Last year I did a demo at the Padstow Christmas Festival courtesy of a guest spot with local legend Adrian Oliver, my first time at the event. We were down in Cornwall for a few days and, as many people do, we had the dates in our diary for this year before we left.
The festival is quite phenomenal; if I counted correctly there were the holders of thirteen Michelin stars on the demo stage on the Sunday. The line up of chefs, sommeliers, beer experts, producers and so on is mind-boggling, even to me when I am lucky enough to class some of these people as friends.
Wild Bake wood fired pizza, burgers from the Cornish Duck Truck and a dirty Mexican from El Loco Burrito all went down well with us. Of course, you need something to wash the food down with and the find of the festival for me was the Sharp’s brewery new release, Camel Valley Pilsner. The result of a collaboration with the Camel Valley vineyard, the pilsner is seeded with Camel Valley’s Brut yeast for a final bottle fermentation.
Food and drink are at the centre of the festival but the Christmas market, music and a harbour side firework display all add to the atmosphere and it is really that atmosphere that makes the event.
A weekend in or around Padstow at any time of year is going to be good but a visit for the Christmas Festival is certainly special. And yes, next year’s dates are in my diary!
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