The Abergavenny Food Festival (20 & 21 September) showcases growers, producers, and caterers across six venues; all selected for quality, provenance, and sustainability. From new sole traders, to established businesses, the markets really are a sensory feast!

Check out the New & Local Producers’ Market (sponsored by Griffiths), the Market Hall, Cheese & Wine Market (sponsored by Caws Cenarth), plus Tiverton, Upper and Lower Brewery Yards (where you’ll find street food traders), and the Castle.

YOUR STROLLER TICKET

The Markets are accessed on a Stroller Ticket (day or weekend) with free entry for children under 13 if with an adult. Buy online. Opt to have them posted, along with a Festival guide, or for pick-up on the day. Live locally, or visiting town? Pop into Robert Price Builders’ Merchants who are selling tickets over the counter right up until the Festival.

The weekend is packed with activities – all part of the Stroller Ticket offering: chef demonstrations, tutored tastings, talks and debates. Take your pick from 60 events. Guests include: Matt Tebbutt, Thomasina Miers, Becky Excell, Kate Humble, Sami Tamimi, and Olly Smith.

Bag a seat in the Market Hall and watch top chefs on The Gower Cottage Brownies Stage. Enjoy fire stage alchemy at The Castle on the Cooking Over Fire Stage (sponsored by Maple From Canada); drop into the Octopus Books Dome (where the programme will include two BBC Radio 4 events: The Food Programme and Inside Science), or the Local & Vocal Stage (sponsored by Taylor & Co Estate Agents) for lively talks, debates, music, and – of course – the Festival’s hilarious and anarchic food quiz!

The full ‘Stroller’ programme can be viewed online.

FAMILY FUN FOR EVERYONE

There are plenty of family activities at The Castle, which also has baby feeding and changing tent.

Join Monsieur BonBon and Madame Saucisson for traditional family games and challenges with donuts! Enrol your children in the Castell Howell Kids’ Cookery School run by Sara Butler of Cook Stars Newport Ebbw Vale and Monmouthshire (some tickets can be booked online, with a limited number available on first-come first-served basis on the day).

Try your hand at willow-weaving dragonflies, birds and snails. Make charming flower crowns. Funky Monkey face painting will transform your children into fabulous animals and sea creatures. Enjoy getting a decorative and temporary ‘Air Tattoo’.

Learn about Darwinian Bee Keeping. Study live bees! And find out about Stump Up For Trees – a community-based charity with a focus on woodland creation and enhancing biodiversity.

There’s a terrific guest line-up for this year’s Festival (20 & 21 September). Stroller Ticket holders have so much to choose from. Pick and mix from a rolling programme of talks, debates, chef dems, cooking over fire, live music, and family activities.

We’ve highlighted some Festival guests below to give a feel for who’s coming and what’s offer in the various venues.

For the full schedule across two days just go to the abergavennyfoodfestival.com and see the What’s On page. The full Festival Guide can also be viewed online

Thomasina Miers

Thomasina, founder of the Wahaca restaurants, comes back to cook from her new book Mexican Table with recipes based around 12 staple Mexican ingredients.

Matt Tebbutt and Olly Smith

Matt and Olly hot-foot it from presenting Saturday Kitchen at the BBC studios in London to bring the curtain down on the Saturday demo programme on the Market Hall Stage.

Becky Excell

The ‘Queen of Gluten Free’ showcases recipes from her bestselling book Budget Gluten Free which shows how possible and delicious budget-friendly gluten-free food can be.

Tom Waters

Tom is the chef-patron of Gorse, which was awarded Cardiff's first Michelin Star this year. His ingredient-led modern Welsh cooking showcases the best local produce.

Allegra McEvedy

Allegra (co-founder, fast food chain LEON) shows what 7-13 year olds really want to cook and eat in Chefs Wanted! – a cookbook with a winning combo of recipes and ingredients.

George Egg

Enjoy George’s unique brand of comedy, cooking and sheer craziness as he hacks snacks to create some unique culinary delights – all brought together in his first cookbook The Snack Hacker.

Sam Everton

The National Chef of Wales cooks with some of the produce which can best claim to be distinctively Welsh.

Cooking Over Fire at The Castle (sponsored by Maple From Canada)

Tommy Heaney

Tommy has been redefining Cardiff’s culinary landscape since opening his flagship restaurant Heaneys in 2018 which showcases his bold and dynamic approach to food and hospitality

Ixta Belfrage

Brazilian-style BBQ from one of the most exciting young cooks around. Fusão is the hotly anticipated follow-up to Mezcla, Ixta’s multi-award winning first solo cookbook.

Anthony ‘Murf’ Murphy and Christian Williams – The Beefy Boys

Four mates who accidentally started a street food venture are now running one of the UK’s hottest burger businesses. What makes a world-beating burger? Find out with Murf and Christian.

Julie Lin

Julie is a rising star. Scottish, Malaysian and Chinese influences drive her cooking and are showcased in her debut cookbook Sama Sama: Comfort food from my Malaysian-Scottish kitchen.

Sami Tamimi

Sami’s demonstration takes inspiration from his first solo cookbook Boustany: A Celebration of Vegetables from My Palestine – a vibrant journey through that country’s culinary traditions.

The Local & Vocal Stage (sponsored by Taylor & Co Estate Agents)

Tiffany Murray

Tiffany Murray grew up at Rockfield Studios where Queen recorded ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’. Her memoir, My Family and Other Rock Stars, is filled with songs and recipes. Brought to life here with live music.

Greener Abergavenny

Greener Abergavenny presents a lost history of Abergavenny’s horticultural heritage and discusses what it might take to get the region growing food and veg at scale again.

Carwyn Graves

Welsh food historian and author Carwyn hosts a fascinating exploration into how food-related vocabulary in the Welsh language has faded over generations, and why this quiet loss matters. Welsh language session. Simultaneous translation headset available for non-Welsh speakers.

Slicing Up The Pie – with three Abergavenny Businesses

How do local food businesses decide what to charge us? Join the owners of three Abergavenny food businesses for a peek behind their menus and an insight into the constant choices and compromises being made.

Bees Bees for Development

Bees for Development replicate their vibrant, prize winning Chelsea Flower Show balcony garden in the Local and Vocal Tent and discuss its key themes and inspiration.

Talks & Debates in the Octopus Books Dome

Amelia Christie-Miller (founder of Bold Bean Co) and Claire Thompson

This isn’t just a talk, but your chance to grab a breakfast treat! Free baked beans on toasted sourdough and a chat about all things beans.

Kate Humble and Friends

In the spirit of her recent book Home Made, Kate introduces some of the inspiring craftspeople who grow and make the food we eat. Theirs are stories of entrepreneurship, passion and dedication.

Food Quiz with Monsieur Bonbon and Madame Saucisson

Do you know your charcuterie from your tutti frutteri? If so, you may be the winner in the latest episode of the Festival’s famous and hilarious food quiz.

Sheila Dillon - The BBC Food Programme

Wales is becoming the source of some of the most radical ideas on the future of food in the UK. Presenter Sheila Dillon is joined by producers, pioneering thinkers and chefs to find why that is, and to hear how those ideas are being turned into actio

Felicity Cloake and Caroline Eden

Two new books and tales to swap about journeys by bike and on foot. Felicity uncovers the essence of American food in Peach Street to Lobster Lane and Caroline the traditions of Georgia and Armenia in Green Mountains: Walking through the Caucasus. 

Individually Ticketed Events at Abergavenny Food Festival

The Festival (20 and 21 September) offers a programme of individually ticketed events. These are: Tutored Tastings at the Hensol Castle Drinks Theatre in the Angel Hotel Ballroom, Meet The Author sessions in the Library, and Talks in the Borough Theatre. All these events give a really personal experience and deeper insight into the passions and expertise of guest performers. The full line-up can be found on the ‘What’s On’ page at abergavennyfoodfestival.com

Here are some highlights:

The Secrets of Booze – Dai Wakely and Kyle Jones, Hensol Castle Distillery

Venue: Hensol Castle Drinks Theatre in Angel Hotel Ballroom

Friday 19 September, 6.30-7.30pm

Tickets: £17.50 - buy online at abergavennyfoodfestival.com

The Festival’s launch event. Learn about the modern methods and raw materials that go into building an award-winning spirits brand. Dai and Kyle will show you how they build a compounded and distilled spiced rum, right there in the room! Master Distiller Dai Wakely heads up the team at Hensol Castle Distillery and Kyle Jones is Head of Production. Hensol Castle is South Wales’ leading distillery and the UK’s only full-scale distillery & contract bottlers in a 17th century castle! This event serves alcohol and is restricted to adults (18 and over).

Still Wild – James Harrison-Allen and Kate Hawkings

Venue: Hensol Castle Drinks Theatre in Angel Hotel Ballroom

Saturday 20 September, 1.30-2.30pm

Tickets: £17.50 - buy online at abergavennyfoodfestival.com

James is the creator of Still Wild, one of Britain’s most remarkable micro-distilleries. Based in the Pembrokeshire National Park, James specialises in distilling locally foraged botanicals to make gins and vermouths. He uses a cold vacuum distillation method to preserve the delicate flavours of the wild plants and produces a vermouth that is truly distinctive. His Sweet Rosso Vermouth was placed second overall in the World Vermouth Awards. James is joined by the cocktail expert Kate Hawkings, author of Aperitif: A Spirited Guide to the Drinks, History and Culture of the Aperitif. This event serves alcohol and is restricted to adults (18 and over).

All in the Mix – Andi Oliver talks to Gurdeep Loyal

Venue: Borough Theatre

Saturday 20 September, 3.30-4.30pm

Tickets: £14 - buy through Borough Theatre

Andi Oliver talks to food-writer Gurdeep Loyal about her recent culinary adventures – and their shared interest in the stories of migration, contemporary re-mixing of traditions, and flavourful exploration that underpins the pleasure we take in cooking and eating.

Andi Oliver is one of Britain’s best-loved TV personalities. Currently she presents the BBC’s Great British Menu and appears with daughter Miquita on Celebrity Gogglebox. Since her early days with Neneh Cherry fronting post-punk band Rip, Rig + Panic in the 80’s, Andi has worked continuously in food, music or broadcasting. Sometimes all at once! She has never lost her warmth, generosity, and the respect of her colleagues. As she says, “I just do things that I love, and always have, whether or not it has led to success or money. I don’t know how else to live, honestly. I’ve tried doing things I don’t love; I’m always shit at it.”

Andi will be signing copies of her book The Pepperpot Diaries and Gurdeep will be signing his new book Flavour Heroes.

Green Mountains – Caroline Eden in conversation with Kate Humble

Venue: The Library

Sunday 21 September, 10.30-11.30am

Tickets: £6 - buy online at abergavennyfoodfestival.com

Caroline Eden is the travel writer’s travel writer. It is partly her beautiful and evocative style that leads Fuchsia Dunlop to describe her as ‘one of the most brilliant travel writers of her generation.’ But it is also her penchant for visiting the less fashionable places; the Baltics, the steppe lands of Central Asia, Eastern Europe, and the Caucasus. She reaches the parts other food-writers don’t reach. Green Mountains is a collection of recipes gleaned from recent travels on foot in the hills and valleys of Georgia and Armenia. Caroline talks to inveterate traveller Kate Humble, presenter of C5’s Escape to the Farm.

Everything You Need to Know about Wine – Olly Smith talks to Matt Tebbutt

Venue: Borough Theatre

Sunday 20 September, 2.00-3.00pm

Tickets: £14 - buy through Borough Theatre

Olly Smith is the UK’s best-loved wine expert, with 19 years’ presenting wine on BBC1’s Saturday Kitchen. He has written about wine for the Mail on Sunday and the Daily Mail for 17 years and is the author of Home Cocktail Bible and World Cocktail Atlas. Olly is also patron of the Bumblebee Conservation Trust.

Expect a buzz when he gets talking with his friend and colleague, Saturday Kitchen presenter Matt Tebbutt about his latest book Wine: Everything you need to know. Olly and Matt will be signing copies of their books afterwards.