Thousands attend food festival's 20th birthday
Thousands of people flocked to a food festival over the weekend, as the event marked its 20th anniversary.
More than 8,000 people are expected to have attended Llangollen Food Festival on Saturday and Sunday, with 130 different stands available for visitors.
Organising committee member Pip Gale said they were thrilled with the attendance.
He said: “Visitors numbers are once again high and people are appreciating that the festival is bigger and better than ever.
“This year, by way of celebrating our 20th anniversary, we’ve added about 20 per cent more stands making a total of 130.
“They are both outside in front of the Pavilion and inside, with a performance area just off the main hall and, for the first time, upstairs too.
“We’ve also tried to present a much more varied mix of stands and activities, such as giving people the chance to try bread making and take part in wine tastings.
"As we mark our two decades we’re also celebrating being named as one of the Top 10 food festivals in the UK by the Independent and Daily Telegraph newspapers.”
Among the host of crowd-pullers this year were cooking displays from top chefs Bryan Webb from the Michelin-starred Tyddyn Llan, former captain of the Wales Culinary team Graham Tinsley and the ever-popular Dai Chef who was there with his son, Daniel, the youngest head sommelier in the UK.
Rhian Owen from the Siwgr a Sbeis bakery – translated as Sugar and Spice in English – in Llanrwst has taken a stall at the festival to show off her hand-made cakes and confectionery every year since 1997, and said she just had to be there to mark its 20th birthday.
She said: “The first one was quite a small affair and all the exhibitors were in just one area of the Pavilion but I’ve seen it go from strength to strength since then.
“It’s good for business and what I love about it is the lovely friendly atmosphere you always get."
