Abergavenny Food Festival has always been about partnerships as much as the food on our plates; over its twelve year history, it’s worked with many organisations and passionate campaigners to achieve more recognition for the simple joy of eating and drinking. This year, a new partner has come on board; one which will change the way in which many people view the festival itself.
For Mark Taylor, editor of Fork Magazine, the Abergavenny Food Festival and the bi-monthly publication "…are the perfect culinary match – celebrating skill, passion and creativity."
That creativity will be displayed in a one-off special edition of Fork focusing entirely on this year’s food festival (18th-19th September), including interviews with participating celebrity guests, some of the brightest lights of the food world.
"We are flattered to be linked with the UK’s best food festival," adds Mark. "…there is a lot of synergy between the two. We both stand for quality, integrity and passion when it comes to good food and we will produce a festival magazine that reflects this."
It’s a great partnership whichever way you look at it. Fork, still a relatively new publication, launches a Welsh edition in September and the food festival is a fantastic opportunity to capture an already engaged audience. And for the festival, it’s a valuable endorsement by a national magazine and the kind of advertising that budgets usually can’t accommodate.
"The AFF Special will give lots of added value including promotions that can be taken advantage of on the spot," explains AFF Communications Manager, Cathy Green. "In addition, there will be a raffle for all purchasers, with a truly fantastic Grand Slam of a foodie prize."
The magazine will also reflect the enthusiasm and community spirit that pervades the two-day event, such as the dedication of local producers and chefs in showing visitors just how easy it can be to produce nutritious, mouth-watering meals at home. The ‘Recipe for Success’ series of events showcases the best of Monmouthshire food at the town’s restored Tithe Barn, where ‘True Taste’ Welsh food is on the menu all year round.
Where Abergavenny triumphs over other food festivals is in its ethos of being all-embracing; a festival not just in a town, but for the town. And politics are never allowed to draw the limelight away from the star of the show; good food.
As The Guardian’s Tim Hayward put it, "For two days in September the little town is home to a food festival so mystically lovely, so unspoiled and evanescent that it’s like a farmers’ market in Brigadoon."
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Image courtesy of Abergavenny Food Festival
