The programme has been announced for one of Farnham’s most popular events and this year it promises to be even bigger and better.

The seventh Feast of Food, which is organised by Farnham Town Council was launched on Thursday (13 August) in conjunction with Specsavers; the principal sponsor of the event. The reception was hosted by Brasserie Blanc who are loyal supporters of the annual Feast of Food.

The Deputy Mayor of Farnham Cllr John Ward welcomed guests, which included The Wheatsheaf who are a silver sponsor and Andrew Lodge estate agents who are the bronze sponsor.

Feast of Food will start on Friday 11 September with an Italian market in Castle Street. From Saturday 12 September, fifteen specially selected pubs, cafes, restaurants and caterers will each offer an exclusive three-course menu on one day during the fortnight.

On Saturday 26 September, Castle Street will be closed to traffic and will be transformed into the venue for a one-day Food Festival sponsored by Specsavers Farnham. There will be a variety of stalls selling food and drink to eat at the market or to take away and enjoy later. Visitors of all ages will be entertained by live music, children’s activities and cookery demonstrations by local chefs including the head chef from The Wheatsheaf, silver sponsor of the event.

Feast of Food will draw to an end on Sunday 27 September with the monthly Farmers’ Market.

Speaking at the launch, Cllr John Ward said: “I would like to thank all the sponsors who are involved in the 2015 Feast of Food. Their support means residents and visitors can continue to take part in a range of food-related events and to visit the popular Food Festival free of charge. Like fine wine, I think the Food Festival improves with age and since 2008, we have seen the quantity of stallholders nearly treble and visitor numbers increase significantly.

“One of the key improvements we have made this year is to make Food Fortnight an even bigger celebration of food. We wanted to see even more town centre businesses benefiting from the thousands of people visiting Farnham and are really pleased that this year’s programme features a number of non-food related businesses who have come up with some creative ways to get involved! I really do think this year’s Feast of Food could be the best yet and I look forward to meeting many Farnham residents and visitors.”

Lateef Iqbal store director at Specsavers Farnham, which is the principal sponsor of the Feast of Food, added: “Specsavers Farnham is delighted to be a sponsor for this year’s Feast of Food event. The team is very excited to be involved in this fantastic event and to support the local community. Events like this are a great way to bring together Farnham residents and local businesses, and to also promote Farnham as a great retail destination for all to enjoy. We look forward to making new acquaintances on the day and saying ‘hello’ to all our local customers.”

With the help of Fabulous Farnham, Farnham Town Council is hoping to involve more Farnham businesses that are not necessarily food related with the Feast of Food. There are still opportunities for your business to be involved, please contact the Fabulous Farnham team for more details.

See the show guide for details about the Food Fortnight menus, a list of Food Festival stallholders and cookery demonstration.

Left to right: Cllr John Ward, Deputy Mayor of Farnham; Lateef Iqbal store director at Specsavers Farnham and Gillian Ward, Deputy Mayoress.