Local Food hits the Top Note at the Isle of Wight Festival
Pop stars and revellers alike were able to “re-energise” by tucking into Isle of Wight’s locally produced food and drink. Thanks to the support and commitment of Festival organisers Solo, Taste of the Wight, the Island’s food development agency, organised a stand in the arboretum area of the event, featuring locally sourced and produced food for Festival goers and a backstage foodie kiosk, where the music performers and the media were able to sample the best from the Island food producers.
This was a fantastic venue for Taste of the Wight (ToW) to promote the consumption of local food whilst supporting the festival organiser’s ethos of creating benefits to the local economy and environment.
The arboretum stand offered:
• IW Asparagus with Rew Valley butter
• IW Lamb Sheek kebab wraps, spicy Island tomato salsa
• Island Hot Dog made from free-range Island pork – fried onions, homemade IW tomato sauce
• New Forest Strawberries & with Calbourne Classics Clotted Cream
• Minghella Ice Cream
• Wight Crystal Spring Water
And most famously the Island legendary Festival Fish Finger Sandwich (made from sustainable white fish) with farmer Ben Brown rocket and homemade tartare sauce.
All the bread used was made by the Village bakery, freshwater using flour grown and ground by the Island’s Stoneground Flour Company.
The stands were organised by ToW’s Project Manager Hayley Elston, aided by Chef Mark Young of the St Helen’s Restaurant who abandoned St Helen’s for the weekend and ran the very busy field kitchen. We are sure he was pleased to get back to the peace and order of his local brasserie. Full support was given by the South East Food Group partnership (SEFGP) by Penny Beauchamp and Sally Edwards.
Alongside the Taste take-away, the Island Farmer’s Market was supported selling picnic produce, Calbourne Classics ice cream, apple juice and home-made cakes. The sunny weather insured that the stalls were busy all day with happy music lovers.
Backstage, the ToW kiosk delivered taste sensations to singers that included Mini Island Ploughman’s made with IW Cheese Company cheese, Garlic Farm pickle, cherry tomatoes from The Tomato Stall, Island malty cob bread, rye biscuits from the Island Biscuit Company, and local sausages was washed down with Goddards Ales and Sharon Orchard apple juice. Farmer Ben Brown’s asparagus was sampled with Rew Valley butter and Isle of Wight Blue. Wight Vodka by 50 Degrees North paired with red and yellow tomato juice from the Tomato Stall, and mixed with Sharon Orchard apple juice and a few secret ingredients swept the Festivals ‘Best Cocktail’ Award.
Fresh strawberries with Calbourne Clotted Cream, and mini ice-cream cones from Calbourne Classics finished off what must be some of the best nibbles at any outdoor festival this summer!
Another win for local food at the IW Festival came in the Solo Hospitality area, where organiser’s guests enjoyed fabulously cooked food from around the region. As is becoming tradition with the IW Festival and in support of the Iocal community the food enjoyed by the VIPs was sourced from the Island and near neighbours across the South East.
Solo are proud to support the farmers, growers and fishermen to give you sustainable, farm assured and planet friendly food. Suppliers to Solo hospitality include:
Tomatoes, peppers, chillies and cucumbers from Wight Salads
Asparagus, rocket & salad leaves from Farmer Ben Brown
Cheese from IW Cheese Company
Lamb, beef & pork sourced from Island Farmers with farm assured free-range animals
Organic eggs from Little Duxmore Farm
Happy Chickens from Hampshire
Hog roasts from the New Forest
Milk & cream, Rew Valley Diary
Ice Cream from Minghella
Bread made with Island Stoneground Flour by Freshwater Bakery
Garlic & Garlic Bread from The Garlic Farm
New Forest Strawberries
Vegetables supplied by ‘Reg the Veg’, procured from the region
All the exotic bits from another Island or two…
For details of all suppliers go to: www.southeastenglandfoodanddrink.co.uk