“I spoke on BBC Radio Guernsey on Monday morning because the presenter had friends over for the weekend and having been to a number of local events had identified that Sunday was the last Seafront Sunday of the season.
Whilst I’m not one to dwell on the nights drawing in, and mornings being darker, the last Seafront Sunday of the season does make it sound all a little more autumnal.
I was very happy though to remind him that the season is not yet over, and we still have the week-long Food Festival to look forward to in September. As you know from last week’s column, the Eat Drink & Be Local Food Festival starts on the 23rd of September and lasts all week.
With some great events at a number of various venues it culminates in the two-day Festival on Crown Pier that will take place on the Saturday and Sunday.
We last mentioned the farm tours at Rocquette Cider, Wallow Charcuterie, and Herm Oysters and also launched the new Petit Train Food and Drink Safari that will be happening in FF week.
I’m pleased to report that bookings for all of these events are coming in thick and fast and the Safaris only have a couple of spaces available on each evening.
Over the last week we have added some meat to the bones and have got lots of new events to tell you about.
On Monday night as well as the Petit Train Safari a launch dinner is planned at the Duke of Richmond hotel.
They will be serving a ‘Taste of Guernsey’ menu which will be produced by their Executive Chef Kevin Semple and three guest chefs who will be joining us for the evening.
Each chef will be drawn either a starter, fish, main or desert course two weeks before the event and will create a dish for the evening with local produce and a vegetarian option per course.
The menus will be announced on the night, presented by each chef and at the end of the evening, guests will vote for their favourite course. To make the night extra special paired wines will be served throughout the dinner.
On Wednesday night there will be a gin tasting dinner at the Bella Luce, which is always a sell-out and not one to be missed. Our other evening events will be taking place at China Red and Mora, so make sure you check in to our column next week for the full details.
And don’t forget, The Farmhouse will be celebrating FF week by offering their unique Rocquette Cider menu for lunch and dinner Monday to Saturday.
Menus and booking information for all of these events can be found on the Visit Guernsey website, just look for the Eat Drink and be Local Food Festival link.
This year the EDABL committee not only wanted to put on four fantastic Seafront Sundays but wanted to make sure that with the support of the Committee for Economic Development, for our off Island visitors and local following, we provided a platform for new producers and creators of local fine food and beverage to showcase their products.
It was really important to us when we started that our events provided an opportunity to bring that product to life, which is why EDABL is not only a vital addition to the events calendar but to the start-up business tool kit.
The Petit Train Safari is evidence of this, a funky, exciting, new event that showcases four of our great food and beverage destinations, enabling people to experience new venues and the venues to showcase their products and menus.
Before I sign off, a reminder to link in with our @EDABLgsy Facebook page, because if you have a food or beverage product that you would like to bring to market on the FF weekend we would be delighted to offer you a free pitch. Please see our Facebook page for more detail.
Next week this Travel Eye CI column will focus on the entertainment we have lined up for FF week and how we will be connecting with the Guernsey Retro Festival taking place on North Beach on the Sunday of FF weekend to make this One Enormous Festival weekend everyone will want to be at!”
Best wishes,
Charlotte, EDABL
