A feast for all at the Exmoor Food Festival 08

THE Exmoor Food Festival, an eight-day extravaganza to celebrate the area’s finest local food, starts on Saturday with the Porlock Tea Party and a produce market at Dulverton Carnival.
On Sunday, television wildlife celebrity Johnny Kingdom will be launching the Lyn Food Fest, a day devoted to sampling the great tastes of the moors.
During the festival, visitors can treat themselves to stunning views over Porlock Weir and equally stunning local produce at Andrews on the Weir.
They can relax and enjoy a pamper treatment as well as fine farmhouse fare at Hindon Organic Farm, and they can enjoy tasty treats cooked up by Minehead café Cream with fresh produce straight from Minehead Farmers’ Market.
Or, visitors can glean top tips from the chef at Dunster’s Yarn Market Hotel to take home and try in their own kitchens.
There is an opportunity to learn how to catch and cook wild food at Wimbleball, or to try Morrocan evenings in Minehead, or sample a mouth-watering meal from the award-winning Hidden Valley of the Pigs, in Barbrook, followed by an amble to see the animals at Alta Lyn Alpacas.
The food festival should include something on the menu for anybody’s taste.
Festival organiser Naomi Griffith said: “There is a great variety of venues and events across Exmoor during the festival.
“People can talk to local food producers to get the inside story on what makes Exmoor’s food the best in the world.
“We specialise in fresh local produce from the moors which has been beautifully cooked and presented.
“Customers return year after year and are always delighted to find something new and exciting on the menu.
“Dulverton Carnival, farmers markets, food fayres, and a feast of events across Exmoor make this festival must for food fans across the South West.”
The food festival runs from October 4 to 12, and programmes are available at Tourist Information Centres and at www.exmoorevents.co.uk, or by calling 01643 821425.

• Our photographs show (TOP) Keith Wicks, of the Whortleberry Tea Room, in Porlock, (MIDDLE) celebrity guest Johnny Kingdom, and (BOTTOM) a sample dish from the festival. Photos submitted.