Gracing the streets of Bath from Friday 24th to Sunday 26th September 2021, The Great Bath Feast will celebrate the best locally sourced food and drink, appealing to residents and culinary connoisseurs from far and wide. Beyond the festival weekend, there will be a number of curated and fringe events throughout October.
Partnering with The Bertinet Kitchen, The Great Bath Feast will offer chef demos, a food and drink trail and the Milsom Street Market with market stalls and pop-ups from some of Bath’s incredible local suppliers, along with sumptuous food from further afield. Milsom Street will be closed to traffic for the occasion.
Initially launched by Visit Bath in 2012, The Great Bath Feast is being resurrected by local residents, Lee and Roxy Bater, owners of ILOW – Cornwall’s leading food and drink events company.
Lee Bater, co-owner of ILOW, says “Having recently moved to the outskirts of Bath, it is a delight to be able to bring The Great Bath Feast back to the city-centre, and to add Bath to our portfolio of award-winning independent food, drink and music festivals. We intend to create a festival that will excite the senses with a dazzling array of sights, smells and tastes. Whether you’re a seasoned cook or developing your skills and knowledge, The Great Bath Feast will have something to spark your interest.”
The Bertinet Kitchen is the festival’s headline sponsor. Richard Bertinet, owner of The Bertinet Kitchen cookery school and founder of the Bertinet Bakery, will curate the line-up in partnership with the festival’s organisers, as well doing a demo at the event. Richard says “I am so thrilled that The Great Bath Feast is returning to the streets of Bath and to the heart of the city. It’s a wonderful opportunity to bring Bath back to life after the pandemic. Jo and I are incredibly excited about our partnership with the team and we can’t wait to tell you more about what’s planned.”
The line-up currently includes Chris Cleghorn, head chef of the Olive Tree restaurant with three AA rosettes under his belt and his first Michelin star in 2018; Ping Coombes, winner of the coveted MasterChef trophy in 2014, owner of Ping’s Makan Supper Club and Ping’s Masak Cookery School; and the trailblazers of vegetarian cuisine in Bath since 2013, restaurant and grocer, OAK.
Visit Bath and Bath BID have also come on board as strategic partners.
Kathryn Davis, interim CEO of Visit Bath, says “We are thrilled that Lee and Roxy from ILOW will be bringing back The Great Bath Feast. Bath has an exceptional food and drink scene that would normally attract hundreds of thousands of visitors from the UK and internationally. The Great Bath Feast is the perfect showcase for Bath’s chefs, its myriad of restaurants and cafes, independent retailers, farm shops and artisans of food and drink. The festival couldn’t come at a more important time. We look forward to working together to maximise the opportunities that this event presents.”
Allison Herbert, Chief Executive of the Bath BID, says “I am delighted that The Great Bath Feast is returning to the city, and am looking forward to working with Bath’s hospitality businesses to shine a spotlight on our wonderful food and drink sector. The Bath BID is a partnership of businesses who are based in the city centre. It is our priority to make Bath a more successful city, and we believe this event will bring a boost to local food and drink businesses this autumn, reminding residents, visitors and people who work in Bath of the fantastic food and drink scene that is right on their doorstep.”
If you would like to participate in the festival programme or collaborate with the organisers, please contact info@ilowhq.com.