Shrewsbury Food Festival gearing up for two days of fun to mark 10th anniversary
Shrewsbury Food Festival will be celebrating its 10th anniversary when it takes place this year.
The town’s thriving food scene will be celebrated at the award-winning two-day food festival – organised by Shropshire Festivals.
The Quarry will be transformed into a foodie destination on June 24 and 25, filled with hundreds of food and drink stalls, street food trucks, bars, chef stages, and cook-along schools.
To mark the festival’s 10-year anniversary, a new logo and website have also been launched.
“We hope our new look helps people realise that this is way more than a food festival,” says Shropshire Festivals director of fun Beth Heath.
“As well as our amazing selection of food and drink producers and chefs, there will be two days filled with fun, with bars hosted by local brewers and distillers, live performances on the bandstand, free kids’ activities, a circus big top, a haven for shoppers, and a live music event.”
Top local chefs are getting booked up for The Shire Collection’s Cook Along Tent and The Shropshire Distillery Talks and Demonstrations Stage, including Stuart Collins, Anna Christoforou, Suki Pantal, James Sherwin, Carla Ernst, and Ben Hall.
Joining them will be multi-Michelin star and 5/5 AA Rosette-winning chef Jean-Christophe Novelli.
Festival head chef Chris Burt will be running the Cook Along Tent, fresh from his return to The Peach Tree.
Budding chefs can cook along with the pros at their own workstations, and feast on their dishes at the end.
There will also be a kids' cookery school, which will encourage youngsters to get hands-on and creative in the kitchen.
Both cook-along areas will ask for a small donation to charity in return for a place.
The festival will have two stages providing entertainment all weekend.
The live music stage hosts local bands playing old favourites, while people can enjoy a locally-brewed beer, a picnic on the hill or a boogie in the sunshine.
The family entertainment stage at the bandstand showcases local musical theatre performances from Get Your Wigle On.
There will be a wide choice of products from independent brands across the 200 food, drink, home and garden stalls.
No mainstream alcohol brands are allowed, so only local, independent breweries, vineyards and distilleries are enjoyed and championed.
The festival will be promoting the ‘Taste with no Waste Challenge’ from the Shrewsbury Food Hub, with its mission to reduce food waste.
Reconomy will be supporting this with a green pledge and will encourage visitors to submit their green aim for the year.
There is also a Field to Fork Area dedicated to providing engaging education on the food and agriculture sectors with interactive activities, STEM challenges, farm animals, and agricultural machinery.
Over by the bandstand, there is a dedicated kids' area where youngsters can get hands-on with new experiences, burn off the ice creams and play all day with a whole host of free activities including a circus big top.
Four-legged friends get in on the fun too, with the Dogs Trust providing a dog creche so their owners can enjoy an hour of shopping in the marquees.
Beth added: “Join us for a sunny weekend in Shrewsbury’s gorgeous park on the 24th and 25th June. You can learn from talented chefs, try amazing food and drink, shop till you drop in the Monks Home and Gardens Area, enjoy live music, get hands-on in the field to fork area, and let the little ones go wild in our kids' area packed with free activities. Great food and non-stop fun is guaranteed.”
