Bristol Food Connections: Our guide to what we think is just nice!

The Bristol Food Connections kicks off on Friday 1st May and runs until the 9th and promises to be a ‘revolutionary food festival’ that is going to be taking place across our entire beautiful city! This year is set to be the best yet, and with so many amazing events on we thought we’d pick out top 5 things that will be on our hit list.

Bristol Food Connections’ message is all about ‘bringing people and good food together’. They want to celebrate the people, the produce and the projects that are putting Bristol on the map and share the diversity of our communities and food cultures. We do all love an independent and you will all surely have to agree we have a lot to be proud in this city of so why not celebrate that?

There will be events taking place all over the city and they include; producer markets, a huge food trail where lots of discounts are available, good food walks, cookery classes and demos, tons of special offers happening everyday, pop up restaurants and loads more! I am not kidding, its massive!

They will actually be running 130 events over the 9 days which can all be found on there ‘Whats On‘ page, but here is our top picks from the list this year!

Eat Drink Bristol Fashion 

Every year this is one of our personal highlights as it is just by mine and Meg’s office! Queen’s Square gets transformed into a lush mini food and drink festival where British tapas (created by Josh Eggleton from The Pony and Trap) is served in a cosy, magical festival style setting. They have loads of musicians performing live as well to bring in the summer party season!

What else makes this super special is their fine dining experiences where you can enjoy an amazing slap up meal at a fraction of the cost. It is advisable to book the sittings in advance because they get snapped up very quickly. You can book here. 

This year they will also be hosting a new food market as well as cookery demonstrations throughout the festival, so there really is a lot happening! They will also be hosting the finale party on the 9th May which promises to be a music extravaganza!

All the details can be found on their site – eatdrinkbristolfashion.co.uk

Eat Drink Bristol Fashion.

Harbourside Market

On the 9th May The Harbourside Market will be expanding it’s regular market and launching it’s new city centre food market! This new food market right in the heart of the city will feature loads of fresh produce, an extensive collection of Bristol’s finest street food and will continue to showcase the best local creators and makers.

The market runs 10am until 4pm and sounds pretty ace to us, especially if the sun is out!

For more details check their website – theharboursidemarket.co.uk

Harbourside Market

Brandon Hill Foraging Walk

This is a little bit of a random one but on Sunday 3rd of May you can go on a foraging walk on Brandon Hill. The event will help you uncover the edible secrets hiding in our city. It will also give you the opportunity to discover a variety of tasty and nutritious wild plants growing and will teach you how to create a delicious meal from wild ingredients that you collect.

The course is running from 11am until 1pm and is £5 per person. Make sure you book this one in advance via there website –  goforaging.co.uk/courses/

Brandon Hill Foraging Walk

5 O’Clock Apron at Hart’s Bakery 

If foraging isn’t your thing then on Sunday 3rd of May you can join the wonderful Claire from Hart’s Bakery as she cooks dishes from her new cookbook! She will be running 3 workshops; brunch, lunch and tea (times below) and will be aiming to teach you how to cook healthy, imaginative and tasty food that all of the family will love!

Workshop times: 10:00 to 11:00, 13:00 to 14:00 and 16:00 to 17:00

Booking cost £15, which includes 1 adult and 1 child – .eventbrite.co.uk/e/5-o-clock-apron-workshops-tickets-16166992911

5 O’Clock Apron at Hart’s Bakery

Cheese School with Jess Trethowan and Fiona Beckett

Now I have thrown this one in for a certain Miss Meg as she is our resident cheese lover and all out enthusiast! This event is all about cheese and cider which I have to say might be one of our Meg’s favourite food combinations. ‘Cheese School’ will be on the 9th May and is described as an afternoon of cheese and real cider tasting. It includes a fine cheese tasting session where there will be a discussion of the relative merits of pasteurised vs unpasteurised cheeses, how fancy! There will also be a range of ciders to taste, including a collaborative cider made by Birch and 40 Maltby Street in London.

Tickets cost £25 and includes a pie lunch. To make a reservation, please call Birch on 01179 028 326.

Cheese School with Jess Trethowan and Fiona Beckett

So that’s it! Bristol Food Connections kicks off this weekend and is set to be the biggest and best yet!

(All pictures used are from the Bristol Food Connections website)