3:00pm Monday 13th May 2013
By Melanie Vass
THE Bournemouth Food and Drink Festival will return next month, aiming to put the town on the gastronomic map and tempt new visitors in.
The Daily Echo-backed event has grown from a three-day trial to a 10-day festival, and this year promises a tempting mix of market stalls, demonstrations and themed events between June 21 and June 30.
Bournemouth Square will be the festival hub, hosting a street food festival every day, a three-day world food market, a Mediterranean day, a Trinidad and Tobago Caribbean day and a Far East day.
There will also be an education zone in partnership with Bournemouth and Poole College and a selection of Bournemouth schools, the Dorset Best Bloody Mary Competition in association with the Bournemouth Bartenders’ League, a three-day farmers’ and producers’ market and a demonstration kitchen.
Events held elsewhere in the town include the Barons of Beef Festival launch, hosted by the Bournemouth Chamber of Trade and Commerce, a soul food and music event at the Triangle, festival menus at some of Bournemouth’s best restaurants and a food quiz at Flirt Cafe.
Town centre manager Roger Parker said: “Bournemouth is the shop window for the entire county of Dorset and the immediate hinterland. We have a unique opportunity to present the very best of Dorset to our resident population and the millions of visitors who visit the town each year. This has a double advantage; it provides a great experience for the visitor and a ready market for the producer.”
And Nigel Hedges, chair of the Town Centre Management Board, pictured left, said: “The Bournemouth Food and Drink Festival increases footfall and interest in the town centre, attracting back people who we have been missing over the years.
“The festival shows Bournemouth is open for businesses and its links with education and the local hotel industry shows Bournemouth what it is best at.”
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