Brewers couldn’t pour the drinks fast enough as the sun shone on Clitheroe Food Festival.
‘It’s a cracking day out every single year,’ said Ben Croston of Poulton’s Fuzzy Duck Brewery. ‘Sadly we haven’t time to go round it ourselves, we’re too busy selling!’
The festival’s 120-plus stalls offered an overview of the county’s clearly thriving food and drink scene and the chance to indulge in its bounty.
Lancashire’s deep food heritage was well represented with the likes of Fitzpatrick’s cordials, R.S. Ireland’s black puddings, Shirley’s Pies, the kippers on the Port of Lancaster Smokehouse stand and James Baxter’s superb potted shrimps all in evidence. Newer additions such as oils and vinegars from The Gift of Oil, Capra Products’ cheeses and Love Cheesecakes’ puds were going down a storm too.
Julie Whalley who organises the festival thought it the best of the five held so far.
‘Afterwards I didn’t get a single moan from any of the producers, and that’s a first!’ she laughed. With an estimated 20,000 visitors, it is no wonder. Nibbling and sipping the samples, and enjoying the aromas of spicy Asian street food, paella and pizza, sizzling sausages and roasting pork, this was foodie heaven. And with that baking sun everyone was smiling - though the biggest grins were definitely reserved for those selling ice cream. w
