Brighton & Hove Food and Drink Festival

If last week's post about the new FARM market made you hungry then you best find yourself a snack before you carry on reading this as today I'm going to give you a sneak preview of the Brighton & Hove Food and Drink Festival.

This year you will get the chance to see two top celebrity food writers discussing their new books. Madhur Jaffrey is launching her first book in seven years, called Curry East, at the Komedia on 21st September and US chef and food author Anthony Bourdain will discuss his new book, Medium Raw, at the Hilton Brighton Metropole on 1st September.

However the main star of the festival is of course the food itself and there will be plenty of opportunities to sample and buy a variety of products. Popular events include the Big Sussex Market, A Regency Banquet and local food picnic. There will also be some tasting events including cheese, wine, sake and the new World Food Trail.

Of course this being a Brighton Festival there will be a couple of quirky events including a cigar dinner at Hotel du Vin where you will learn which wines & cigars go best with which dishes - something we've surely all wondered at one time or another! However the award for the most surreal event must go to The Utterly Butterly Ukulele Project. You will get to make your own ukulele from a tub, a fishing line and a piece of wood, learn how to play it and then everyone will join in for a ukulele jamming session!

This year the festival has so many events that it cannot all be contained in one month so it will run from 1st September - 7th October. For a full list of events go to: www.brightonfoodfestival.com.

Finally a quick reminder that there is still time to vote for your favourite restaurant, food pub, cafe and food shop in the food awards, go to: www.brightonfoodawards.com to cast your vote before the 10th September. The winners will be announced at a special ceremony at the end of the festival.

Charlotte