Every September, Abergavenny Food Festival transforms our town into a bustling food hub, filling its streets with local producers, live cooking, inspiring talks and thousands of people brought together by a shared love of food. Yet despite being one of the UK’s best-known food festivals, a few myths still linger.
The biggest? That it’s simply a food market.
In reality, it’s exactly what the name promises: a festival. Across the weekend you’ll find demonstrations, conversations, book signings, tastings and live cooking from some of the biggest names in food, alongside hundreds of producers and independent businesses. This year welcomes guests including Nathan Outlaw, Ping Coombes, Sabrina Ghayour, Richard Hammond, The Beefy Boys and Cardiff-born chef Gaz Oakley, whose Abergavenny shop, Tŷ Fferm, has become a favourite with locals. Gaz will be celebrating his latest book, Plant to Plate, sharing inspiration for making the most of seasonal produce grown right here in Wales.
The second misconception is that the festival isn’t really for local people. In truth, the festival couldn’t exist without them.
More than 80% of producers come from Wales and the neighbouring border counties, and demand from local businesses has never been stronger, with trader applications increasing by 200%. It’s a sign that producers continue to see the festival as somewhere worth returning to, year after year.
Behind the bustling crowds and packed programme lies something even more important: a festival that continues to invest in the place that gives it its home. More than 300 local people are employed during the festival weekend, while the event itself operates as a not-for-profit organisation. Every pound generated is reinvested into securing the festival’s future for years to come. Even the money made at the various car parks across town goes directly to our local charities.
Of course, the festival also brings internationally recognised names to our market town. Seafood expert Nathan Outlaw will share his passion for sustainably cooked fish, Double MasterChef champion Ping Coombes explores the traditions behind her new book Rice, Sabrina Ghayour celebrates vibrant Middle Eastern cooking, Richard Hammond discusses his new Ratio Gin, and Hereford favourites The Beefy Boys promise an entertaining live-fire cooking demonstration.
But perhaps that’s what makes Abergavenny Food Festival special. World-class chefs don’t replace the local community; they join it. The festival shines a spotlight on Welsh food, Welsh producers and Welsh hospitality while inviting visitors to discover what local people already know: Abergavenny is a town with an extraordinary food story to tell.
This September, it’s a story worth being part of. Because good things come to those who taste.
Abergavenny Food Festival
