Take a taste of the New Forest with fortnight food fest

A TWO-WEEK celebration of all that is great about New Forest produce will showcase everything from pannage pork to vegetarian feasts and glorious game.

Starting on 3rd November, the New Forest Food and Drink Fortnight will feature lots of events including a firework night feast, sip-and-savour heritage evening and a cheese and cider tasting.

A local produce market at Brockenhurst College named Eats n Treats kicks off proceedings with a whole host of stalls offering tastings along with live music and chef demonstrations throughout the day.

Visitors to Burley over the fortnight will find the whole village joining in to show off what they have to offer.

There will be Burley fudge tastings together with a fudge-making masterclass, a gourmet pie night at the Queen’s Head, Burley Ice Cream will be offering its special flavours for tasting, while at New Forest Cider there will be cheese flight tasters for £5.50.

At Shappen stores there will be a barbecue while local food produce breakfasts will be available at the Old Farmhouse along with cream teas at the Burley Inn.

Food and Drink Fortnight features 15 festival themes including ‘cheese and the Forest larder’, ‘firework night feasts’, ‘Forest fish and fruits of our sea’ and ‘glorious games and roaring fires’.

Vegetarians will find lots to interest them with themes of ‘the New Forest forager’, ‘the vegetarian Forest feast’, ‘sweet Forest somethings’ and ‘the very English afternoon tea’.

Many of the hotels and restaurants will be offering special offers for the two weeks. At the Balmer Lawn hotel there will be a seafood tasting menu 6.30pm-8.30pm at £50 per person or £70 with wines.

The Forest Park hotel will be offering special dishes themed around a game, grain and grape celebration of Forest lunchtimes and evenings.

The Terrace Restaurant at the Montagu Arms hotel, Beaulieu, will also be offering glorious game dishes for the two weeks.

At the Cave wine bar, Milford, on 10th November, 4pm-7pm, there will be live entertainment in the form of Rich Baxter, and entrance is free.

The Cottage Lodge hotel in Brockenhurst will be holding a New Forest ‘sensationally crispy’ evening, offering New Forest belly of pork, on 5th-9th, and 12th-16th November, 6pm-9pm for £16 per person.

To see all the events on offer visit www.thenewforest.co.uk