Best food and drink in the region will be on show at the annual Kington festive food and drink festival

The best food and drink in the area will be on show at the annual Kington festive food and drink festival on Saturday, December 7 from 9.30am until 3.30pm. 

Producers from Herefordshire, Wales, Shropshire, Worcestershire, Gloucestershire and the Midlands will gather to offer a great shopping experience as the town starts the festive season. 

About 100 artisan exhibitors are expected, selling a wide range of goods such as wine, cider beer, apple juice, spirits, charcuterie, gourmet mushrooms, chocolate and fudge. 

Other treats include patisserie, spices, cheese, sauces, nuts, olives, marshmallow, puddings, fermented food, pies, meat and game, bread, preserves, and oils. 

There will also be books, crafts, Christmas trees, wreaths, flowers, dog treats and food pottery and wicker.

Kington Primary School will be running a fundraising tombola stall in the playground. 

During the day, Harmony Road, Streetsax and local choirs will be singing festive tunes and street entertainers will be performing. 

Established in 2004 with just 15 stands, the festival has now expanded and covers the Market Hall, the coach house, Place De Marines, Cloud Nine car park, the National Farmers’ Union car park and Mill Street car park. 

The festival has attracted many new producers this year selling fermented goods, willow baskets, canned drinks, coffee, pasta and pizza.

Bryngaer Goats is situated up in the hills just outside Llandovery and produces award winning Gafr Las, or Blue Goat, a soft, mould-ripened blue goat's cheese, Marta gafr, or Marta Goat, a harder, Manchego-style goat's cheese and Molly gafr, or Molly Goat, a soft, chevre-style goat's cheese. It is sold in jars and lasts for about four weeks.

The Shropshire Macaron Company began in August 2020. It has a rotating flavour schedule including delights such as Pecan Truffle, chocolate and marmalade, custard cream, cinnamon toffee, ginger and apple and blackcurrant.

Happy Dumplings is a Monmouth-based catering company specialising in traditional Chinese Dumplings, Boa Buns and Noodles. It is real Chinese food from a family with over 150 years’ experience of making and supplying dumplings. Their flavours include braised pork, chicken curry, spicy tofu and vegetarian. They will be selling the dumpling and serving them hot to eat on the go.

Mea Via Cibus Ltd from Hereford makes homemade fresh pasta and sauces to buy and cook at home and they will also be serving it hot to eat and go.

Rocket bar crepes will be offering crepes with a variety of sweet and savoury fillings including Nutella and strawberry or banana, banoffee, s’mores, sugar and lemon, ham and cheese or cheese, tomato and spinach.

New Radnor based Whinyard Rocks grow nine different grape varieties across 5600 vines, chosen for their early ripening and distinctive flavour profiles, ranging from refreshing hedgerow fruit to ripe peaches and passionfruit.

 Their wines are unfiltered, unfined and fermented with indigenous wild yeast. They reflect the wildness of the Welsh hills and are made in collaboration with organic winemaker Mark Smith at Black Mountain Vineyard in Herefordshire.

The event is free of charge, parking will also be free and a park and ride service will be in operation from the doctor’s surgery, starting at 10am until 3pm.

The main sponsors of this year’s event are White Heron Cassis, Arrow Medical and G.M  Joyce.