More than 30,000 people flocked to Abergavenny’s renowned food festival over the weekend, underlining the town’s status as a culinary Mecca.

Now in its seventeenth year, Abergavenny Food Festival attracted visitors and locals alike as one of the most popular events of its kind in the UK.

The festival draws some of the biggest names from the foodie world, with this year’s stars including event opener and Masterchef: The Professionals presenter Monica Galetti, and Spanish culinary heavyweight Jose Pizarro.

Visitors joined in with tasting sessions, honed their skills with private cookery classes, and sampled the wares from over 250 stallholders set up throughout several sites across town.

Heather Myers, the festival’s outgoing chief executive said, “It’s always amazing to see the festival come alive after so many months of hard work.

“As always none of this would be possible without the talent and hard work of all the chefs and professionals involved and the enthusiasm of thousands who came to join us.

“We hope you had as fantastic a time as we did.”

Abergavenny Castle played an integral part, providing the backdrop for live music, and a platform for discussion on contemporary issues such as food waste.

The castle also played host to the Food Academy, encouraging youngsters to don aprons and make their own baked beans, under the guidance of author Jenny Chandler and foodie business owner, Nick Saltmarsh.

Stretching across several sites, locals and food tourists enjoyed chef demonstrations in the bustling Market Hall, and masterclasses from industry big names such as Cyrus Todiwala and Tim Hayward.

Abergavenny choir, ‘Sing With Us’, gripped the Market Hall crowd with the 90-strong group singing popular classics in aid of Tenovus.

Nick Ramsay, Assembly Member for Monmouth, praised the event having attended over the weekend.

“There was a real buzz about the town. Every year the food festival seems to get bigger and better, continuing to draw visitors from far and wide, including some well-known faces.

“The sunny weather added to the festival atmosphere, providing the perfect backdrop for visitors to take a leisurely stroll around the town and to sample foodie treats at the dozens of stalls. 

“I would like to congratulate everyone involved in staging another very successful event, which again highlighted Monmouthshire’s reputation as a tourist destination for fine food and produce,” he said.

Councillor Bob Greenland, Deputy Leader of the Monmouthshire County Council said the event was an overall success, and that the authority would work to iron out any issues in future.  

“I am delighted that the Abergavenny Food Festival has had another great year we’re proud that the Abergavenny Food Festival is hosted in beautiful Abergavenny – the food capital of Wales - each year.

“The weather was kind and the streets were packed with tens of thousands of visitors soaking up the uniqueness of this event whilst seeing what a beautiful market town Abergavenny is.

“Monmouthshire County Council is delighted to be associated with the festival and congratulates the organisers and the volunteers on a job very well done. As with any event of this scale there is scope for learning and improvement for the future and there are a couple of points that have been raised this year that we will work with the organisers  to find better solutions for.”

Councillor Greenwood also underlined the festival’s economic benefit to Abergavenny, and the surrounding areas.  

“The event contributes significantly to the local economy, attracting over 30,000 people who explore the town.

“Local hotels and guesthouses benefit and bookings have already been made for next year’s festival.

“The festival employs over 120 local people for the weekend. Over the last three years the festival has helped local clubs and societies raise over £22K. This year’s event has been fantastic and I wish the Food Festival the very best for a fantastic Christmas event and great 2017.”

Despite its success this year’s food festival has been dogged with controversy which started with residents unhappy that recently installed benched in St John’s Square were moved - and then returned - ahead of the event.

After intervention by Abergavenny mayor Councillor Chris Woodhouse, MCC agreed to replace the benches but a request to food festival organisers to make changes to the St John’s Square site plan appeared to fall on deaf ears with stalls rendering the replaced benches unusable.

The controversy continued on Friday when market traders hit the national TV?headlines claiming they had been displaced from their market hall stalls without any offer of compensation.

Speaking after the event Councillor John Prosser said, “I don’t want to take away from what was a hugely successful food festival for the town. There were, as is common with these events, a few teething problems.

“The benches, as far as we as a council are concerned, should be there all year-round, for residents and visitors alike.

“In future, we will continue to liaise with the food festival. We just need to be sensible and ensure that Abergavenny Food Festival continues to be the success it has been.”

Responding to complaints from market traders a spokeswoman for the festival said, “For the past seventeen years, the Festival has held the same agreement with Monmouthshire Council who hire the Market Hall for our use during the weekend.

“With more than 300 stallholders applying to go through the same thorough and fair selection process to win a place, competition is fierce. Within these applications, a number of traders from the town apply for a stall too, in fact, ten market traders regularly come to the festival which is fantastic. 

“The festival brings in more than 30,000 visitors to the town over the weekend, whilst our UK-wide reputation brings tourists from far and wide throughout the year.

“We would love the number of hyper-local traders to increase and very much welcome applications from them for our Christmas Fair this year and for the 2017 Food Festival.”