Dartmouth Food Festival has launched a brand new range of festival merchandise featuring an original design created especially for the festival by well-loved local artist and illustrator, Simon Drew.

The food and drink inspired design adorns a variety of must-have accessories including top quality cotton tea towels, chef’s aprons and premium jute bags.

Simon Drew said: “I was glad to be asked to design something for the Dartmouth Food Festival, one of the high points of the year for the town. I wanted to include eggs and wine as the two most important foods and I hope people will want to keep a bag, or an apron or a tea towel to remember this great festival.”

The items will be on sale at this year’s Dartmouth Food Festival running from Friday, October 19 to Sunday, October 21, but can be purchased in advance by contacting Mike Penn at [email protected] or on 07711 447934.

Dartmouth Food Festival chairman, Sheila Shribman said: “We are absolutely delighted with Simon’s eye-catching design and I am sure that fans of the Festival will be too.

“Don’t forget, all proceeds from the sale of these limited edition items will be used to help cover the costs of organising this year’s Dartmouth Food Festival, so why not stockpile a few of each and you’ll have a ready supply of original Christmas presents to give away come December?”

The launch of this year’s festival merchandise coincides with this week’s ticket release for a number of special events taking place at the Dartmouth Food Festival next month. While entrance to the main Festival site – including access to food and drink stalls and daytime chef demonstrations - is free, and does not require a ticket, a variety of pop-up dinner events, hands-on workshops and seminars which take place across the weekend, and in the week prior to the Festival, are priced and ticketed.

Tickets for these special events are now available to purchase online.

Festival-goers of all ages who fancy learning a new kitchen skill can choose from over 30 different hands-on workshops organised by Manna from Devon Cooking School at the price of £12.50.

Learn how to crack a crab with Holly Jones or butcher a lamb with Peter Greig of Pipers Farm. Create tasty chocolate truffles, seasonal salads and Greek mezze platters. Pick up some tips for Indian cooking, pizza making and perfectly cooked fish fillets. And much more!

A fascinating programme of wine tastings and seminars has been co-ordinated by The Telegraph’s wine and drinks columnist Susy Atkins and features well known drinks experts Will Lyons from The Sunday Times and Fiona Beckett from The Guardian.

Find out why wines taste so different and how to train our palates, savour a selection of delicious sweet wines and learn how to match them with food, compare French wines with similar styles from the rest of the world, or take part in a speed tasting session and enjoy a variety of international wines while meeting some of the festival’s expert wine speakers along the way. All again for the price of £12.50.

Join Matt Palmer from The Angel as he hosts a series of talks, interviews and question and answer sessions – to include tastings – with some of his loyal restaurant suppliers including The Dartmoor Shepherd, Forest Fungi, Robin Harford (Forager) and Curtis Pitts (Game Manager and Venison Supplier). This will cost you only £7.50.

On Saturday, October 13, a Pre-Festival Feast will be hosted at The Guildhall by JP Bidart of Le Guest Chef. Formerly of The Millbrook Inn, JP is passionate about using locally sourced food and his 3-course Gallic inspired feast menu will feature a traditional French bouillabaisse served with the finest local fish and shellfish. Tickets cost £40.

On Wednesday, October 17, the annual Food Festival Quiz takes place at Café Alf Resco on Lower Street. Tables of six are available for £150 which includes one of Alf’s famous rustic suppers.

On Friday, October 19, two champions of the Slow Food movement, Paula McIntyre MBE and Shane Holland, will be taking over the Chef’s Demonstration Kitchen for an evening of Italian themed cooking. Enjoy a glass of prosecco on arrival with tastings throughout the demonstration for the cost of £15.

The Royal Castle Hotel will host two different pairing dinners at The Guildhall over the Festival weekend. On Friday, October 19, head chef, Ankur Biswas will present a culinary tour of Mexico with a selection of authentic tasting plates, each served with a thoughtfully selected beer brewed by Brewdog to compliment or contrast with the dish. On Saturday, October 20, a tasting menu that features some of the speciality cuisines of the Eastern Mediterranean will be accompanied by a selection of carefully chosen wines. Tickets for each event cost £25.

Also on Saturday, Romy Gill MBE and Freddy Bird will be taking to the Chef’s Demonstration Kitchen after dark to cook up a variety of delicious dishes. Will Lyons – wine writer for The Sunday Times – will be on hand to advise on what wines should be served alongside each dish. Tickets cost £15 with tastings available throughout the evening.

Throughout the festival you can also join food experts, writers and chefs at Eat Your Words for a series of entertaining and thought provoking discussions in the yurt beside the Dartmouth Visitor Centre, sponsored by The Angel.

The sessions run throughout the day on Saturday and wrap up with a lively Q&A featuring a panel of guest chefs on Sunday morning. All five Eat Your Words events on Saturday are free but ticketed. Tickets for Kitchen Confidential on Sunday cost £10 and include a glass of bucks fizz and a breakfast snack.

Tickets for all the above special events can be purchased online now via dartmouthfoodfestival.com/Events