Press Releases
Editors Pick - Waitrose.com (June 2010)
Feast of Dorset festival hits national headlines as sponsors commit (May 2010)
Britains Best Food Festivals - Article from The Week (15th May 2010)
The Independent 'What's on' article featuring FoD 2010 (13th May 2010)
Bright future for Wimborne as licence approved (30th April 2010)
Celebrity chefs return to award winning Feast of Dorset - Blackmore Vale magazine (9th April 2010)
Get a taste of the garden with Master Chef contestant - Blackmore Vale magazine (9th April 2010)
Feast of Dorset helps Julia's House Children's Hospice (March 2010)
Celebrity chefs return to award winning Feast of Dorset (March 2010)
Feast of Dorset serves up a treat for food lovers - Stour and Avon magazine (25th September 2009)
Feast of Dorset festival hits national headlines as sponsors commit
May 2010
The award winning Feast of Dorset food festival hit national headlines twice in two days as sponsors for the September event commit funding.
On May 13 the event was featured in The Independent newspaper in a special supplement. Feast of Dorset was included in a handful of ventures being held over the summer. Under the banner heading Your Guide to 2010’s Best Festivals, the article had a photograph by Barney Smyth. Two days later Feast of Dorset was highlighted in The Week Magazine in a round up of the UK’s best festivals taking place over the summer. Another of Barney’s photographs was used showing a striking contemporary marquee against a backdrop of stately home Deans Court in Wimborne.
The extravaganza, which won the Independent Magazine’s Best UK Food Festival 2009, has also been well covered by local newspapers throughout Dorset and will be featured by food writer Rose Prince in the Telegraph in July. Such high profile publicity has also encouraged sponsors to come forward says Sir William Hanham, owner of Deans Court. Sponsors include Waitrose (herb garden Walk & Talk, celebrity chef Q&A panel), accountant Saffery Champness (falconry display) and solicitor Steele Raymond (After Dark music by the Jazz Ambassadors and Latin band Mambo Santa Maria). Support has also been pledged from Ruinart Champagne.
He says: “Without doubt, good publicity encourages sponsors to make their pledges. It shows that this is an excellent festival and will, in turn, promote their companies. We are immensely for our sponsors’ support in what is still a very difficult trading environment.”
Feast of Dorset takes place over the weekend of 18-19 September and more information can be found on the website at www.feastofdorset.co.uk
Bright future for Wimborne as licence approved
30th April 2010
Wimborne's future looks bright after Deans Court was granted a licence for holding a handful of strictly controlled events each year. East Dorset District Council's licensing committee have approved the licence with 68 conditions. Two large (over 1000 people) and four small events can be held in the historic house and gardens annually.
Owner Sir William Hanham says: "We are delighted and want to assure the public in no uncertain terms that the types of events we plan are civilised, well controlled, aimed at families and people who respect residents' quality of life. Deans Court is a valuable amenity to the town. Improved access to Deans Court will mean improved cultural tourism for Wimborne. For the last 35 years Deans Court has provided people with a magical escape from the hurly burly of every day life and this weekend we look forward to opening again for the National Gardens Scheme. Our new licence now means we can serve lunch with a glass of wine in the garden as well as our traditional teas - all prepared by Masterchef's Jez Barfoot. It's not in our interest to kill the goose which lays the golden egg."
An agreed strategy will provide a management plan to ensure residents are not disturbed. In particular, fears regarding noise levels have been allayed as none of the events can have music as the main focus.
The Feast of Dorset food festival has already shot to national prominence winning a national award in its first year, 2009. Sir William received numerous complimentary letters with no complaints from residents. Town traders reported a surge in sales and all local cash machines ran out of money. An impressive range of celebrity chefs is lined up for this year's FoD (September 18-19) which was featured in The Independent newspaper on 28th April in a round up of the UK's best food festivals this summer.
Deans Court opens its doors through out the summer as part of the National Gardens Scheme with some proceeds going to the town's Victoria Hospital. It is open 2-3 May, 30-31 May, 2 June, 9 June, 29-30 August.
Feast of Dorset helps Julia's House Children's Hospice
March 2010
The award winning Feast of Dorset family food festival will raffle a hand made gingerbread house in aid of the local children's hospice.
Feast of Dorset takes place at Deans Court, Wimborne on 18-19th September 2010. Last year it won the Independent Magazine's Best UK Food Festival award. Under 14's go free and there are generous concessions. Camping is available on Saturday night. The website is at www.feastofdorset.co.uk
The ginger bread house is being made by Sandie Sales of Blandford. She says: "This is a fantastic cause and will hopefully raise lots of money for Julia's House. I use the best ingredients and the ginger bread house will be decorated with icing, hand made flowers and other decorations. It will be really pretty and taste wonderful!"
Kate Graeme-Cook of Feast of Dorset says: "This is a lovely way of helping our local children's hospice. What could be more appropriate - a ginger bread house!" The winning ticket will be drawn at 4pm on Sunday 19th September. Julia's House is based near Poole and is at www.juliashouse.org
The festival includes a celebrity cookery theatre, Hangi New Zealand fire pit roast, bee displays, 50 food producers, restaurant marquees, a book launch by Rose Prince, walks around the vegetable and herb gardens, bread making demonstrations and live music in 14 acres of enchanted gardens.
Celebrity chefs return to award winning Feast of Dorset
March 2010
Two of the country's most celebrated chefs will be the star attractions of the award winning Feast of Dorset food festival.
The event is set for 18-19 September 2010 at Deans Court, Wimborne. It is the festival's second year and has a great reputation to uphold - last year it won the Independent Magazine's Best UK Food Festival as judged by Mark Hix.
2010 sees Rose Prince who lives nearby launching her new book at Feast of Dorset. Rose, who writes for the Telegraph, will also be doing demonstrations in the cookery theatre with Mark who used to work at two of the world's most celebrated restaurants, Le Caprice and The Ivy in London. He now has his own restaurants in London and Lyme Regis.
Over 50 exhibitors will have stands at FoD and demonstrations include bread making by Paul Merry of Panary, wine tasting, a cheese tent, bee keeping, tours around the organic vegetable garden with its famous crinkle crankle wall and a wide range of artisans. Overnight camping is available so revellers can dance the night away.
Visitors will be able to enjoy a range of mouth watering menus in restaurant marquees run by Mark Thornton. Mark's first pub, The Anchor at nearby Shapwick has a Michelin recommendation and his latest venture, The Bull at Wimborne St Giles which opened last winter, is already tickling the taste buds & promises more of the same.
Ten per cent of FoD ticket sales will be split between charities The Humane Slaughter Association and The British Beekeepers' Association.
Feast of Dorset is a celebration of seasonal West Country produce in an enchanted secret garden and promotes sustainability in rural communities.
Beekeeping
START BEEKEEPING!
Demonstrations for Kids and Adults
Introducing Beekeeping to beginners will be a feature of Dorset's latest Food Festival, to be held at Deans Court, Wimborne on 18th & 19th September. Louise Marshall, Wimborne's self-styled 'Queen Bee', will be encouraging young and old to take up beekeeping at Feast of Dorset, which will promote local, seasonal and sustainable West Country produce in a stunning setting at harvest time. Supplying bee-suits for all sizes, Louise will take groups through the Apiary and give kids and adults the chance to handle bees and learn about apiculture at first hand.
'I'm hoping that anyone with a little outdoor space and a little spare time, will take up beekeeping', says Louise. 'Honeybee populations are in serious decline and this will have huge repercussions on our environment if we don't act now. Many people think it's too technical to get started, but come to Feast of Dorset and I'll show you how, for a small investment, you could soon be eating your own honey, and working with one of the planet's most fascinating animals'.
