Neath Food and Drink Festival is an annual

food festival A food festival is a festival, that uses food, often produce, as its central theme. These festivals have always been a means of uniting communities through celebrations of harvests and giving thanks for a plentiful growing season. History Food ...

held in

Neath Neath (; cy, Castell-nedd) is a market town and Community (Wales), community situated in the Neath Port Talbot, Neath Port Talbot County Borough, Wales. The town had a population of 50,658 in 2011. The community of the parish of Neath had a po ...

South Wales South Wales ( cy, De Cymru) is a loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire, south Wales extends westwards ...

Overview

The festival helps to celebrate

Welsh cuisine Welsh cuisine (Welsh: ''Ceginiaeth Cymreig'') encompasses the cooking styles, traditions and recipes associated with Wales. While there are many dishes that can be considered Welsh due to their ingredients and/or history, dishes such as cawl, W ...

by promoting and selling locally sourced produce. It is held over 3 days during October. The festival was established in 2009 and was extended from two days to three days in 2015; commencing on Friday and finishing on Sunday. There are over 80 stalls where local cafes, restaurants and companies present their products to a wider audience. The festival is located in the centre of the historic market town of Neath and promoted local food and drink businesses, encourages people from the area to shop locally, and educates visitors on the benefits of reducing food miles. The event has been praised for the positive economic benefits that it brings to Neath by increasing footfall in the town centre. In 2018 it had 60,000 visitors.

Events

Events include cookery demonstrations featuring local chefs, guided foraging walks, cask ale tasting and cookery workshops. Previous years have included a street food zone in Angel Square with hay bales to sit on, a Champagne Tent in the grounds of St Thomas’ Church and a Real Ale Hall in the Old Town Hall. Local businesses provide live music and themed menus at venues in the town centre.

Structure and Economic impact

The festival is organised by the Regeneration and Economic Development team of

Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council is the local authority for the county borough of Neath Port Talbot, one of the 22 principal areas of Wales. The council was controlled by the Labour Party from its creation in 1996 until 2022, when Plaid ...

and is supported by local businesses and community organisations. A total of 62 artisan traders attended the festival in 2018, of which 77% were from Wales, and 18% were new businesses trading for less than two years.

References

{{reflist Food and drink festivals in the United Kingdom Neath Annual events in Wales 2008 establishments in Wales Recurring events established in 2008 Autumn events in Wales

Overview

Events

Structure and Economic impact

Further reading

See also

References