Record Number of Foodies Expected at Shobdon

Organisers of this year’s Shobdon Food Festival say they are preparing for record visitor numbers as the reputation of one of the county’s most traditional culinary events continues to grow. Set up eight years ago as a novel idea for a church fundraiser, the event has grown, almost as organically as some of the local produce it showcases. This year, more than three thousand people are expected to descend on the north Herefordshire village over the weekend of the 22nd-24th of June for a weekend of tastings, demos, bespoke arts and crafts, live music, vintage vehicle displays and family entertainment set within the beautiful grounds of Shobdon’s unique church, neighbouring arboretum and lake.

This year, for the first time, the show will have added appeal for gardening fans with a new horticultural section as well as more cooking demonstrations than ever from some of the region’s top chefs as well as the widest variety yet of the finest food and drink the area has to offer. Over fifty of the region’s best producers will be showcasing their skills with everything from local cheeses, meats, breads, patisserie, fruit and vegetables to organic ice cream, freshly ground coffee, local wines, ales and liquors on show to sample and buy. There will also be a full schedule of evening events and concerts.

Organiser, Matt Teale said: "We have to strike a balance between offering something new each year for returning visitors while maintaining the spacious, rural feel that makes Shobdon so popular. This year, we expect around a third of our food exhibitors to be new to the event as we try and ensure people keep coming back for more.”

This year, the Food Festival coincides with the re-opening of Shobdon’s unusual Strawberry Hill Gothic church with its ‘wedding cake’ interior, which will have been closed for extensive maintenance work for over a year. To mark the reopening, the Hereford Cathedral choir will be singing in a choral Evensong service on the evening of Sunday the 24th of June to close the weekend. The event also coincides with the tri-annual Flower Festival in Shobdon meaning the church will be filled with stunning floral arrangements that have, over the last three decades, become a big draw in themselves.

In the eight year’s Shobdon Food Festival has been running, over £30,000 has been raised for a variety of local and national good causes and charities from Riding for the Disabled to Cancer Research and numerous local clubs and societies as well as the village Primary school. One of the reasons, say organisers, why Shobdon has a reputation among producers as well as visitors as one of the friendliest shows on the culinary calendar. A fact perhaps best summed up by local artist and exhibitor, Dianne Jennings:

“If only all the shows we do were like Shobdon. It's well organised with a relaxed social atmosphere. If Carlsberg organised food festivals, they would do it like this!"

For more information visit www.shobdonfestival.co.uk or email shobdonfoodfestival@gmail.com or call 01568 708 725.