Two tasty food festivals confirmed for D&G this year

 9 February 201

Indigo Words

Dumfries & Galloway in south west Scotland is set to become a popular destination for foodies during 2012 with two major food festivals bookending the summer.

Flavour Taster, 4th – 7th May, is a brand new bite sized foodie experience festival that builds on the success of Flavour Fortnight, Dumfries & Galloway’s autumn celebration of local and artisan food and drink.  Among the Flavour Taster events confirmed so far are Souper Sunday, Dawn Chorus Breakfast, a Brewery Tour, a Harbour Festival, wild food forages and various taster menus highlighting locally produced food.  The full programme of event will be released in March.

Flavour Fortnight, 25th August – 9th September returns for a third year, and moves forward a week to include the August Bank Holiday weekend.   Last year saw 92 events take place across Dumfries & Galloway, from Langholm in the east to Portpatrick in the west.  There was a fascinating range of unique and unusual experiences on offer including a wild food forage around an art gallery, a jazz themed celebration of jam, a Greek mezze made with local food, an opportunity to enjoy the first tilapia harvest from Scotland’s first aquaponics project, a gastronomic quiz event, a menu showcasing Robert Burns’ favourite meals, an opportunity to meet majestic Highland cattle and full day butchery demonstrations.  Organisers say they expect over 100 foodie events to take place during Flavour Fortnight 2012.

The introduction of Flavour Taster was triggered after an independent evaluation of Flavour Fortnight stated that organisers had created a ‘nationally important event and a food tourism product from the passion and enthusiasm of the artisan food and drink industry in Dumfries & Galloway.’ Flavour Taster has been developed to build on the success of Flavour Fortnight and to satisfy the growing interest across the UK in local and artisan food and drink.

Liz Ramsay, Project Manager of Savour the Flavours, organisers of the festivals, said: “These festivals give us an opportunity to put quality local food and drink right at the heart of the tourism experience in Dumfries & Galloway.  We have some truly world class products in this region, as well as inspirational people in the industry who are happy to share their passion with visitors to Dumfries & Galloway.  The success of Flavour Fortnight in becoming one of Scotland’s biggest food festivals in just two years is a testament to the creativity and the enthusiasm of the industry here.  A whole host of artisan food and drink experiences available right across this beautifully scenic region makes Dumfries & Galloway a mouth watering short break destination this year. ”

The Flavour Taster programme of events will be unveiled in March and people who want to register to receive information about Dumfries & Galloway’s food events should visit www.flavourfortnight.co.uk .