Dartmouth Food Festival celebrates 20th anniversary this October
Dartmouth Food Festival (25th – 27th October 2024) is well-known as one of the most prestigious food festivals in the country and is always credited with an unrivalled line up of chef talent and a feast of entertainment.
This year the Festival celebrates its 20th anniversary and is excited to welcome names including Saturday Kitchen’s Matt Tebbutt, Professor Tim Spector, award-winning baker Richard Bertinet, MasterChef Winner 2010 Dhruv Baker, and chef and author, Jane Baxter.
Flying the flag for local talent are festival patron Mitch Tonks from The Seahorse who will be hosting a very special demo with Mark Hix on the Saturday, as well as MasterChef: The Professionals 2016 finalist Elly Wentworth from The Angel, and Luca Berardino from Andria in Dartmouth over the weekend.
The not-for-profit festival is run entirely by volunteers and is free for visitors, meaning they can fully explore its unique programme which takes place over 3 days across the Devon town on the River Dart. The Festival has always been focused on educating and inspiring its visitors, and creating an independent event that supports its community sustainably so it can continue well into the future.
This year’s events include the following activities:
- Children’s Day (24th October)
- Chef Demo Theatre
- The Food Matters talks hosted by Craig Davidson, with a special session on Friday 25th October with Professor Tim Spector, and exciting talks over the weekend from names including R4’s Dan Saladino, Henry Dimbleby, and Dan Cox from Crocandon Farm.
- Wine seminars
- Market stalls from over 100 local producers, suppliers and growers including Rock Gin, Dartmouth Bees, and Pipers Farm
- Food and drink tastings & workshops
To celebrate its 20th anniversary, the Festival team has also created a limited-edition cookbook. The Dartmouth Food Festival Cookbook: A Celebration of Food, Friendship & Feasting has been curated by Helen Lloyd, and is published by Kitchen Press. The cookbook features recipes from top chefs who have been part of the festival over the years including Matt Tebbutt, Romy Gill, and Nick Evans, as well as a host of local food heroes including producers and restaurateurs. The 60 recipes are accompanied by stunning photography Nick Hook Photography. The book is available to pre-order now from the Festival website here, priced £25.
Festival Ambassador Orlando Murrin, explains: “The Dartmouth Food Festival was an ambitious event from the start that grew from a cluster of stalls manned by local artisans and volunteers in the market square. Twenty years later, it’s a phenomenal event that embraces the entire riverside town and draws over 20,000 food-loving visitors from far and wide. Celebrating our 20thanniversary with the release of our cookbook, makes a special year extraordinary and demonstrates how unique this event really is.”
