The first Monmouthshire Food Festival will be held at Caldicot Castle on 11th and 12th October.

The brand new event will feature military caterers, cooking demonstrations, and children's workshops.

The aim of the festival is to

promote the food and drink of local producers together with the finest products from neighbouring counties.

At the festival, there will be a programme of cookery demonstrations, children's workshops, master classes and tutored tastings which will show how to eat healthily and eat well. A cookery demonstration with a difference will be on offer courtesy of the chefs from the Catering Platoon of 1st Battalion The Rifles (1RIFLES). During the festival you will be able to see live shows throughout the day, including plenty of suggestions for busy working parents to conjure up nutritionally balanced meals that won't break the bank. The chefs will work from an Operation Field kitchen as they would when deployed on exercise or operations, using military rations supplemented with local produce. The chefs will also be able to answer your catering questions and perhaps dispel a few myths. The day is a chance to see the chefs at work, taste some of the recipes that soldiers get on the front line and maybe gain some culinary inspiration. The producers' market will have top quality food and drink from the local area and further afield. The festival is an opportunity to talk to the people who make the delicious products on offer and give your taste buds a treat. In the Children's Quarter there will be lots to see and do. Learn about different foods, taste a variety of foods to see what you like best. The 'Look and Learn' area will give visitors an opportunity to find out about lots of different food and drink. Hear about how cider and perry are made and taste a few to see which you like best. Watch Jules, Master Chocolatier at Black Mountain Gold, and learn how Artisan chocolates are made and maybe taste some too. A Master Brewer will also be present with to give a 'Taste and Talk' on the art of brewing.