Ambassador Emma Caulton on the best produce in Winchester District

6 July 2023

Summertime and the eating is delicious – especially when food is local!

Winchester Ambassador and total foodie, Emma Caulton tells us where to try the best produce the Winchester District has to offer this summer.

Summer is surely the easiest time to discover local produce – helped by tastes, talks and tours held by local producers countywide as part of the Hampshire Food Festival. This year the Hampshire Food Festival runs across not one, but two whole months of foodie joyfulness from 1^st July to 31^stAugust with a programme of more than 235 diary dates.

These include events in the Winchester district among them the very first Winchester Food Festival. Organised by Hampshire Fare and supported by Winchester BID and Winchester Cathedral, the inaugural Winchester Food Festival will be held on Sunday 9^th July in the Cathedral grounds and will be a truly local event including produce market, BBQ cooking and Chefs’ Kitchen featuring Damian Brown from Chesil Rectory, Paul Onami from Kyoto Kitchen and Lenny Carr-Roberts of Shoal, The Fox and The Bugle, who has appeared alongside James Martin on his Saturday Morning TV show. They will be creating tasty dishes using local produce provided by Festival sponsor Quob Park Free Range & Organic.

The produce market will include micro-greens, local trout, coffee, juices, no-alcohol cocktails and gins infused with local botanicals, as well as fudge, fizz, fresh veg, breads, honey and cheeses. In addition, Winchester Beacon, Winchester Food Festival’s charity partner, is collaborating with nutritionist Mary Needham of Munch, who will be preparing budget-friendly yet healthy and flavourful dishes.

More events in the area during Hampshire Food Festival include: producer ‘pop-ups’ every Saturday at West Lea Farm Shop; tours and tastings at Raimes English Sparkling Wine; Food Fair at Westlands Farm Shop; Sourdough Baking with Ancient and Heritage Grains; Chocolate Craft workshop; Fizz Fest at Hambledon Vineyard; and an artisan produce market at Lavender Fields. In addition, Lainston House is holding picnic and movie nights; Growling Gibbon and OHCO Coffee Company are running tastings and talks; and The Grange has a special vineyard and winery tour. In short there’s something for every taste.

Details are found in the Festival programme and the events page on Hampshire Fare’s website (www.hampshirefare.co.uk).