AROUND 4,000 people visited the Forest Showcase at Speech House Hotel on Sunday (October 1), despite the rain, to meet local food producers and craftspeople.

Organiser Rachael Thomas said: “Numbers were a bit lower than last year but the crowds still came out and we had amazing feedback on social media and on emails. Our exhibitors also commented that this year they had time to meet their customers and chat with them, which they really enjoyed.

“The event has been growing year-on-year and we now have far more local businesses than we ever have before. Around 80 per cent of those who took part this year were from the Forest and Wye Valley, from Cowshill Farm in Hewelsfield and the Forest Bakehouse in Longhope to Forest and Wye Ice-cream in St Briavels and Parva Spices in Tintern.

“The idea behind the event was always to showcase the wonderful array of produce in the Forest of Dean and to give families a good day out. We started it after the foot and mouth outbreak in 2001 to give local producers a platform to promote themselves.

“The food scene is growing and local producers are upping their game. When we started we had a lot of meat, but as well as that we now have vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free products on offer; the variety is much greater now.

“This year our cookery theatre featured local chefs. We’ve had celebrity chefs in the past, but we just don’t need to go further afield any

more. This year we even had a session on edible insects from Ian Barnes of Infamous Catering.

“We’re expanding and building on the event every year and trying new things. The Rewild Project were demonstrating how to skin a grey squirrel and cooking the meat on Sunday, which was new. And parent and child cookery classes proved very popular – in fact we’re planning to expand these next year.”

To find out more about the event visit forestshowcase.org