University Celebrates Local Produce At Food Festival
27 March 2012
The Old Cheese Shop joined in the Peak District Food and Drink Festival Fortnight
Over the last couple of weeks excitement has been building as visitors and residents have been experiencing the incredible food and hospitality the Peak District has to offer.
We can't wait for the festival weekend when we hope thousands of people will come and join us for this celebration of 'peak perfect food and drink'.
”Over the last two weeks, local restaurants and food producers have opened their doors to guests on the trail of fantastic seasonal food and drink during the Peak District Food and Drink Festival Fortnight. The Festival comes to a grand finale at Buxton's Devonshire Dome on March 31 and April 1 from 10am to 10pm.
Over the Festival weekend, the University of Derby's Buxton Campus will become a bustling marketplace showcasing the very best produce the Peak District has to offer to thousands of hungry visitors.
Stallholders including Bluebell Dairy Ice Cream, Bloomers Original Bakewell Pudding, Grandpa Lews, and Robinson's Speciality Pies will be selling their fine local produce including cheeses, cakes, meats and breads from across the Peak District.
Liquid refreshment will be available from a selection of breweries, offering locally brewed ales and ciders on tap; and live music from bands Frontline Music, the Skagz, Fires and Fireplaces, Alex Cowlishaw, Simon Wragg will provide the soundtrack to the two-day event until 10pm.
Local chefs, Alan Hill from the Devonshire Arms at Beeley and Pilsley, Max Fischer from Fischers at Baslow Hall, and Simon Bradley from East Lodge in Rowsley, will be demonstrating dishes they like to cook with seasonal produce. Chef-lecturers Gary Hammond and Robert Stordy from the University of Derby Buxton's Culinary Arts team will also be giving cookery demonstrations throughout the festival.
Young aspiring chefs will compete in the final of the Peak District's Junior Master Chef 2012 in collaboration with Tideswell School of Food on Saturday March 31.
After three gruelling rounds of competition the two young finalists will be cooking their 'signature dish', which will be judged by invited chefs.
Amateur adult bakers will also have a go at taking home a trophy, as the final of the Great Amateur Bake Off competition really heats up between 2pm and 4pm on Sunday April 1.
Dr Liz Oldfield, Project Leader at the University of Derby Buxton, who has organised the Festival along with Dome Events Management, said: "Over the last couple of weeks excitement has been building as visitors and residents have been experiencing the incredible food and hospitality the Peak District has to offer.
"We can't wait for the festival weekend when we hope thousands of people will come and join us for this celebration of 'peak perfect food and drink'."
Any businesses interested in taking part in the Festival fortnight or the two-day Peak District Food and Drink Fair should contact event organiser Emily Ibbotson on 01332 594606 or E.Ibbotson@derby.ac.uk as soon as possible to guarantee their stall.
For more information visit website www.extendingtheseason.co.uk
The Festival is part of the University of Derby Buxton's three year Extending the Season project financed by a grant from LEADER in the Peak District Rural Action Zone. This is part of the Rural Development Programme for England, jointly funded by Defra and the European Union, and delivered by Derbyshire Economic Partnership (DEP).
