Winchester has long been known as a great place for foodies. This summer the city will have its first dedicated free festival showcasing its fabulous local producers and talented chefs.

Taking place on Sunday, 9th July, the new Winchester Food Festival is being organised by Hampshire Fare and will showcase delicious produce from the Winchester District and wider Hampshire area.

Winchester Food Festival will be held in the Cathedral's Outer Close, and will open from 10.00am with a Chefs' Kitchen running from 12 noon. Top chefs from favourite restaurants will be sharing tips and creating tasty recipes using local produce provided by Festival sponsor Quob Park Free Range & Organic. The line-up includes Damian Brown from Chesil Rectory, Miff Kayum from Kyoto Kitchen, and Lenny Carr-Roberts, of The Bugle, Twyford, The Fox, Crawley, and Shoal, Winchester, who started his career at Le Gavroche, but is probably best known for his television appearances alongside TV Chef James Martin

Tracy Nash, Hampshire Fare, said: “Winchester Cathedral provides the perfect backdrop to this new FREE festival. We have been wanting to hold a truly local summertime food festival in Winchester for a long time. We are really delighted that so many businesses from across the Winchester District have stepped forward to help us hold what will be a key event in the Hampshire Food Festival calendar, and a new event for Winchester going forwards.”

Produce will range from superfood micro-greens to locally caught trout, coffee, orchard juices and no-alcohol cocktails to gins infused with local botanicals, plus fudge, fizz, fresh veg, breads, honey and cheeses. There will be BBQ cooking with SOCAL, plus there will be a big focus on community and green issues with Winchester Beacon, the local homeless charity and the Festival's charity partner, collaborating with the social enterprise, Munch, to shine a spotlight on creating delicious budget-friendly dishes. Registered nutritionist Mary Needham will be sharing tips on getting the most from ingredients, how to reduce food bills without compromising on flavour and simple ways to make healthy dishes.

Dr Paul Spencer, Winchester Business Improvement District (BID), said: “Winchester BID is delighted to be supporting the Winchester Food Festival as part of the Hampshire Food Festival. Winchester is a fantastic place for foodies and this new event will celebrate local producers and businesses in the beautiful setting of Winchester Cathedral. Come along! Visitors can also visit the Hampshire Farmer's Market and explore the city centre. It will be a fantastic day to be in Winchester!”

John Blake, Winchester Cathedral added: “We are delighted to host the inaugural Winchester Food Festival in the Cathedral's historic grounds and are excited to partner with Hampshire Fare for what, we sincerely hope, will become an annual event in the city's festival calendar.”

The event is free to attend and has been made possible thanks to much-valued support from local businesses, including Quob Park Free Range & Organic; NFU Mutual Winchester & Wickham; The Winchester Bakery and Shorewood Homes.

For more information about Winchester Food Festival follow @winchesterfoodfestival on social media or visit www.winchesterfoodfestival.co.uk.