Residents of Abergavenny and beyond had a taste of something new as the town hosted a brand new Spring Food Fair.

On Saturday 9th March, the historic St Mary’s Priory and Tithe Barn played host to the family-friendly event, giving attendees the opportunity to explore the best fresh produce and artisanal delights from Monmouthshire and the surrounding area.

The Fair showcased local businesses and producers to put visitors back in touch with sustainable food production in our special landscape.

The free Spring Food Fair celebrated the flavours of the season – with visitors meeting local growers and producers and sampling delicious produce.

As well as shopping for seasonal staple foods and signing up to innovative box schemes, visitors enjoyed live music, engaging talks and activities for children.

The event was a collaboration between the Abergavenny Food Festival and Monmouthshire County Council through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund Food Resilience Programme.

A total of 25 exhibitors and street food vendors attended, including Black Welsh Lamb, Tir Awen market garden and Monnow Valley Cider. 

For some, this was the next step in a journey taken over several months with support from Monmouthshire County Council and Food Partnership, starting with a Meet the Buyer event in March 2022 then building through Monmouthshire Food & Drink Business Network events, a shared trading space at Abergavenny Food Festival 2023 and now on to a solo pitch at the Spring Food Fair, showing how partnership working and peer-to-peer collaboration can help develop the local food economy.

Leader of Monmouthshire County Council, Cllr Mary Ann Brocklesby said:

“We have a thriving and growing community of growers and producers in Monmouthshire and I am delighted we have the chance to come together to promote and celebrate them.

“The Spring Food Fair is all about buying local and supporting the community.

“Abergavenny is already synonymous with fabulous food events and this will no doubt add to the growing list of reasons to visit Monmouthshire.”

All Monmouthshire’s residents can help support our local farming, food and drink businesses. Even buying just one thing from a local business each week makes a real difference.

Cllr Paul Griffiths & Leader of Monmouthshire County Council, Cllr Mary Ann Brocklesby

Look out for Shop Local posters around the county, and head over to www.foodmonmouthshire.co.uk for more information on how our businesses and communities are working together to support fairer, greener, healthier food and farming in a flourishing economy that benefits everyone.

Monmouthshire Food Partnership >

Exhibitors

THE QUEEN BEE HONEY CO: Caring for bees locally throughout Torfaen and Monmouthshire, producing unpasteurised honey, honeycomb, beeswax candles, beeswax polish and other bee-related gift ranges.

THE REBEL CRUMBLE: A range of tasty crumbles, bringing you warmth and comfort. From traditional, to alcohol infused, gluten-free and vegan options will also be available. Come and be rebellious!

THE CRAFTY PICKLE CO: Hand-crafted gut-friendly, unpasteurised, living fermented foods. On a mission to reduce food waste by using as much perfectly edible, but imperfect or surplus produce as possible to craft raw, vegan and naturally nutritious sauerkrauts, kimchis & kimchi juice. A percentage of all sales goes towards addressing food insecurity in the UK.

WENTWOOD’S BISTRO: Offering Mediterranean Cuisine that is well presented and Bistro standard, incorporating tastes and styles from the Med. New to the street food industry and offering something different.

LANGTONS FARM: A local organic market garden, delivering veg boxes to Abergavenny, Crickhowell, Brecon and more. Find out about their boxes and other ways to get hold of their fresh and tasty veggies here

BROOKE’S  DAIRY: Artisan ice-cream from pedigree Jersey cows. Cheeses and cheese tastings.

THE DELL VINEYARD: Based in Raglan and run by the Alford family. Products include Yr Afanc with flavours of elderflower and pear, Y Gwyllgi – Wales’ first Pinot Noir Gin co-produced with Silver Circle Distillery and combining skin, pulp and seeds from winemaking with wild flavours of Wye Valley botanicals.

MONNOW VALLEY CIDER: Offering a range of their Monmouthshire grown and produced ciders, perries and apple juices.

SOBREMESA DRINKS: Terroir-driven farmhouse beers and natural ciders. All ciders are wild fermented, no added sulphites, unfiltered, unfined and unpasteurised to encourage people to drink and enjoy the “Welsh Pomona”. One of the few current breweries using only British malts and hops but also incorporating Welsh ancient grains (Hen Gymro).

HILLSIDE BEEF AND LAMB: Farms native bred cattle and sheep, near Abergavenny and offers a home delivery service for their 100% grass fed and finished beef, lamb and mutton. Talk to them to find out how the farm is managed regeneratively, for the benefit of nature, wildlife and the environment as well as producing nutrient rich food.

BLACK WELSH LAMB: Organic, pasture-fed accredited hogget lamb and mutton from just outside Abergavenny. Their lamb won Three Gold stars at the Guild of Fine Foods  ‘Great Taste Awards’. They sell to private customers and restaurants and offer either small or large boxes of lamb or individual joints. They are introducing a subscription scheme so that customers can reserve lamb in advance throughout the year. Happy to talk about their approach to rearing and sustainability.

MONMOUTHSHIRE FAYRE connects you with local farmers and producers to bring local food to local people. Currently working with 8 farms and 13 small businesses to create meat box subscriptions, hampers  and ready meals. Pop down and try some samples or discuss supply for your household or business.

LOWER HOUSE FARM: is a mixed livestock farm tenanted by Laura and Matt who host open farm events and work in partnership with other local enterprises to encourage more people to buy locally and truly seek out where their food comes from. They use regenerative practices that cultivate healthy soils, promote diverse ecosystems and encourage resiliency. They are on a mission to see more people ‘Get On Farm’ through their events and (soon to launch) farm shop. They sell meat boxes direct and are a supplier for Monmouthshire Fayre. They are keen to work with more local producers who might like to supply their farm shop in the future.

THREE POOLS: Three Pools is a farm local to Abergavenny that practises permaculture and regenerative farming. They will be bringing a range of products produced on their farm – apple juice, honey, cider vinegar and meat. They will also be on hand to talk about events to be hosted on the farm over the course of spring and summer.

THE PRESERVATION SOCIETY: The Preservation Society produces multi award-winning jams and preserves, sirops, chutneys and pickles from the heart of the Wye Valley, and runs courses too.

MONMOUTH GIN COMPANY: showcasing multi award-winning premium craft gins which visitors will be able to sample. Happy to talk about their craft distillery (how it all started) and the processes used to make their gin.

TIR AWEN: A local Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) Market Garden which encourages people to try local veg boxes and has a commitment to sharing information on the value of small scale horticulture and buying local food. They are also linked to Bannau Acres so can share information on the network of local veg suppliers in the area.

CAERWENT CRAFT CHOCOLATE: Produce high quality single origin bean to bar chocolate with cocoa beans from different countries of origin. The chocolate has no artificial ingredients or colours and all dark chocolate products are Vegan.

BLACK MOUNTAINS PRESERVES: Award winning Handmade Preserves. Made by the traditional open pan method in the heart of the Black Mountains.