Monday 25 June – Friday 6 July 2018
From 25th June the festival will showcase the cream of local produce and the Island’s creative culinary talent.
This year almost every restaurant on the Island is participating, from the Braye Beach to the Braye Chippy, from the Moorings to Mai Thai.
And with up to 10 tempting offers served up every single day, there’s something to appeal to everybody’s taste.
The only dilemma you’ll face is in choosing what to go to.
For fish and seafood aficionados there’s an ocean of choice. Brittany-born chef David Ollivrin is returning to his Gallic roots at Le Pesked with a five course Fish and Seafood Night, and a Fruit de Mer platter, Braye Chippy and the Georgian are serving up classic Moules Frites, while Bumps will present a four course local seafood meal for the festival finale.
A firm fixture on the festival menu is Alderney’s superlative home grown, free range beef and pork.
Enjoy a Surf and Turf steak and seafood night at Le Pesked, a juicy Kiln Farm or Alderney Free Range Pork burger at Jack’s Brasserie, or book a table at the Georgian’s Zero Food Miles Tasting menu – seven courses of fresh Alderney-grown food prepared by their top notch chefs.
If you’re in the mood for something lighter, linger over Afternoon Tea for Two with home-made cakes and jam at Mel’s Tearoom, or with Ingrid’s Swedish open sandwiches, hand-baked cake and scones,
in the peace of her walled garden at St Anne’s Guesthouse. All served up, naturally, with lashings of Alderney’s famously rich dairy cream.
If you fancy something spicier, new for the festival and sure to be a sell-out is a traditional Balti Night at Nellie Gray’s. Or you can head to Mai Thai, to enjoy 10 per cent off the price of a meal, plus free homemade ice cream. On Tuesdays tuck into Eddie’s lip-smacking Spanish Paella in Bumps Bistro’s flower-filled garden.
The festival also showcases drinks, with a Wheadon’s Gin Tasting Evening at the Georgian and a Beer Festival running at the Moorings from 6pm every evening.
There’s a feast for your eyes and ears too at this year’s festival – with film-themed dinners and a movie at the Braye Beach Hotel, ranging from the Bucket List (two course meal featuring a bucket of KFC-style chicken) to Breakfast at Tiffany’s (Alderney breakfast plus a Bucks Fizz). New for this year is a market on Sunday July 1st is a market on the sunny Moorings terrace featuring all things “Alderney”.
Visit Alderney’s Caroline Gauvain said the Food Festival was helping to put local produce and talent on the culinary map.
“Alderney’s Food Festival is really growing in momentum and our restaurants, hotels, pubs and guest houses have really stepped up to the plate this year. There’s a rich variety of dishes and events on offer, thanks to the individuality of all of the chefs we are lucky enough to have on Island, from delicious cakes and traditional roasts, to authentically French, Thai and Indian dishes.
“In fact there are so many events and offers on every single day, the challenge will be deciding what to go to.”
‘’People are invited to share their experience of the festival on social media with Visit Alderney by using #TasteAlderney’’
Alderney’s Food Festival makes it an ideal time for an Island visit. You can work off all that delicious indulgence by taking a wander round its nine mile coastal paths and seeing just what makes the Island’s local produce taste so good.
Along the south cliffs, Kiln Farm’s pretty herd of cattle graze contentedly in sunshine on the sea cliffs, while next to the tracks leading to Alderney’s gannet colony, you see the free range rare breed pigs living the good life on the Blaye. And all around, of course, are the blue, clear waters sweet from which the Island’s succulent crab and lobsters are plucked.
It’s easy to see why residents insist on home grown when they eat out.
“The Alderney Food Festival is a fantastic opportunity to explore Alderney and taste some of the best home-grown produce that the British Isles have to offer,” Mrs Gauvain said. “The Island is just small enough to walk or cycle to all the various pubs and restaurants on offer. You can drink in some of our
stunning scenery, fascinating heritage and make new friends along the way. What are you waiting for?”
Food Festival Facts
Participating restaurants include:
- Le Pesked
- Braye Beach Hotel
- The Georgian House
- Bumps Bistro
- Mai Thai
- Nellie Gray’s
- Braye Chippy
- Mel’s Tearoom
- The Moorings
- Jack’s Brasserie
- St Anne’s Guesthouse
- The Divers
To find out more about holidays in Alderney go to www.visitalderney.com
