Christchurch Food Festival

Plans are well advanced for this year's Christchurch Food & Wine Festival which runs from 11 to 20 May with TV celebrities James Martin and Lesley Waters headlining
the programme.

There will be major events on both weekends and a whole host of treats in restaurants, cafes, pubs and tea rooms over the ten days.

The popular International Food Market will be taking place on Saturday 12 May and Sunday 13 May when the High Street will be closed to traffic and lined with dozens of stalls selling a tempting array of food and drink.

A full programme of cookery demonstrations has been planned, with TV favourite James Martin showing off his culinary skills on Sunday 13 May. The Festival's patron, TV chef Lesley Waters, is always a firm favourite and she will be appearing on Saturday 12 May doing cookery demonstrations and answering questions from the audience. Chefs from a number of local restaurants will complete the programme. For 2012 the demonstration theatre will be in a new venue in the top Wick Lane car park next to the back of the Regent Centre.

A new event is taking place on the second Saturday of the Festival when a marquee on the Quomps at Christchurch Quay will be transformed into a vintage tea room for the Great Christchurch Bake Day and Fete. Aspiring bakers will be asked to conjure up their best cakes, pies, preserves and tarts and bring them along where they will be judged by the winner of TV's Great British Bake Off,
Jo Wheatley.

From Tuesday 15 May to Friday 18 May there will be a whole range of demonstrations and classes at the Festival's CookSchool, held in the Kings Hotel. There will be sessions for parents and children, chocoholics and anyone who wants to learn some cookery tips from the experts.

Young cooks will be able to take part in sessions at the Kids Kitchen at the Priory School on Saturday 12 May and Sunday 13 May. Workshops will include the Little Munchkins Cookery Parties for 3 to 6 year olds as well as classes for 7 to 10 year olds and 9 to 14 year olds.

Tickets for the CookSchool and the Kids Kitchen will be available online from The Regent Centre's website and also from their box office.

As ever, there will be a full programme of events running throughout the Festival in venues around Christchurch. The full programme will be available early in the New Year and details will be on the Festival's website at www.christchurchfoodfest.co.uk.

Mary Reader, President of the Food Festival, said: "We have a really exciting line-up of events planned for next year and we're very privileged to have chefs of the calibre of James Martin and Mary Berry to join our patron, Lesley Waters.

"I know that many restaurants and other establishments are planning some great events to complement the CookSchool and Kids Kitchen events we plan ourselves. I'm sure there'll be something of interest for everyone."