Rob Clayton, of  Blueberry Hill Preserves hands over some cheese to Libby Guy, Melissa Bibble and Zoe Dunbar to try at the Great British Food Festival at Hardwick Hall.Rob Clayton, of  Blueberry Hill Preserves hands over some cheese to Libby Guy, Melissa Bibble and Zoe Dunbar to try at the Great British Food Festival at Hardwick Hall.
Rob Clayton, of Blueberry Hill Preserves hands over some cheese to Libby Guy, Melissa Bibble and Zoe Dunbar to try at the Great British Food Festival at Hardwick Hall.

Great British Food Festival draws 7,500 visitors to Hardwick Hall

Visitors to the Great British Food Festival at Hardwick Hall had their appetites satisfied by an array of artisan fare, chef demos and competitions.

The three-day event attracted 7,500 people to buy the wares of more than 100 food producers and soak up the entertainment.

Sandy Doherty and Howard Middleton, contestants in The Great British Bake-off in 2015 and 2013 respectively, were among the experts demonstrating their skills and sharing tips with their audiences.

Dan Maycock from the organising team said: “All the chef demos proved popular, Man vs Food had a big crowd and our new addition of ‘grow your own’ workshops went down well.”

Children’s cookery classes were a hot favourite, live bands entertained the crowds and forager walks enabled visitors to search out wild food on the Hardwick estate.

Ruth Hallam said on the festival’s Facebook page: “Great day out. Lovely smiley event, staff and traders. Well worth a visit.”

Mandy Barton commented: “Fantastic day. Thank you so much.”

Hardy visitors braved torrential downpours on Friday to welcome the attraction back to Hardwick Hall after its absence in 2020 because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Dan Maycock said: “The rain put a few off. No major issues as it dried quickly, thankfully.”

The festival will return in 2022 and organisers hope to release tickets shortly. For updates, go to https://greatbritishfoodfestival.com/hardwick-hall

Dan Maycock from the organising team said: “All the chef demos proved popular, Man vs Food had a big crowd and our new addition of ‘grow your own’ workshops went down well.”