UPDATE: Everything is Corona-Cancelled
Bishop Auckland Food Festival returns to deepest, darkest County Durham on Saturday 18 and Sunday 19 this April, with more than 150 artisan food and drink traders from across the North East.
The event will feature free demonstrations by chefs off the telly, and interactive workshops for £12 with the Beer and Bites and Gin School, where you can learn how to pair scran and bevvies for maximum taste bud titillation.
Beer and Bites takes place at 1.45pm on the Saturday and Sunday and tickets costs £12.
Georga Spottiswood, editor of Savour magazine, will run the workshops:
“The classes are fun and educational and provide people with a solid knowledge of the best food and drink pairings. We pick drinks with characteristics that complement flavours in food”
“For Bishop Auckland Food Festival, we’ve put together a menu that will definitely pack a punch for visitors. For example, we’ll be featuring Three Brothers Brewing Co’s S’more Porter, which has a rich marshmallow taste with a smooth, roasted chocolate finish – and it works wonderfully with Burtree Puddings’ rich chocolate brownie.”
The sessions will feature piccalillis from Calder’s Kitchen, and well cheesy cheeses from Weardale Cheese.
“Beer and Bites is a fantastic way to showcase our cheese to a new audience. Many people think cheese should be paired with wine, but a beer and cheese make a perfect pair. A ripe and rich cheese can handle a strong beer, while hoppy beers can take the edge off a sharp blue,” said Simon from Weardale Cheese.
The workshops will include ales from Three Brothers Brewery, based in Stockton-on-Tees.
Kit Dodd, head brewer, said: “It’s a great opportunity for us to talk about the beer making process, what goes on behind the scenes and the passion we put into our products.
Gin School is also back in 2020, so expect exciting new flavour combinations as the GINstructors from Savour Magazine demonstrate how to balance delicious gins with the best mixers and party nibbles.
Workshops will take place at 12.00pm and 3.30pm on the Saturday and Sunday in Bishop Auckland Town Hall. Tickets cost £12, including gin and tonic combinations and a chance to quiz the distillery owner themselves.
Paul Colman, who set up The Little Quaker Distillery with his wife Leanne, will be one of the distillers at the event.
Paul said: “It’s really exciting to work with gins in this way. We teach people about the botanicals: citrus from lemons, oranges and grapefruits, Morello cherries and blackcurrants, how the drink should be mixed and garnished to complement and balance the flavours.
“For the first time this year, we’re also introducing the best party picks – from the food producers who’ll be at the festival – to pair with gin, so customers can buy all their bits for the perfect night in at the festival.”
Other people off the telly, appearing in the festival’s free cookery marquee, include Great British Bake Off finalist Alice Fevronia, Saturday Kitchen regular Joe Hurd and reigning
MasterChef champion Irini Tzortzoglou.
Jane Beedle, who reached the Bake Off finals in 2016, will also deliver a series of baking workshops for children and adults.
More guests will be announced soon.
To book tickets to the workshops and demonstrations, visit: www.bishopaucklandfoodfestival.co.uk
To stay up to date with the latest festival news, visit Bishop Auckland Food Festival on Facebook or follow @bishfoodfest on Twitter or Instagram.
