With the onset of summer imminent and the reduced risk of COVID-19 our thoughts should be turning to a time of fun in the sun and some responsible socialising. With any luck at least a few of our much loved local businesses will have survived the near apocalyptic last 12 months and we will soon be able to return to our much loved local shops and pubs.

During the summer months I can’t think of anything better than sitting in the local pubs beer garden, sunglasses on with a refreshingly cold pint of local beer, some great company and kicking back with my flip flops on.

At this time of year many small towns and villages often host some sort of food and drink festival where local food and drink products are displayed and sold in a market type setting. Being a Chef I have to admit that I love travelling to various Food festivals around the country and sampling the food and enjoying the local hospitality.

This year more than any other, food and drink festivals are more important as the hospitality industry has been hit hard by the recent dystopia we have all been living through..

And I guess that is the reason for this blog, to remind people that life is going to carry on and that we are going to get back to doing the things we loved doing. If anything we have just been reminded how fragile our cultures are and how important it is to protect them and I am not prepared to let traditions such as Food and Drink Festivals pale off into a distant memory.

Take a look at this list, it has a few of the best Welsh Food and Drink Festivals you could attend this summer. I have tried to give as much detail as possible in the links, but as you can appreciate accuracy is a little difficult given the uncertainty we are still faced with.

• Abergavenny Food Festival
• Neath Food And Drink Festival
• Cowbridge Food Festival
• St Fagans Real Food Market

A favourite of mine has to be the Cowbridge Food and Drink Festival. As a resident of Cowbridge I always attend this amazing event and often get involved. The festival has been running for 15 years and is held over two days on 24th & 25th of May.

The event features hundreds of food stands in several locations around the town as well as most of the local food businesses (of which there are many) often open their doors to street food and cooking BBQ style on the pavement outside their shops.

If you want to find out more about Cowbridge take a look at our Cowbridge Guide Page.

Here at Cowbridge Kitchen we are hoping to get a few of our products out on the next food festival, offering a chance to try some of our homemade snacks. You can cook them yourself of course if you follow our easy recipes online or if you pop into the next festival you might just get to try some ready made by me.

Rather obviously the local pubs and hotels host beer tasting festivals. The Duke of Wellington often holds a Cider festival and hosts plenty of local and not so local ciders from around Wales. And if you call into the Vale of Glamorgan Public House you will often find a Craft Beer event and a marquee in the beer garden full to the brim with the best in local craft beer from around Wales.

Food and wine festivals have so much culture to offer that it would be a crime if they were ever to become redundant as they are a great way for everybody to discover new and exciting foods and cooking ideas as well as to support local farmers and hospitality businesses across the country.