This year's Christchurch Food & Wine Festival looks set to be bigger and better than ever.

Food and drink stalls, a demonstration

theatre, celebrity chefs and children’s

entertainment are just some of the attractions

visitors can look forward to next weekend.

The main part of the event, now in its 16th

year, takes place from May 9

and 10, and has now expanded to cover two

main sites in the town.

There will be a traditional Festival Market in

the pedestrianised High Street and Church

Street as usual, but this year there will also be

a new Festival Village on the Quomps at

Christchurch Quay.

Festival chairman Vicki Hallam told Taste: “The 2015 festival will be

bigger than ever as we spread out to another

new location with the Festival Village on the

Quomps.

“We’re all working hard to make sure this

new addition is something that will entice

everyone who comes to the market in the

High Street to come down to the Quomps as

well. There really will be something for

everyone at this year’s festival.”

The Festival Village will include food and

drink stalls making a perfect picnic area if the

weather is good.

It will also be the venue for the

demonstration theatre where the headline act

on Saturday, May 9 will be the Jamaican chef

famous for his Reggae Reggae products, Levi

Roots.

Appearing in the demonstration theatre on

Sunday, May 10 will be TV chef Dean

Edwards who was a Masterchef finalist in

2006 and is currently a resident chef on ITV’s

Lorraine. The festival’s patron, TV chef Lesley

Waters, will also be appearing on the Sunday.

There will plenty for the family to enjoy at

the Festival Village as there will be the

children’s entertainer, Jules, on both days as

well as entertainment in the band stand.

There will also be a VIP tent located there.

On Sunday, May 10, the Kings Arms will be

hosting a Family Fun Day on the bowling

green opposite the hotel. Organisers say the

day was popular last year and are expecting

many families to attend again to try the stalls

and enjoy a picnic.

Kids Kitchen at The Priory School, running

on May 9 and 10, will give children of all ages

the chance to try their hand at cooking

various dishes. Places are limited and can be

booked via The Regent Centre.

Although the main event of the festival takes

place over that weekend, events are taking

place in restaurants, cafes and pubs

throughout the month of May.

There are also a number of ‘trails’ which

people can go on throughout the month.

Some 13 cafes in the borough are taking part

in a Coffee and Cake trail whereby people

can go round trying out the offerings at each

or any of them for £3.50.

A couple of alcoholic trails are also available –

a Cocktail Trail at six venues will allow two

people to try specially concocted cocktails for

£10 for the two while an Ale Trail gives 50p

off pints of real ale at six pubs in the borough.

Held in association with Christchurch

Food & Wine Festival, the Highcliffe

Revival Food Festival will take place this

year on Saturday, May 16.

The theme of the event will be to shop

local and support the food producers with

lots of artisan food, seafood and meets

from the local deli and butcher.

Food stalls, demonstrations and lots of

street entertainment is also planned, and

celebrity TV chef and author Valentine

Warner will be giving demonstrations and

attending a lunch at the Cliffhanger

restaurant.

Other chefs appearing in the festival

demonstration theatre will be

Christchurch’s James Golding, chefdirector

at the Pig group of hotels, and

Luke Matthews, executive chef at the

Chewton Glen Hotel.

Simon Hallam and Jez Lenton will be

representing the Lord Bute restaurant, and

Cliffhanger head chef Stuart Parker will

be demonstrating samples of the new

summer menus.

Award-winning local butcher Chris

Watson will demonstrate his butchery

skills in tandem with local Highcliffe chef

Ian Hewitt and, for keen cake bakers the

great Highcliffe Baking competition will

invite amateur cooks to bring along their

cakes for judging.

Categories will be for both children and

adults and be run in conjunction with

Vanilla Pink Cakes. Find out more from

highcliffevillage.com”

All the details of this year’s festival are on the

website at christchurchfoodfest.co.uk.