Crowds flock to Horsham for Big Nibble celebrations

Organised by Horsham District Council and taking place on Saturday and Sunday September 3 and 4, The Big Nibble is a perfect opportunity for foodies of all ages to savour diverse tastes and meet the producers behind Horsham’s local food and drink.

The festival spirit will be in full flow with food stalls, music and various food based entertainments.

Gordon Lindsay, Horsham District Council Cabinet Member for the Local Economy said: “Horsham town centre’s Big Nibble is the launch event for the council’s district wide Food and Drink Festival, the annual guide for which is available now.

‘‘Our team have sought to engage and support as many local producers and food and drink companies as possible and I am delighted that so many have chosen to be involved. I hope that our residents and visitors will come along and support all those taking part.”

This year the Carfax Live Cookery Theatre will be running on both Saturday and Sunday, giving visitors even more opportunity to see a fantastic mixture of chefs and local producers showcasing their talents and giving tips on how to improve your cooking skills.

With previous schedules containing the likes of Master Chef Winners and Michelin Star awarded chefs, they are bound to teach even the most experienced chef something new.

This year the Cookery Theatre is being supported by Park House Kitchens who will be on site to help you plan your very own gourmet cookery theatre at home.

The Big Nibble’s little sister will again be coming to the festival on Saturday and Sunday in the form of ‘The Little Nibble’. Based at the Forum, this is the food festival of children’s dreams with loads of fun activities to get involved with, including food experiments with Master Chef winner Steven Edwards, cookery lessons with Kitchen Academy, a crazy food figure competition and exploring Asian cuisine with Wagamama. All perfect for smaller mouths.

There is also storytelling with a visit from the Gruffalo and demonstrations on Sunday from the brand new Gruffalo Crumble cookbook.

There are also some great new experiences to enjoy at this year’s Big Nibble, including two new activities in the Bishopric.

On Big Nibble Saturday you can experience some refined wine tasting in Cloud Gallery as they have teamed up with Bolney Wine Estate, a family ran vineyard from the heart of Sussex, to deliver the complete experience of complimentary tutored wine tasting with award winning wines and exploring the fantastic artwork in the gallery. Tasting will be between 11am and 3pm, so don’t miss out.

The second new activity in the Bishopric is the fantastic TajRiba Experience Afrika on Big Nibble Sunday. A fantastic opportunity to enjoy various African delights, with authentic food stalls, arts and crafts, cultural dance and music.

Also on Sunday, enjoy the International Food Festival displays and tasters in East Street as a number of resident food businesses compete for the best food display award. Taking part this year are Buenos Aries, Giggling Squid, Marion de Montfort, Nandos and Wabi.

Returning this year for both days of the Big Nibble food celebration is firm favourite the Horsham Beer Trail. Pick up your taster glass and trail passport from this year’s trail sponsor, Hepworth Brewery in the Carfax.

A council spokesperson said: ‘‘Please share your photos and videos about the food festival using #TheBigNibble.

‘‘The Big Nibble is the launch event for the District Food and Drink Festival, make sure to pick up your free festival guide from any participating business or from the Horsham Visitor Information Centre. You can also download the guide or read it online at www.horshamlocalproduce.co.uk.’’

For the first time, from September 1 to 10, Henfield will host its own food and drink festival. The ten days of activity sees Alice in Wonderland themed competitions, including the Mad Hatter Tea Party Trail which is a treasure hunt for, amongst other items, the Hatter’s Hat, his tea set, ‘drink me’ bottles and the Queen of Hearts tarts.

There is also a Jam Tart making competition and Mad Hatter cupcake decorating – fun for the little ones too.

The Festival culminates in Henfield’s first HenFood Street Food Festival, described as ‘a feast of local street food, drink and music’ and being held behind the post office and in the library car park on Saturday September 10 from noon.