Festival Of Good Taste

Now celebrating its fourth year, the fleet food festival promises to be bigger and better than ever. Viv micklefield samples what’s on the menu later this month.

- Viv Micklefield

IT’S a sign of a good festival when a queue forms well before the gates open. Naturally, being Britain, this is likely to be a very orderly queue: no surge to bag a freshly made sourdough, or to nab a sugary macaroon before the trays run bare. Yet passions are set to become raised once the annual Fleet Food Festival, north Hampshire’s largest event of its kind, gets into full swing and visitors embark on another great epicurean journey.

That’s because this is more than a market showcasing regional specialities; it’s more than a cookery theatre with inspiring master classes held by local chefs; and it’s more than a line-up of drinks experts sharing their trade secrets.

“I like those festivals that feel ‘real’, by which I mean there’s a really nice atmosphere with a good balance of both food and drink to buy and take away, and to consume onsite,” says Sarah Mills from award winning charcuterie and air-dried meat specialists Parsonage Farm (parsonage-farm.co.uk). “And,” adds the Andover based producer who switched from selling fresh meat four years ago having joined-in Hampshire’s Preserve the Hog initiative: “We’re really pleased that people are thinking more about the food they eat and like the fact that our products come from the animals on our own farm, which are well looked after.” Wherever possible, the seasonings are local too, she confirms. And if you thought that all smörgåsbord were the same then think again. “We always sell out of our north African based sausage made from lamb and beef. It’s really important to have samples of this and our other products to try as there’s not a long history of these in the UK.”