Food festival goes with a banger! (From Western Telegraph)

Food festival goes with a banger!

A feast of tasty delights for the palate and the mind was served up at the weekend when the fourth Narberth Food Festival was on the menu.

Music, entertainment, poetry and, of course, food were all in the melting pot for the two-day event, which has established itself as one of Wales' leading community food festivals.

While the festival encompassed cuisine from India and Europe, it was Pembrokeshire produce that was at its heart at the Food and Drink fair in the Queens Hall.

Fruit and vegetables, bread and cheese, sauces and preserves, cakes, meat, herbs, fudge, wine and liqueurs were all for sale in the event, which also featured live cookery demonstrations.

Showing off their culinary skills were Junior Welsh Chef of the Year, Gareth Dwyer; Roger Bannister of the Blue Dolphin, Tenby, Ann Owston of The Georges, Haverfordwest, and Pembrokeshire County Council's food and craft officer, Kate Morgan.

Said festival committee member Jackie Palit: "The weekend was excellent, and many people commented on the lively atmosphere that the Festival generated. While we've established a successful formula for the event, we are always looking for new elements to add to it, and this year we had talks by food writer Elisabeth Luard and French food and drink enthusiast Peter Preece, which really went down well."

Launching his new Landsker sausage at the Festival was Narberth butcher Andrew Rees. Welsh lamb, rosemary, honey and fresh leek are used in this latest speciality banger, which he hopes will follow his own tasty Narberth sausage in the popularity stakes.

"I sell as many Narberth sausages in my shop as the rest put together," he said. "The holidaymakers really go for it, as well as locals from all over Pembrokeshire, and they seem to like the Landsker as well."

Children from Narberth CP School helped provide entertainment at the festival with a music-packed parade after a workshop with high-energy brass band The Real Macaws.

Street entertainment was provided around the town on Saturday by the Bread & Butter Theatre Co., Maynard Flip Flap and Stickleback Plasticus; the Cafe Ole was packed on Thursday night for 'Poppadoms and Poems' with Ifor Thomas and the Cambridge Footlights took to the stage of the Queens Hall on Saturday night. The weekend concluded with Narberth Film Society's showing of 'Eat, Drink, Man, Woman'.

l If you have ideas for future Narberth Food Festivals, or would like to be involved, then contact PLANED on (01834) 860965.

CAPTION

TOP: Serving up his latest speciality sausage at Narberth Food Festival is local butcher Andrew Rees (second right). His Landsker sausage - a creation of Welsh lamb, rosemary, honey and fresh leek - was launched at the Festival, and looks set to be just as popular as his tasty Narberth sausage. Diving in for a taste are, from the left, Pembrokeshire County Council food and craft officer Kate Morgan and Food Festival committee members Wynne Evans and Jo Hammond. PICTURE: Western Telegraph.