The third annual Woking Food and Drink Festival 2015, which took place from Friday 4 to Sunday 6 September 2015, was another mouth-watering ‘feastival’ and attracted record numbers of visitors, exhibitors and chefs.
Shortly after the festival had taken place and topping off the event's success, the festival was also crowned Best Local Food Event at the Surrey Life Food and Drink Awards 2015.
Exhibitors
Over 80 exhibitors, incorporating Market Walk (the town’s contemporary undercover market), offered a selection of freshly prepared dishes and produce heralding from many corners of the world, including the Caribbean, France, Germany, Greece, Hungry, India, Italy, Latin America, Korea, South Africa, Spain, Thailand, Turkey, the UK, Vietnam and, of course, Woking!
Foodies were in heaven as they foraged amongst the many produce stalls bursting with artisan products, including breads, jams and chutneys, champagne and wine, ale, beer, cider, condiments, nuts and olives, cheeses, celebration cakes, meats and sausages, cupcakes, specialist kitchen knives, and much more.
Tante Marie Culinary Academy Theatre
Back by popular demand, the Tante Marie Culinary Academy Theatre took centre stage in Jubilee Square. Throughout the three-day festival, the theatre served up a healthy portion of tasty, live cooking demonstrations delivered by a range of prestigious celebrity and local chefs.
Headlining the theatre were celebrity chefs Monica Galetti, co-presenter and judge on BBC Two's MasterChef: The Professionals, and John Whaite, Great British Bake Off winner 2012, presenter and food writer.
Talking about his Woking debut, Great British Bake Off winner, John Whaite, said: “My demonstrations were great fun with a great crowds of people. The Woking Food and Drink Festival is lovely! It’s got lots of variety, lots of people, it feels busy, there’s lots of produce. In my eyes it’s the perfect festival.”
Adding her thoughts to the mix, chef, co-presenter and judge on MasterChef: The Professionals, Monica Galetti, said: “Food festivals are very important. They are a great way for restaurateurs and suppliers to keep in touch with the public. People need to know what’s available to them, to have a bit of taste, so that they think, ‘yeah I want to try this’. The recession is still on. We need the support of people to come in [to town] and dine out. Festivals keep people in touch with food; people can try the food and try the wine. They draw people out and bring the community together.
“I’ve been involved in a lot of food festivals, some in parks, and some as part of shows. Woking is a community and it’s well set up for it. People in Woking have turned up very early to be a part of this festival. They are genuinely excited and interested in food. The festival is compact, it has a neat little buzz and it’s got a nice feel to it.”
Masterclasses
An addition to the festival line up, the newly relocated Tante Marie Culinary Academy hosted three days of culinary masterclasses in its 'Live Kitchen' at the state-of-the-art Academy in Commercial Way, Woking. The only chargeable part of the festival, a nominal fee of £10 plus a small administration fee was applied to each masterclass booking, generating over £500 for local charity, LinkAble.
Led by Tante Marie’s qualified and experienced instructors, the menu of masterclasses offered participants the chance to perfect pasta, master the art of macarons, create delicious Danish pastries, decorate eye-catching cup cakes, and learn the secret of Tante Marie’s signature and formidable twice-baked haddock soufflé.
Children's cookery classes
Children of all ages had the opportunity to experiment, play and learn. They discovered how to combine basic ingredients to create delicious items, such as jammy biscuits and rainbow biscuits, which could be taken home to share with all the family.
Also included in the children’s cookery timetable was Kid’s Food Laboratory workshops, where they had the chance to experiment with food and combine simple ingredients with spectacular results! The messy experiments included creating jelly eruptions, edible slime and bicarb rockets!
Broil King BBQ demonstration stage
‘Cooking on gas’, the Broil King BBQ Demonstration Stage delivered a series of free, drop-in sessions demonstrating how to BBQ fish and how to create gourmet burgers with all the fixings, BBQ desserts and BBQ side dishes and marinades.
Visitors also had the chance to experience the ‘thrill of the grill’ for themselves by putting their BBQ skills to the test and cooking alongside Richard to create their own masterpieces!
Adding some extra sizzle to the festival experience, four lucky grillers each won a Broil King BBQ just by entering a free prize draw!
Woking Shopping Bake Off competition
Adding a generous helping of celebrity sparkle to Woking’s own bake off competition, John Whaite, Great British Bake Off winner 2012, food writer and guest chef on ITV’s Lorraine show, had the pleasurable task of picking two star bakers after inspecting and sampling a whopping 28 cakes!
Caron Moses picked up the Adult Bake Off prize for her coconut, lemon and raspberry show-stopper, while Lois Malbon was crowned the winner of the Junior Bake Off with her ‘Teddy Bear’s Picnic’ blueberry sponge, which John described as having ‘everything from great presentation, flavour and moisture’.
Both Bake Off winners won a cookery course at Tante Marie Culinary Academy and two John Whaite cookbooks signed with a personal message from the man himself.
Celebrity book signings
Attracting long queues within the Peacocks Shopping Centre, Monica Galetti and John Whaite delighted foodie fans by posing for individual photos and writing personalised messages to visitors within their respective cookbooks.
