Award-winning Bristol retailer Better Food Company is to host a series of events this September in the absence of the annual Organic Food Festival – usually held on Bristol’s Harbourside.
From September 22nd to September 29th, the company has invited local farmers, chefs and experts to join them across a range of activities.
“The Organic Food Festival is such a great way of uniting producers, suppliers and customers, bringing a new dimension to food that you don’t get any other way,“ says Better Food Company MD Phil Haughton. “As it’s taking a year off, we decided we’d have our own mini festival – there’s so much to celebrate and champion.”
Events across the week include a ‘wellies-on’ visit to five local organic farms in the Chew Valley who supply The Better Food Company’s two Bristol stores with beef, sausages, poultry, eggs and vegetables, culminating in a festive BBQ. There will also be a talk by Jim Twine, Soil Association business development director and local farmer, on why organic matters and The College of Naturopathic Medicine ais giving a free demonstration on cooking with superfoods. Local food hero Barny Haughton meanwhile pops up in BFC’s St Werburgh’s café for an evening of pasta making and eating, and there’ll be a host of visiting producers and makers, enthusiastically sharing their goods with customers.
“My favourite bit of the farm tour”, continues Phil Haughton, “is stopping to meet the turkeys I’m rearing for Christmas. I’ve done this for several years now, and they’re very special because not only do they live a completely outdoor life, free to fly up trees, roam and forage, but because they’re also bred naturally, unlike nearly all other turkeys available. I’m really proud of them and I want people to see just how high our standards are.”
• The Better Food Company is an award-winning independent retailer, with an organic shop and café in St Werburghs, and a food hall-style shop and deli on Whiteladies Road, both in Bristol. The St Werburgh’s store is in its 11th year. Owner and MD, Phil Haughton is an active trustee of the Soil Association, and has spent more than 25 years working with organic food and farming in the South West. Details about each events can be found at www.betterfood.co.uk, or by phoning 0117 935 1725.
