Festival feast to grace Arundel’s food-lovers

As Jonathan Brantigan, the chairman and co-proprietor of the Pallant of Arundel delicatessen, said at the official launch party on Thursday, the festival is an ‘unique event’ which as well as celebrating good food, also takes in a host of enjoyable community activities.

“What makes this festival unique is that, unlike others, it isn’t just about buying and selling lots of food,” he explained at the well-attended launch, held at Sage Restaurant in Tarrant Street.

“We have very particular aims. We want the festival to help people reconnect with the local landscape, its farmers and food producers, encourage shopping locally, promote locally-produced seasonal food and drink, support socially and environmentally responsible food and drink production and cut down on food waste.

“We also aim to build community spirit, and collaboration and co-operation between businesses in and around the town, but also have some fun along the way.”

Arundel and South Downs MP Nick Herbert hailed the event as a ‘great initiative’.

The festival takes place on Saturday and Sunday, October 19 to 20, and throughout the following week in the town and surrounding countryside.

The opening Saturday coincides with the monthly farmers’ market in Arundel and to complement this, shops and stalls all over Arundel will be inviting people to taste all kinds of food and other produce, including cheeses, jams, pickles, fudge, Sussex-based ales, and even quail’s eggs.

Arundel Museum will be celebrating food through the ages with authentic recipes from Roman times.

Other events include foraging for wild food in the woods at Binsted with Forest Knights, a food quiz at St Nicholas’ Church, and the return of the sell-out Wild at Sage evening where guests will dine on foraged foods from woods, hedgerow and beach.

October 20 will be ‘Activity Sunday’, promising a host of free, family-focused activities to appeal to all tastes. Events include apple pressing with the National Trust where visitors can bring along any unwanted apples and pears to be made into juice or cider.

Wayne from Forest Knights will be staging some mini-foraging events, showing children how to discover tasty treats growing locally.

Community chef Robin van Creveld will be demonstrating cookery using local, seasonal food and people will be encouraged to peddle his smoothie bike to create delicious drinks from seasonal fruit and vegetables.

Following its success last year, Arundel’s own ‘veg swap’ gives allotment holders and vegetable growers the chance to swap their own produce for other people’s.

For more details, see here.