One of the region’s biggest celebrations of all things epicurean returns on September 3 and 4. From street food to scrumptious cakes, here are just some of the stalls at the North Norfolk Food and Drink Festival at Holkham that you won’t want to miss.
Candi’s Cupboard
This year Candi Robertson is marking a whole decade of livening up lunch and dinner times – and she has been coming to the North Norfolk Food and Drink Festival since its very early days.
Stock up your larder with her award-winning chutneys, such as Great Taste Award holder spiced carrot or parsnip and chilli, steak sauces and “weirdly wonderful” relish range.
Norfolk Doggy Deli
Dogs are more than welcome at the North Norfolk Food and Drink Festival – and they’re well catered for too. Norfolk Doggy Deli started baking their dog treats during the 2020 lockdown – a bit different to sourdough and banana bread like the rest of us.
Packed with high quality ingredients, their home-made range includes Calm and Relax biscuits, which contain camomile and lemon balm and are recommended before bedtime, car journeys or any time your dog is feeling anxious.
Burn Valley Vineyard
Norfolk is at the vanguard of British wine making. On Burn Valley Vineyard's 12 acres on the Robinson family farm at North Creake, they’ve got 17,000 vines, and grow nine different varieties, which thrive in their chalky soil – Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Bacchus, Solaris, Sable Blanc, Regent, Rondo and Sayval.
Legendary wine writer Jancis Robinson is a fan of their Pinot Blanc Reserve.
Staithe Smokehouse
Bringing a taste of the seaside to the festival, stop by Staithe Smokehouse’s stall for smoked salmon, haddock, kippers, scallops, kiln roasted mackerel, rainbow trout, home-made smoked salmon mousse, cockles, smoked crevettes and prawns.
Leigh’s Bees
Leigh Goodsell has loved bees since he was young and he bought his first hive by saving up his pocket money.
Leigh’s Bees’s honey is unblended to retain their own unique tastes, and the apiaries are carefully placed to enable to bees to forage a specific range of nectar, such as sea lavender from the north Norfolk saltmarshes or the ivy-clad hedgerows at Narford.
Simply Cake Co
Susanna Lemon launched Simply Cake Co in west Norfolk in 2017 with one aim: to get people eating better cakes. And now her letterbox brownies and cakes spread joy right across the country.
Her bakes are made with love in King’s Lynn from the best quality ingredients: proper Belgian chocolate, local free-range eggs and proper butter, making them super indulgent – and they’re all gluten free.
This summer, her ice cream flavoured brownies – which come in raspberry ripple, rum and raisin, Neapolitan, mint choc chip, Mr Whippy and cookie dough varieties - have been a huge hit.
Marsh Pig
Award-winning Marsh Pig has really put Norfolk on the British charcuterie map. From salami and chorizo to air dried pork and beef and rare breed beef jerky, all their meat is free range, sourced from small scale producers and packed full of flavour, perfect for creating grazing boards and platters at home.
Fen Farm Dairy
Bungay-based Fen Farm Dairy puts sustainability at the heart of everything it does, making Baron Bigod brie, Bungay Butter, Skyr and mascarpone using raw milk from their Montbeliarde cows. Earlier this week it was announced that they’ve made the shortlist in the Sustainable Farmer of the Year category at the British Farming Awards 2022.
Bread Source
Stop by Norwich and Aylsham artisan bakery Bread Source’s stall to pick up one of their beautifully crafted sourdough or spelt loaves – and a sweet treat or two.
Their giant, pillowy cinnamon buns (paired with good coffee) are one of our favourites.
Mindful Mixology
North Norfolk-based Mindful Mixology create award-winning bottled cocktails ready to pour and serve, with less sugar and featuring local ingredients.
The Salted Coconut Espresso Martini, Grapefruit Margarita and Lychee Martini are all Great Taste Award winners - as is their alcohol-free Grapefruit Margarita.
Mrs Temple’s
No Norfolk cheeseboard is complete without Mrs Temple’s punchy Binham Blue and buttery brie-style Copys Cloud.
They’re handmade from the milk of Brown Swiss cattle which graze on the grass meadows at Wighton near Wells, using sustainable farming practices and green energy.
And at the cookery theatre...
The Arthur Howell Cookery Theatre, hosted by EDP food columnist Andy Newman, runs on both days and has a packed programme of chef demonstrations, with both up and coming and well established names taking part - and all using local, seasonal ingredients.
Arthur himself always teams up with his friend and local chef patron Chris Coubrough of The Crown Hotel in Wells, who is also chair of the festival.
Michael Chamberlain, head chef at Holkham’s Victoria Inn, will be cooking with venison from the estate’s own herd, Fran Hartshorne from the White Horse at Brancaster Staithe will be using seafood to create something special, and Scott Taylor from The Harper at Langham is all about puddings.
Also expect to see Abbi Saunt from Creake Abbey Food Hall and Cafe, Rajan Verma from Currylicious, Gary Stewart from The Hoste in Burnham Market, local cookery school teacher Na Hansell, and Joe Walker who works for the Chestnut group of hotels which includes The Globe in Wells.
Local producers are also taking part, with David Holliday from Moongazer Ales talking about his microbrewery and how to bake with beer, while Sarah and Patrick Saunders of Black Shuck Gin will be talking about their range of gins and spirits, and Sarah Savage of Essence Foods will be demonstrating her range of mustards, preserves and more.
The festival opens from 10am to 4pm on both days. Entry is free and car parking is available at £5 per vehicle. northnorfolkfoodfestival.co.uk
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