Foodies can look forward to a feast of flavours at Toby’s Garden & Harvest Fest this September. There’s a host of local artisan food and drink producers coming along to the fest at Forde Abbey, including jam, pickles and preserves, traditional loaves, wine, cider and gin makers, plus daily demo’s on how to cook, cure, smoke and ferment your harvest.

You can make your own Festival gin with the Devon Distillery who return to the Festival after an extremely popular visit to the spring Fest at Powderham. Cosmo is at Forde Abbey on Saturday 16th September with his Still on the Move, where visitors can make their own gin and choose bespoke flavours. We are also joined by Liberty Orchards, Wayford Wines, Bridge Farm Cider and there is the opportunity to try your hand at making your own apple juice and cider with the Two Thirsty Gardeners. Beer sommelier, Ben Richards, is speaking in the Great Hall on Sunday 17th sharing his experience of growing everything he needs to make home-grown beer.

Somerset chef Ed Mello – as seen on Grand Designs in 2015 creating his Axe Valley smallholding and food business – is with us  both days showing off his charcuterie, cheese-making and outdoor-cooking skills on the Top Lawn, along with Antonia Mottola of Bunnies Love who is giving jam and pickle ‘surgeries’ for those who get in a jam with their jam-making!

There is a full programme of foodie workshops running both days in the Demo Teepee. On the morning of Saturday 16th chef Kamil Oseka from The Pig at Bath joins us to share the long tradition of making preserves from vegetable gluts and in the afternoon the bakers from Taylors Traditional Bakery show how to make a traditional wheatsheaf complete with harvest mouse (pictured above). At 2pm Katie Venner, fermenting expert and official advisor to BBC Radio 4’s The Archers takes to the stage to explain how to preserve vegetables using the process of fermenting. On Sunday 17th, Jan Billington of Maddocks Farm joins us to share her knowledge of growing and baking with edible flowers.

Finally, you can feast your eyes on the results of our Ready, Veggie Bake! competition in Forde’s chapel where the winning cakes will be on display. There is still time to get your baking in on the act by emailing lisa@tobygardenfest.co.uk with your vegetable cake recipe. Our favourites will get free tickets to both days of the Fest and asked to bake their cake and bring it along for judging by Toby, Christine Walkden and Jim Buttress. More information here.

Find out more about all the 150 exhibitors coming along on 16th and 17th September here. We hope you can join us!