Thousands of visitors are expected to pack out the streets of Newport for this Saturday’s food festival – sponsored by Tiny Rebel.
The award-winning brewery which runs Urban Tap in the city centre is the headline sponsor of the free, one-day event which will see 80 stalls and more than a dozen food demonstrations or talks.
Tiny Rebel’s Bradley Cummings said: “We’re a proud Newport business so coming on board as headline sponsor of the festival is a great honour.”
The Golden Lion at Magor is a supporting sponsor – and two of its chefs are on the bill.
The mouth-watering line-up of chefs includes the Celtic Manor Resort’s TV chef Larkin Cen, Ben Periam of Mojo The Food Bar, James Sommerin of The Esplanade in Penarth, and Steve White of The Ruperra Arms.
The festival’s hotly-contested teen chef competition final will be staged at 10am upstairs in Newport Market, and there will be a battle of the burgers there between Pretentious Burger Kitchen and Meat Bar & Grill at 4pm.
There’s also a packed programme of entertainment with choirs and bands performing throughout the day.
Hywel Jones
Here are 9 tasty things to do at the festival:
Learn how to make perfect pasta – including a simple dish anyone can replicate at home – with the Executive Chef of The Park Michelin-starred restaurant and The Brasserie at Lucknam Park Hotel & Spa, Hywel Jones. His session will take place at 11am in the upper area of Newport Market.
Spice up your life with a tasting of some of the hot and fiery sauces from Monmouthshire producers Sorai. If you love chillis, these sauces are for you! We recommend the onion and balsamic sauce which has a hot tang.
Brush up on your cake decorating skills at a demonstration with Nia Thomas in 44 High Street at 2pm. Nia has 18 years of experience in decoration and sugar craft – and she has passed on her skills in classes and day schools for the past two years.
Sample fantastic, fresh, and funky vegetarian food at the Parsnipship stall – created at their base in South Wales. We’re in love with Parsnipship’s haloumi burgers.
Catch a demonstration by Gwent chef James Sommerin, whose Penarth restaurant has been awarded title of Best in Wales in the Good Food Guide 2016. He’ll be at the Pobl offices at 11.30am. He has inspired his 17-year-old daughter to work alongside him in his kitchen.
Clam’s Handmade Cakes
Check out the sweet taste of Clam’s Handmade Cakes at their stall – last year, they did a roaring trade. So pop along early to get the widest selection of cakes!
Learn how to cook with beer with the help of Tiny Rebel’s Paul Turley. His demonstration will be in the Pobl offices at 2.30pm.
Taste some wine or liqueur from exhibitors Cwm Deri Vineyard. We caught up with them at the recent Abergavenny Food Festival and loved their light and bright elderflower gin and smooth sloe gin.
Grab an ice lolly with a kick from Mojo The Food Bar’s pop-up cocktail bar – or a special cocktail created by mixologist and head bartender, Andrej Madaras.
Thousands of people lined the streets of Newport today for the Admiral Newport Food Festival.
As chef demonstrations took place in locations like Newport Market, more than 70 stalls were selling produce to the public outside in the streets – from street food to home made chutneys, cakes, and chocolates.
Last year, the event attracted 13,000 people, and it’s hoped that number will be beaten when this year’s attendance total is totted up.
Many traders have been attracted by the fact the event is free – unlike some of the other food festivals in south Wales, including Abergavenny.
Odette Phillips of Clam’s Handmade Cakes
Odette Phillips, of the family firm Clam’s Handmade Cakes, said: “It’s better than Abergavenny for us as it’s free so people have more money to spend with traders like us.”
Mrs Phillips said trade had been brisk at today’s event.
“Many came because of the macaroons we made especially for the event – we’ve sold out now!” she said.
“This is our second year, and it’s been very busy. There’s a great atmosphere.”
Claire’s Kitchen preserves
Ant Cook, who set up Parc Pantry in Malpas 13 months ago with business partner Matt Ellis, agreed.
“It’s been very busy. We wanted to come last year, but we’d just set up and it wasn’t feasible. We’ve always wanted to be part of the city centre, though business rates make that difficult for many companies like ours. Events like this mean we can have a presence in the city centre and more people of Newport can get to know us,” he said.
Three months ago, Parc Pantry took over tea rooms in Belle Vue Park in the city – and have now obtained a licence to hold weddings there.
“We’ve had around 12 weddings. We also have control of the bandstand, and we are planning a Christmas market in Belle Vue,” Mr Cook added.
Chocolates on display
Alex Culpin of Ty Gwyn Cider, which started life in the Monnow Valley and is now based at Pontrilas on the Monmouthshire/Herefordshire border, was at the event for the first time.
“We’ve been impressed with this event,” he said.
“We go to a number of food festivals including Abergavenny and Ludlow. This event has been really busy – a lot of people are buying rather than just sampling and moving on.
“A number of other alcohol producers might be put off because the event itself doesn’t have an alcohol licence. But it’s very simple to get a special licence yourselves, and it shouldn’t put people off.”
On the Ty Gwyn stall was the Ty Gwyn Dabinett cider, which I sampled.
The cider is produced from a mixture of Michelin and Dabinett apples, and is a sparkling medium cider which I found refreshing, perfectly fruity and with just the right amount of spritz. Little surprise that Ty Gwyn’s ciders have won fans across the UK, including Hotel Inspector Alex Polizzi.
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