THE THIRD Monmouthshire Food Festival was held at Caldicot Castle over the weekend, (10th and 11th of October) with thousands of people attending.

The festival celebrated all aspects of food and drink from Monmouthshire, with visitors able to learn skills from chefs and buy an array of local produce.

The Demonstration Theatre housed culinary presentations by the best chefs and cooks from across Monmouthshire, including Master Butcher Adrian Walker from Golden Valley, and Cai England, head chef at the Piercefield St Arvans.

The Producers Market brought together the best food and drink from Monmouthshire and neighbouring counties, including chocolate from Black Mountain Gold and homemade burgers from The Parsons Nose.

There were also demonstrations by Royal Navy cooks, who showed the audience how dishes served on-board ships or submarines are prepared and cooked.

In addition to demonstration areas, a children’s quarter was hosted by Monmouthshire Youth Service.

This area involved children in practical activities such as making smoothies using bicycle power, creating healthy food-crate recipes and using rowing machines provided by Caldicot Leisure Centre.

Event organiser Charlotte Creig said: “We’ve been flat-out over the last week, but to hear that people have enjoyed it means everything.

“It’s very satisfying; some producers have been with us for all three festivals so far- we must be doing something right!

“I came to Caldicot Castle as a teenager, and I came back a few years ago and had this idea as I walked through the portcullis. It’s a wonderful venue.

“All of our demonstrations are from Monmouthshire. We also try and source as many of our suppliers from the county as we can, but because we’ve only been going for a couple of years it’s difficult.

“We’d love some more suppliers from Monmouthshire, it would be fantastic.”

General Manager of Caldicot Castle, Mike Booth said: “We were delighted to host the Monmouthshire Food festival once again. A large number of people attended on both days, the atmosphere was good and the weather was fine. There was a nice mix of cooking demonstrations, family activities and trade stands displaying a wide variety of foods produced in Monmouthshire. It was a great opportunity for producers and the community to come together.”

Pictures all courtesy of Byron Calloway