As you may remember we went to Christchurch Food & Drink Festival last year and left feeling suitable fed and watered. The only difference this year was the increase in size, with the welcome bonus of a festival village. Fear not, the festival is still on today (10th May) so if you have a few free hours (and don't mind large crowds) then be sure to head on down.
I hadn't even walked a 100m down the highstreet I had already spotted this Hogsmeade sign and knew I couldn't leave without it. Plus, it was a bargain too with 10% off. I didn't catch the name of the shop but it's right next to the double decker Pub Bar. Inside they had plenty more Harry Potter offerings but I knew I had to spend wisely. I realised today it's been two years since I read the HP series, normally I have it on an annual rotation.
The main event was obviously the food and drink with stalls throughout Festival Market and the Festival Village showcasing a wide variety of quality, local, regional and international food and drink related products. On our way down the highstreet we made sure to catch a peek of all of the stalls and managed to try some raspberry and cherry flavoured gins which we unfortunately forgot to go back and purchase. It was a really cute stall run by a family who had been picking and harvesting juniper berries for three generations. If you like gin then this was one not to miss. For my lunch I opted for a grilled cheese sandwich from The Gourmet Grilled Cheese Company. I went for a Classic Gourmet which was filled with a cheddar and onion vintage cheese with garlic, a sprinkle of parsley and some crunchy gherkins on the side. Check out their whole menu here but be prepared to get your stomach rumbling. My favorite part was having the gherkins, I know they aren't for everyone but I absolutely love that they seem to be really popular within restaurants and food vendors recently.
Darren obviously couldn't leave the festival without trying a burger and this year he really went for it. You could be sure to find him under the Gourmet Burger banner eating a zebra burger. As a vegetarian, it makes me shiver even typing that but I'm just letting all you meat eaters know what is on offer. Don't worry there were lamb, beef and even kangaroo patties too.
If all of that is a bit too much to digest (...oops), then be sure to pick up an events programme which gives you a run down of all the events going on within the demo marquee (we were just in time to catch James Goulding from The Pig cooking up a feast using foraged ingredients), along with cocktail trails, tea and cake trails, along with plenty more going on through the entire month.
It was a brilliant afternoon and I would highly recommend. You don't have to eat zebra or kangaroo to enjoy it, honest.
