It’s the final countdown to the annual Ashford Food and Drink Festival, a month-long celebration of food and drink experiences in and around Ashford town centre, taking place this July.
Ashford’s town centre will be serving a menu full of wonderful food and drink activities, alongside some tempting offers.
From wine tasting, teddy bear picnics, markets to weekend festivals, pizza making and competitions, visitors are invited to ‘taste and try throughout July’.
This year’s highlights include:
- Launching with Ashfood! at Elwick Place on Saturday 29 and Sunday 30 June: a family-friendly event featuring food stalls and entertainment, including live music from Whiskey & Wine on Saturday, cocktails from World Margarita 2024 finalist Lexi Palmer Brown from Hide Bar and Oyster Buoys with seafood delicacies.
- A Tasting Evening with The Wine Garden of England and Boys Hall at Revelations in St Mary’s Church, now joined by four Kent vineyards – Gusbourne, Squerryes, Biddenden and Yotes Court. You can also purchase their wine and others at the event and there will be live jazz music from Jonny Hepbir.
- Curious Brewery Summer BBQ Weekend on Saturday 20 July, from 12pm until late, and Sunday 21 July, from 12pm until it’s gone! £4 pints are available all weekend, plus summer cocktails and new wines.
- Curious Pairings: Exclusive Food & Beer Pairing Evening on 3 July at 7pm. Embark on a culinary adventure at Curious Brewery’s Tasting Evening with an intimate five-course tasting menu, priced at £35 per person, including variations of their favourite small plates. Each dish includes a beer to pair with the dish.
- The Award-Winning Comedian That Cooks: George Egg! On 11 July at Coachworks. George recently won the Fortnum and Mason 2024 content creator award. Experience an evening of cooking-with-laughs, where you can expect to learn how to make food on a train with a laptop, in a shed with power tools and in a hotel room with the appliances they unwittingly provide you with. Three plates of gourmet food are prepared in the most unconventional ways, with the opportunity to taste the results at the end.
- Four fantastic competitions from Kent Cookery School, Everest Inn, Curious Brewery and Gusbourne Winery and Vineyard.
- Amazing offers, including Billy’s Pie and Mash deal with pie, mash, drink and pudding (jam roly poly) for under £10!
- The Great Ashford Sandwich Competition! With Low Key Tap Room in Bank Street. Enter at www.loveashford.com to have your favourite sandwich filling put on the menu and be the first winner of the trophy.
- What better way to celebrate the end of the festival than with a wrap party! Round up your friends and head down to Coachworks to enjoy tasty street food, a wide range of drinks plus live music from Ashford-based band Whiskey & Wine. It’s free entry and runs between 4pm and 8pm on 31 July.
Keli Nolan-Lyons, town centre regeneration manager at Ashford Borough Council, said: “This is a fantastic opportunity to showcase the brilliant businesses and offers we have in Ashford town centre, combined with those slightly further afield. There really is something for everyone to enjoy throughout July.
“We hope residents and visitors enjoy discovering something new, as well as revisiting old favourites, by raising a glass or savouring a dish as we celebrate the variety of food and drink offerings we have here in Ashford.”
