Food Programme and Sunday Brunch
The Suffolk Punch pop-up
For one night only, on September 24 the Suffolk Young Producers Group will reprise their successful pop-up restaurant, which made its debut at the Vault Festival in London earlier this year. Called The Suffolk Punch, it will feature the very best that our young food and drink producers have to offer.
The three-course menu has been created by brothers Alex and Oliver Burnside, from the Plough and Sail pub at Snape Maltings, who have sourced ingredients from members of the group, and from the rest of Suffolk. There will be live music, dancing and singing co-ordinated by Folk East, and a guest appearance by two magnificent Suffolk Punch horses. A donation from the proceeds will go to the Suffolk Punch Trust at nearby Hollesley Bay Stud.
Time: 7.30pm (welcoming aperitif of Little Scarlet Strawberry and Gin Spritzer)
Menu: A porky picnic - platters of local free range pork with crackling nibbles, beefy stew with sourdough crumb topping, creamy mashed potato and roasted vegetables, a table full of sweet things to choose from.
Details: www.aldeburghfoodanddrink.co.uk
