CULTURE 09

St Albans Food and Drink Festival

Saturday 20th June – Sunday 5th July

www.stalbansfoodanddrinkfestival.com

St Albans Food and Drink Festival.

St Albans Food and Drink Festival is back this summer, and local gastronomy-lovers are in for a treat as an extra-large portion of foodie events and activities are served up for the Festival’s second year. Organisers promise even more participating restaurants, more foodie events across the city and district and an even bigger and better Outdoor Finale Event on the final weekend of 4th – 5th July on St Peter’s Street. There’ll be something on the menu for all local residents and plenty to tempt visitors from further afield too.

The second St Albans Food and Drink Festival kicks off this Saturday, here are a few highlights!

EVENTS AT ST ALBANS BEST RESTAURANTS, BARS, CAFES AND PUBS!
20th June – 5th July
A host of events are taking place in your local  food and drink establishments. From medieval dinners, ghost tours and summer BBQs to Champagne Launches and Whisky Tastings, there’s something to choose from every day during the Festival fortnight.
Get your diaries out and visit www.stalbansfoodanddrinkfestival.com to plan your fortnight.

FESTIVAL DISH CONTEST SPONSORED BY POGGENPOHL KITCHENS!
The Festival is all about celebrating St Albans, as a wonderful place to live, work and most importantly eat! Therefore, SAFDF have teamed up with Poggenpohl to challenge all St Albans City and District’s residents to create an Official Festival Dish for SAFDF 2009! 

Not only will the lucky winner receive the prestige of being crowned the talented creator of the official Festival Dish 2009. They’ll also take home a fabulous Gaggenau Dishwasher courtesy of Poggenpohl!

Gaggenau, the luxury kitchen brand featuring the ultimate in timeless, beautiful design with over 300 years experience, are offering one of their most sought-after products to one lucky local cook!

Their professional dishwashers do the washing-up in the best possible manner – energy-saving, effectively and, above all, quietly. A powerful silence that leaves more time for enjoyment.

To be in with a chance of winning this fabulous prize, Herts Ad Readers must create a dish that they think deserves to be named the Official Festival Dish 2009. The main criterion is that it is inspired by St Albans. Whether you use produce that’s grown in the area (maybe even by your good self in your back garden), themes that are appropriate to the City and District’s rich cultural heritage, or even inspired by one of your favourite local sports teams or schools, the Festival wants to hear from you!

To enter the competition readers must send their recipe idea to the Festival Office by no later than 20th June. You must explain how you have come up with the recipe, how it is inspired by St Albans and why you think it deserves to be Official Festival Dish 2009.

Finalists will be invited to bring their dishes to the Poggenpohl Studio on London Road during the Festival where it will be judged by a panel of experts, and one finalist will be crowned winner and presented with their fabulous prize.

SAFDF FINALE WEEKEND
ST ALBANS FOOD AND DRINK FESTIVAL GALA DINNER AND AWARDS
3RD July, Sopwell House Hotel
Kicking off the Festival Finale Weekend, the St Albans Food and Drink Festival Gala Dinner and Awards will be the culmination event to a fantastic food fortnight.
Not only will guests enjoy a 5 course banquet with matching wines courtesy of Flagship Wines and Alterocca, but they’ll also be the first to find out who takes home the first SAFDF Awards. The public have been voting for the shortlists in their droves, and the final winners will be revealed exclusively at this event and presented with their awards by celebrity host Aldo Zilli.

Aldo, chef patron of the leading ‘Zilli’ restaurant brand, is one of the food’s most flamboyant characters. Famed for his masterful approach to Italian cuisine, Aldo is now a member of the Ready Steady Cook team, and makes regular appearances on a host of TV cookery and entertainment shows.

The Gala Dinner will be the culmination event for the whole Festival, set in the stunning surroundings of Sopwell House.

After dinner guests will enjoy anecdotes from Aldo’s, who will then host a charity auction where some fabulous foodie prizes will available including a gourmet weekend break to Tuscany courtesy of Strozzi Wines. This will all be followed by the St Albans Food and Drink Festival Awards ceremony and a dancing till midnight!

SAFDF WINE FESTIVAL
4TH – 5TH July, St Albans Old Town Hall
St Albans Town Hall will play host to a very special Wine Festival as part of SAFDF, following the success of last year’s Big Festival Wine Tasting. The tasting was so popular in 2008 that organisers have decided to extend the event to take place over the whole of the Festival Finale Weekend.

The event will once again be staged in association with local wine merchants, Cellar Door Wines.

There’ll be 9 wine importers attending the Festival, each showing around 12 wines, which means there’ll be over 100 wines available to taste!

This is no ordinary tasting – the wines will range from the cheap and cheerful to the high-end wines and Champagnes, all in keeping with Cellar Door’s ethos of sourcing wines from only the highest quality boutique wine producers – many of the wines exclusive to Cellar Door Wines themselves. As well as the expert opinion from the wine producers themselves, Cellar Door owners Miles and Peter Lilliott will also be on hand to provide further pearls of wisdom and tasting guidelines.

Whether you’re a connoisseur or a total novice when it comes to wine, there truly is something for all tastes at this very special Festival Highlight Event. 

Tickets for the event are just £3! This gets Festival-goers 5 tasters, all of which are generous helping so please leave the car at home. More tickets are available thereafter, also at £3 for a further 5 tastings.  Tickets can be bought in advance from Cellar Door Wines or on the door.

FINALE WEEKEND STREET FESTIVAL
5TH July, St Peters Street and Market Place
An outdoor street festival will provide the perfect end to SAFDF, as the City Centre is transformed into a haven for foodies.

To celebrate the incredible range of restaurants, chefs and gastronomic talent in St Albans,  7 of the City’s best dining brands will take to the streets to bring a ‘Taste of St Albans’ to the people, provide chef demonstrations and sample their wares for a whole day of food festival fun!

Included as part of the celebrations on Sunday 5th July:

• Festival Chef Demonstration Theatre. Situated on Market Place, this will be the location for a full programme of cookery demonstrations hosted by the City and District’s top chefs.
• Festival Street Dining. St Albans best restaurants will be providing taster menus, samplers and different takes on their usual menus, creating a Festival food court with a uniquely local flavour! Festival-goers can sample cuisine from the likes of Lussmans, Kashu, Portland Arms, Marco’s Tapas, Verulam Arms, Cafe Rouge and Carluccio’s St Albans. Then stroll over to the seating area and enjoy a real taste of St Albans.
• Wine Festival. Taking place in St Albans Old Town Hall.
• Farmers Markets. An array of local producers will be selling their wares on St Peters Street especially to mark the SAFDF.
• Live Music. At SAFDF Community Stage.
• Fuze Festival. Courtesy of St Albans Festival, Fuze returns to the streets of St Albans this year with a Stateside theme. The Main Stage will host a packed music programme celebrating the best in American music.The city will be buzzing with walkabout acts plus cheerleaders and lots of things for the children to do especially Kidzone which offers activities for the children including crafts, rides and a climbing wall.

Activity will be staged on St Peters Street and all the way down to Market Place and outside the Clock Tower. Entry is free, and the event is open from 11am – 9pm on Sunday 5th July.

For further information please visit www.stalbansfoodanddrinkfestival.com