Eden celebrates Cornwall’s food and farmers – all weekend June 21 and 22

June 12, 2008

The Eden Project will become a local food and drink paradise on the weekend of June 21-22.

Visitors will have chance to crimp pasties, mix smoothies, see top chefs in action, create a real Mr Potato head, milk a cow (not a real one!) and find out how cheese is made.

The first-ever Cornwall Celebration of Food and Farmers will allow everyone to learn more about where good food comes from and how to produce it themselves.

Hosted by Eden and sponsored by leading local food and drink producers, the event is a joint venture between the Royal Agricultural Society of England and Cornwall Agri-food Council to celebrate the fantastic produce and the fabulous farmers behind the food we enjoy every day.

It marks the culmination of the Year of Food and Farming Initiative. By raising awareness of the origins of food, the value of food to the economy and the quality produced, the event will help to ensure an enduring legacy for the landmark year.

From field to fork, plough to plate, this festival will guide visitors through production and processing stories, with the opportunity to question the farmers involved.

There will be many exhibits throughout the Eden site including a kids’ combine harvester, Ginsters and the story of the pasty, a dairy exhibit from the Women’s Farming Union, Rodda’s, Dairy Crest, and a cheese-making demonstration. Top chefs from Eden and Fifteen Cornwall will be on hand to demonstrate some of the finer arts of cookery.

Duchy College and Connexions will be available to discuss training and career opportunities in the industry. Cornwall Healthy Foods, Let’s Get Cooking, the Green Food Bible, and Eden’s Gardens for Life and Mud Between Your Toes initiatives will all be there to let people know more about what they do.

Festival Chairman Jim Hosking (Vice President of the Royal Agricultural Society), said: “This festival tells a great story about the origins of good, healthy, local food.

“It will be a clarion call to Government and major retailers to realise that the count-down to world food shortage has begun and that they must seize the opportunity to look after home supplies before it is too late. This festival invites everyone to come and celebrate the wonderful diversity of wholesome, healthy foods produced and processed in Cornwall.”

Paul Holmes, Eden’s agency liaison officer, said: “This is the first time at Eden that we have hosted a dedicated event celebrating Cornwall’s rich variety of food and drink and the farmers who work so hard to produce it.

“With modern-day shopping, it is sometimes easy to forget where our food comes from. This weekend is a ‘thank you’ to the people who grow and rear it, especially those who are sometimes forgotten and live right on our doorstep.

“This has been a real partnership with Cornwall Agri-Food Council and the farming community. We have had terrific support from processors and producers the length and breadth of Cornwall in so many different sectors.”

The weekend will be filled with music and excitement. On Saturday (June 21), Big Beat will drumming up a storm on recycled instruments throughout the day, while in the afternoon more live music will accompany the midsummer feast in the garden with a hog roast and monster BBQ.

Sunday afternoon will be a relaxed affair with jazz in the afternoon and a sumptuous Sunday lunch.