Food lovers from near and far flocked to Caerphilly last weekend for the third annual Caerphilly Food Festival on Saturday 10th May.
While the weather was far from perfect, it did little to dampen the spirits of over 9,000 visitors who headed to Caerphilly town centre for the highlight of the county borough’s culinary-calendar.
More than 80 traders exhibited their wares at the event, contributing to a wide variety of mouth-watering flavours, aromas and tastes available for hungry festival-goers.
Ceri Scott-Howell from Coity Bach Produce, based in Talybont-on-Usk, said of the event: “The event was our best ever day as we sold out of all of our sausages, meat and over 200 scotch eggs.”
The star attraction at this year’s Caerphilly Food Festival was Frances Quinn, the winner of the BBC’s Great British Bake Off 2013. TV baker Frances drew in the crowds with three cookery demonstrations, ably assisted by local producers and traders. Those watching the demonstrations were treated to a master class in how to make great dough, traditional Cornish pasties and delicious samosas.
Following her demonstrations, Frances took on the role of judge as she studied the entries submitted for the Caerphilly Cake-Off competition organised by Oakdale-based café Ty Coffee. Frances was asked to consider a range of iced cakes which included designs inspired by Caerphilly Castle, Caerphilly cheese and Caerphilly county borough. The standard of entries was extremely high, and after some deliberation Frances selected the Caerphilly Castle iced cake submitted by Charlotte Lunn of Llanbradach as the winner.
Cllr Ken James, Caerphilly County Borough Council’s Cabinet Member for Regeneration, Planning & Sustainable Development, said: “The popularity of this event grows year on year, attracting 40% more visitors to Caerphilly town centre than we would usually see on a Saturday.
“This food festival is really beginning to flourish, providing an excellent showcase for food producers from the county borough and across the country.”
The Caerphilly Food Festival was part-funded by the Welsh Government and organised by Caerphilly County Borough Council.
