Two Warwickshire food festivals in late September

By Tracey Saunders

To distinguish itself from the dismal festival held at the racecourse last year (which is taking a break) Stratford-upon-Avon’s food and drink festival is taking place right in the heart of the town centre.

The banks of the River Avon will be heaving between Friday and Sunday September 18-20, with an expected 20,000 people visiting.

With a farmers’ market showcasing the best regional produce, a Taste Trail of 18 eateries and Real Ale Trail of 11 pubs, this is a lovely opportunity to wander the medieval streets of this historic town and savour the local food and drink businesses in Stratford Town Centre Food Festival.

Rugby Food and Drink Festival

If seeing celebrity chefs up close is more your thing, then Simon Rimmer and James Martin will be creating some of their signature dishes in the Cookery Theatre on Waterside for £10 per person. Both the Taste Trail and Real Ale Tail also are ticketed events, so head to the ‘Stratforward’ tent on Waterside for tickets, which can be purchased for cash on a first come first served basis on the day.


Rugby Food and Drink Festival

Right at the end of the month, when we are still revelling in Rugby World Cup 2015 fever, the home town of the sport puts on a four-day showcase of food and drink.

The Rugby Food and Drink Festival takes over the market square from Thursday to Sunday September 24-27 and starts with a farmers’ market of locally made cheeses, chocolates and jams, among others.

Street food fans will recognise the gourmet toasties from The Jabberwocky and South African snacks by the Big Red Pig Company in the Food Fayre, and a calendar of demonstrations by local chefs plus kids cookery classes should keep everyone busy. The Real Ale Trail takes in 11 pubs to sample cask conditioned brews with Rugby CAMRA and is always a popular part of the festival.

Across the county there are a range of festivals, large and small, to tempt you to try some great local food and drink as well as meeting the producers this month.

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