SOMERSET FOOD TRAIL
JOIN US FOR THE NEXT SOMERSET FOOD TRAIL FESTIVAL: 14-30 JULY 2023
LOCAL, SUSTAINABABLE, DELICIOUS!
Thanks to everyone who came or took part in our Somerset Food Trail Festival this summer, which celebrated the best of locally produced, delicious and sustainable food. What a crazily flavourful ten days it was ! And the first of its kind – an event focused specifically on our smaller-scale, more nature-friendly farmers and artisan producers – the local food heroes who are leading the transition to a new agroecological era of food and farming!
The 2022 Festival featured more than 190 farmers, growers, food producers, cafés, pubs and restaurants. Around 8,500 people took part in one of 247 events over the ten-day Festival. More than 7,000 people visited the website, the online brochure was viewed more than 7,600 times, with 10,000 print copies distributed countywide, and 85% of visitors said they would participate again. Read more in our evaluation report ~ and get ready for the next festival in 2023!
INTERESTED IN TAKING PART
IN THE 2023 FOOD TRAIL?
The Somerset Food Trail Festival celebrates the farms, landscapes, people and places behind Somerset’s most flavourful and nature-friendly food.
We have expanded the festival's 10 days to 17 days, to add a third weekend. We are also focusing on quality, rather than quantity, to provide a great visitor experience.
The theme for 2023 is feasts and tastings – we want to get everyone sampling our fantastic produce. We're issuing a 'Thirty-mile Feast' challenge – we're inviting venues to create feasts and tastings where most of the food has been sourced from a 30-mile radius. And, no, we don't mean the local supermarket – unless they stock local, sustainably produced food!
Examples of 'feasts' that worked well in the 2022 festival include:
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Frome Field2Fork's tour of its community market garden to harvest food for an evening cook-up over the fire
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The ticketed events by Lucas Hollweg in Bruton and William Sitwell in Wiveliscombe, using local produce and (in Lucas's case) a talk about the local wines featured on his 'Twenty- mile menu'.
DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS
15 MARCH 2023
ABOUT THE FOOD TRAIL FESTIVAL
A FARM TO FORK SHOWCASE
Based on the 'open studios' model of arts trails, the Somerset Food Trail Festival sees farmers, growers and food producers open their doors to the public at set times in July.
From biodynamic vineyards to community-funded food forests; aquaponic market gardens to milk-based vodka distillers; fermenters, foragers, smokeries, goat herders, bakeries: you name it, it’s here. And that’s before you get started on the cider and the cheese!
WHAT'S INVOLVED?
The festival offers a wealth of experiences from farm visits, beer and cheese tasting and vineyard tours to sausage and cider festivals, fermenting and pickling demonstration, foraging workshops and introductory sessions on aquaponics.
There's also live music, book talks and family-friendly creative workshops and performances, thanks to our partners Take Art and the Cultivate project.
Take a look at the Festival Guide below to get an idea of who was involved in the 2022 Food Trail.
Click here if you would like to see a version on a bigger screen. Bon appetit!
Our aim is to showcase the range and richness of Somerset’s sustainable producers, while highlighting the crucial role we can all play in creating a shift to more nature-friendly farming through our everyday food choices.
MORE ABOUT THE 2022 FESTIVAL
FOLLOW THE FLAVOUR
SOCIAL MEDIA
"Somerset is an amazing, beautiful county, producing food that’s recognised around the world. I’m delighted to support the Somerset Food Trail as a way of encouraging people to ‘buy local’, find out more about how food is made, and learn what farmers are doing to protect and care for the environment.”
MICHAEL EAVIS,
Dairy farmer and founder of Glastonbury Festival
The food trail is mostly free, although there is a modest charge for some special events. Participating pubs and restaurants celebrate local food with a special menu during the event.
