18.05.05
Full Steam Ahead for Cornwall Food and Drink Festival

Michelin-star chef Ben Tunnicliffe of The Abbey Restaurant, Penzance, is one of the top Cornish chefs booked for this year's Cornwall Food and Drink Festival, pictured here performing food theatre at last year's event

Organisers of the 2005 Cornwall Food and Drink Festival are aiming to establish it as one of the region's top culinary events, just one year after it was first staged. The festival dates have been confirmed as 30 September to 2 October. Truro's Lemon Quay has been booked as the venue and a 'who's who' list of Cornish chef's is already committed to taking part.

The Festival was first staged in October 2004 with huge success, attracting more than 5,000 people over two days. The event was so popular with the public that some food exhibitors sold out of produce before lunchtime. Highlights included the spectacle of food theatre with top Cornish chefs, fish filleting demonstrations and a daily fresh fish auction.

The organisation of the 2005 event is once again being led by Steve Whittingham of Fodders Restaurant in Truro, with support from sponsors Cornwall Taste of the West and Inside Cornwall Magazine. "Last year's success means we can be even more ambitious in our plans for the festival," says organiser Steve Whittingham. "The public appetite for fresh local food is growing dramatically, and an event like this will help feed and develop people's interest in and demand for Cornish produce. Ultimately it's a celebration of Cornish food, which means it's guaranteed to be fun, fascinating and filling."

The Cornwall Food and Drink Festival now hopes to join the ranks of the region's top food events like the Exeter Food and Drink Festival and Plymouth's FlavourFest. The Festival's food marquee is already taking bookings from would-be exhibitors and its demonstration kitchen is set to be busy with chefs such as Ben Tunnicliffe, Kevin Viner, Nick Barclay, Nathan Outlaw and Nigel Tabb already confirmed on the food theatre front.

A Festival Guide is being produced by food writer Sara Paston Williams in conjunction with Inside Cornwall and Cornwall's only cheese monger Stephen Gunn will be joining forces with wine guru Stephen Barrett to present a wine and cheese evening. Anyone interested in supporting or taking part in the Cornwall Food and Drink Festival should contact Grace Lobb on 01579 349363.

For further information contact Veronica Newport at on 01363 866927or email: veronica@n-pr.co.uk.

The Objective One Programme for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly has invested in Cornwall Taste of the West through the European Agricultural Guarantee and Guidance Fund (EAGGF).

Editor's notes:

Festival Partners include: Fodders Restaurant; Cornwall Taste of the West; Inside Cornwall Magazine; Alan Paston-Williams; Truro City Council; Women's Food and Farming Union

Cornwall Taste of the West is a £3 million Objective One Gateway project, funded by the European Agricultural Guarantee and Guidance Fund (EAGGF), the Department for Food, Environment and Rural Affairs (Defra) and private matched funding. It is part of the Taste of the West speciality food group. Cornwall Taste of the West's four year project includes a trade development programme, a marketing grant scheme and a capital grants scheme, available to small and medium sized food businesses that produce, sell or process foods in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. For more information log on to www.cornwalltasteofthewest.co.uk.

Veronica Newport
Tel: 01363 866927
Mob: 07808 063053

Clare Morgan
Media Relations Manager
Objective One Partnership Office
Castle House
Pydar Street
Truro TR1 2UD
Mobile: 07973 813647
Telephone: 01872 223439

cmorgan@cornwall.gov.uk

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