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Thursday 12 June 2014

Ottery Food+Families Festival: "bigger and better" ............ Friday 13th - Saturday 14th June

The food and families festival in Ottery St Mary was really successful last year:
Futures Forum: Ottery Food+Families Festival

It promises to be even more successful this year - kicking off tomorrow:

Ottery St Mary Food and Families Festival 2014 looms!

Monday, 02 June 2014 by Claire

Ottery’s Food and Families Festival on the weekend of 13 and 14 June looks as though it will be even bigger and better than last year’s event, which saw over 3000 people flooding into the town to enjoy the very best Ottery has to offer.

One of the main festival organisers, Ruud Jansen Venneboer of Mazzard Farm Holiday Cottages, said: “We were so overwhelmed by the response last year that it was inevitable we would run the festival again. Ottery and the surrounding area boasts an amazing level of skill in local produce and chefs who are committed to using only responsibly sourced ingredients, and the festival is a way to showcase and applaud these achievements.”

Squaring up to the challenge of cook offs and demonstrations, Robin Rea of the Rusty Pig and ‘Samosa Lady’ Tina Chauhan-Challis attended the launch, where Tina’s samosas were very much in demand.

Both will be taking part in the festival along with River Cottage’s Gelf Alderson, cupcake whizz Kate Shiraz from Cakeadoodledoo, The HH’s Craig Samson and Matt Mason from the Jack in the Green. Masterchef semi-finalist Saira Hamilton will be cooking up a storm with her authentic Bengali dishes.

The not-for-profit event is this year benefitting from sponsorship from Everys, Dairy Crest and Otter Brewery. Along with demonstrations in the main marquee, the town is hosting an outdoor ‘foodie’ market, with a bar, live music, craft stalls and family activities throughout the town.


Ottery St Mary Food and Families Festival 2014 looms! - Claire Wright
Ottery St Mary Food & Families Festival - Ottery Saint Mary - Community organisation | Facebook
Ottery St Mary Families & Food Festival 2014 on Vimeo

Amongst its sponsors is SunGift Solar:



SunGift support for Food and Families Festival | SunGift Solar
Ottery St Mary Food and Families Festival welcomes support of SunGift Solar | Exeter Express and Echo

A nice piece from the Express & Echo last week:


Food and family fun at Ottery St Mary festival

By Echo_Bridget | Posted: June 06, 2014



Ottery St Mary Food and Families Festival

Thousands of people are expected to descend upon the small town of Ottery St Mary to enjoy some of the region’s best food and drink, combined with lots of family fun. The second Food and Families Festival is being held on Friday, June 13, to Friday, June 14, and it promises to be even bigger and better.

Among the highlights of this year’s not-for-profit community festival is a street market on the Saturday with 25 food and drink stands along Mill Street. There will also be a demonstration marque in Sainsbury’s car park headed up by the talented Robin Rea from the Rusty Pig. As well as food demonstrations, visitors can also enjoy watching cook-offs.

Throughout the festival many other events and entertainment will be taking place throughout the town centre, including buskers from Kings School, competitions and children’s entertainment.

There will also be two unique dining experiences during the weekend. are taking place during the weekend.

On Friday, the Rotary Club is hosting an Eat and Learn event in the main festival marquee. River Cottage-trained chefs, Robin Rea from the Rusty Pig and Tim Maddams from Green Sauce together with Ottery’s Samosa Lady Tina Chauhan are creating four large taster dishes to be accompanied with wine selected by Christopher Piper Wines.

As part of the fun event, the colourful chefs will talk about the ingredients and preparation of their dishes. Tickets cost £45 for a single diner, and £80 per couple. All profits will be donated to charity.

After the main festival on Saturday, the 2014 Ottery St Mary Food Safari takes place. Diners will eat in three different restaurants, enjoying a guided tour of the town as they move between venues. Starters are on the Tumbling Weir Terrace, the main course is at the Lamb & Flag and some unusual desserts are on offer as the result of a culinary partnership between Seasons Tea Rooms and Tina Chauhan. The safari and tour costs £30 per head.

The festival will also see a repeat of the world famous Ottery St Mary Fish Dance in Strictly Come Fish Dancing. Other unique fun includes mouse racing in the marque on Saturday evening.

When the festival was launched last year it attracted more than 3,000 visitors. It is run with the full support of local businesses, restaurants and cafes and is a great way to celebrate local producers, products and chefs.

“The festival is designed to help encourage tourism and put Ottery on the map,” said one of the organisers. “But it is also a great way to celebrate local food and drink – and have fun.”

Tickets for the Rotary event are available from Rotary, the Rusty Pig, the Volunteer Inn and Christopher Piper Wines or by calling 01404 815580 (Rusty Pig).


Food and family fun at Ottery St Mary festival | Exeter Express and Echo
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