DARTMOUTH has celebrated another fantastic food festival.

Crowds of people flocked to the town over the weekend to enjoy a heady mix of the best in local drink and produce with tastings, hands on cookery workshops, wine seminars, demonstrations, children’s entertainment and good all round bonhomie.

The three-day event from Friday until Sunday saw over 120 producers lining the Embankment, Market Square and Royal Avenue Gardens selling delicious food and drink from the region and beyond.

A giant children’s tea party kicked off the festival on Thursday. Two hundred local primary school pupils were invited to Royal Avenue Gardens by Cafe Alf Resco to enjoy a day of fun and workshops, learning about healthy eating where food comes from.

Festival chairman Camilla Beloe said: ‘I am thrilled, the festival went really well over the weekend with plenty of visitors and locals coming into the town to enjoy the stands, demonstrations and talks.

‘There was a real buzz here and some fantastic produce to buy.’

Dartmouth Food Festival has been running annually since 2003 and continues to go from strength to strength with the committee reporting excellent visitor numbers for the weekend.

This year’s Eat Your Words talks in the Flavel Church and Flavel Arts Centre attracted well-known food writers and chefs sharing their experience of working in the industry.

Sarah and Tony Marsland, of Cornish Meadow Preserves, who were exhibiting for the first time, said: ‘It’s a wonderful festival set in the most beautiful setting. Dartmouth has it all.

‘The range of artisan produced foods is of the highest quality and such a range too. See you next year.’

Festival advocate, restauranteur, food writer and chef Mitch Tonks said: ‘It was another fantastic year for the Dartmouth Food Festival.

‘It is always such a fun event for everyone and an excellent chance for us to shout about the incredible produce we have here in the West County and further afield.

‘I would like to say a huge thank you to all the exhibitors, sponsors, chefs and food writers who came to make it such a success. I can’t wait for next year to come around.’