Less than two weeks to go until the autumnal foodie event of the season - Powderham Food Festival!

The leading autumnal event of the year, Powderham Food Festival, is back for its sixth year, celebrating the best of local food and drink on Saturday 7th October to Sunday 8th October.

With the beautiful and historic Powderham Castle as its background, festival organisers Bob Small and Fiona Gofton are aiming for 2017 to be the biggest, best and quite possibly the healthiest food festival yet!

Home to The Earl and Countess of Devon, Powderham Castle acts as a magnet over the weekend for foodie fans of all ages. So, with the county brimming with scrumptious fruits and vegetables, what better way to shine a light on fresh and delicious food the whole family can enjoy.

Bob Small, says: “We have always ensured we create a food festival at Powderham which is suitable and fun for every member of the family, but this year we wanted to take it a step further and give everyone who attends food for thought on what they feed their loved ones.”

It is for this reason we have teamed up with Sugar Smart to help educate and inspire families on how to cook less with sugar-filled processed foods and more with fresh ingredients, to discover easy ways to lower their sugar intake.”

Fiona Gofton, says: “We all live hectic lives and it can be a struggle to get inspiration for meals to feed the family which are speedy, healthy and appeal to everybody’s tastes. Our new family food marquee will focus on wholesome home cooking, offering a bounty of useful information from Sugar Smart and associated organisations on how minor tweaks to diet and lifestyle can have a long-lasting effect on health and wellbeing.”

Food anthropology PhD student, Rachel Pinnock, who works at Exeter Cookery School and is a Sugar Smart ambassador, will be on hand to show both children and their parents how humble veg, which can be grown at home or bought from supermarkets, can be transformed into a nutritious and interesting family meal.

Judi Spiers will also be on site, joining the team from Home Farm Café, a Dartmoor-based farm café with 85% of its menu featuring local, seasonal produce, with demonstrations from Stella West-Harling and Nick Smith on how to create exciting and delicious dinners for week-night meal times.

An added interest this year will be the presence of Waitrose’s wine expert Steve Minnican, who will talk about the world’s wines on the Saturday.

Fun Kitchen will be attending the Festival once again, supporting Sugar Smart’s campaign with its popular, messy and educational hands-on cookery classes for children. Fun Kitchen founder and Jamie Oliver Food Revolution Ambassador, Joe Mann, is a firm believer in making cooking fun and accessible for children and as a partner of the Growing Devon Schools Partnership, has been instrumental in teaching about food beyond the classroom.

Exeter Cookery School’s stage will be home to a wondrous line-up of the region’s best culinary talents. Jim and Lucy Fisher, the dynamic husband and wife team who opened Exeter Cookery School in the summer of 2016, will play host to an amazing array of cookery demonstrations for the third consecutive year. Working with the region’s very fine seasonal larder, chefs include new faces for Powderham Food Festival, such as Actor, Masterchef 2016 Semi-finalist and founder of Scripts for Supper, Annie McKenzie, chef and co-owner of Café Catalan, Paul Greenhead, artisan sausage makers, cured meat producers and Good Game co-founders, Steve Williams and Pete Woodham Kay, and Exeter Cookery School tutor and Food Anthropology PhD student, Rachel Pinnock. Meanwhile, making return appearances are TV chef, consultant chef & founder of Devon Scone Company, Richard Hunt, Exeter Cookery School tutor of authentic Indian cookery Nila Ross-Patel, owner of Emma’s Bread and the Boatyard Bakery and sourdough afficionado, Emma Parkin, and not forgetting previous Masterchef semi-finalist and head chef/tutor at Exeter Cookery School, Jim Fisher.

As a Powderham Food Festival veteran, the ever-popular Theatre of Fire and Smoke will also be back to delight its loyal following. Barbecue and food smoking aficionados Simon Dyer, Marcus Bawdon and John Gower from Quiet Waters Farm, will be cooking up a storm. Meanwhile, the Clifton Chilli Club will be hosting their usual increasingly fiery chillies on members of the public in the Great Devon Chilli Challenge – for the bravest of souls (or should we say stomachs).

And if that was not all, there will be 150 local food and drinks producers and craft stalls to explore and keep you occupied, such as, Neal’s Yard Remedies, Fizz Bizz by Lemon Jelli, The Cherry Tree Preserves, The Stannary Brewing Co., and so many more.

Bob Small, continues: “We are very privileged at Powderham Food Festival to have the loyalty and support from our sponsors and partners. Our headline sponsors Helpful Holidays have been with us since 2012 and are with us again this year. We appreciate and thank everyone for their very valuable support.”

The Festival will be a fantastic family, foodie and arty day out for all to enjoy, so make sure you put the date in your diary for the must-visit Autumn Food Festival at Powderham Castle!