Celebrate the taste!

Come and celebrate the very best tastes of the south east this May Day Bank Holiday weekend at the Weald & Downland Open Air Museum in Singleton, near Chichester, West Sussex. England’s leading museum of historic buildings and traditional rural life will be hosting its ever-popular Food Fair in and among the historic buildings on its beautiful 50 acre downland site.

‘Celebrate the Taste’ is jointly organised by ‘A Taste of Sussex’ who under the umbrella of Sussex Enterprise, provide a comprehensive support service for the counties’ food and drink producers, helping them to expand their markets and make their products more accessible to the consumer. The award-winning museum accommodates the numerous Food Fair trade stands throughout the site, bringing together the three great influences on our lives - food, culture and landscape - in one great taste celebration. Last year nearly 9,000 people attended the event over the two days, and altogether more than 50 producers from the region will gather at the show to present a stunning array of local produce, including gastronomic delights such as wines, sauces, ciders and beers; locally-produced meats, cheeses, spices, ice cream, cakes and confectionery. Hosting the Food Fair is a fitting seasonal addition to the Museum’s 'Field to Feast' theme which runs throughout the site. 'Field to Feast' demonstrates the traditional processes involved in getting food from the field to the table, and highlights the importance of agriculture to our rural ancestors. Wholemeal grain is ground into flour in the Museum’s seventeenth century watermill, Shire horses carry out seasonal agricultural tasks, and traditional cereal crops are sown in the field strips. Visitors can sample authentic Tudor fare in the working Tudor kitchen, and later this year, unusual vegetables grown in the field strips will be available to buy in the Museum shop and at the local Farmers Markets in nearby Chichester. “The Food Fair is a great way to discover the very best produce that the south east can offer, and at the same time explore the historic buildings and gardens we have in this lovely downland setting”, comments the Museum’s Marketing Officer Cathy Clark. Fun, informative and a great way to shop for tasty treats, Celebrate the Taste is a gastronomic delight and a truly family affair. “The whole family can enjoy finding out about food through demonstrations and tutored tastings, while visiting some of their favourite local producers and discovering some exciting newcomers eager to introduce their products,” explains Hilary Knight of A Taste of Sussex. Children will also be able to discover more about healthy eating in an interactive display run by the Museum’s schools services department. They can learn about what constitutes healthy – or unhealthy – food choices and will find out more about food groups and their particular benefits. In what promises to be an interesting quiz, they will be asked to identify a number of foodstuffs, some of which may not be immediately familiar to them! Celebrate the Taste will be open on 30 April and 1 May from 10.30am – 6pm. Admission charges are: adults £7.95, over 60s £6.95; children £4.25, family ticket £21.95, and include a full day’s entry to all the Museum buildings and outdoor exhibits. The award-winning Weald & Downland Open Air Museum has over 45 historic building exhibits and is designated by the Government for the outstanding importance of its collections. Exhibits include a medieval farmstead; a working watermill producing wholemeal stoneground flour; exhibitions focusing on traditional building techniques and agriculture; historic gardens, farm livestock and a working Tudor kitchen. The Museum runs a well-established programme of courses in building conservation and rural crafts. There is a café which uses the Museum’s own flour and a shop with gifts and books on countryside and buildings themes. The modern Downland Gridshell houses the Museum’s building conservation centre and artefact collection. There is a daily tour at 1.30pm when the Museum is open, and an appointments system for visits to the collections for research purposes.

26.01.06

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Link

• www.wealddown.co.uk