There was a smorgasbord of food and drink on offer over the Easter weekend for people to tuck into as the spring harvest was rung in. Henry Holloway reports on the Brighton and Hove Food and Drink Festival's Spring Harvest.

A HOST of delicious foods, the very best Sussex produce, live entertainment and expert mas- ter classes hit Hove Lawns this weekend. 

Nick Mosley, festival director, said: “We’ve had an amazing start to the Spring Harvest but there’s lots more happening across the city in the coming week, including our Big Sussex Market next weekend on New Road.

“We have a world-class food and drink offering in our city and county, and the festival organisation works across the year to promote that message not only to our region but also the world through initiatives such as our international chef exchange.”

It was fun for all the family over the weekend as people flocked to the lawns to try out what the festival had to offer – with around 100 stalls on hand provid- ing Sussex and international food and drink.

Stalls at the Sussex World Food Market fea- tured gourmet cuisine, organic vegetables, breads, seafood, and locally reared meat alongside restaurateurs offering hot food.

The tasty treats were all washed down with plenty of different drinks of offer from stalls such as Wobblegate, Blackdown Sussex Spirits, Ten Green Bottles, Harvey’s Brewery and Butler’s Wine Cellar offering Sussex produced ciders, wines, gins, beers and ales.

The Mixology Group’s Rum Shack offered the chance to enjoy a cocktail in the sunshine.

Wagamama held a food bravery challenge and invited children to come and try out unusual flavours and textures.

Chef ’s from the county’s top restaurants – including Peter Buckingham, from the Hilton Metropole, Robby Jenks from Amberly Castle, Michael Remner from 64 degrees and Alun Sperring from The Chilli Pickle – were challenged to perfect a dish using Parmigano Reggiano cheese and Parma ham in just five minutes.

The festival has also worked to raise money for Rockinghorse and Fareshare –and an Easter egg hunt in aid of Rockinghorse will be in Royal Pavilion Gardens today at 11am.

The festival runs for a further week with events including a live food kitchen in Churchill, wine tast- ing, a big food pub quiz and ginger- beer beer and food matching supper.

Next weekend the Big Sussex Mar- ket of Sussex’s best growers and pro- ducers, will be held in New Road from 10am to 5pm on Saturday and Sunday.

The Spring Harvest runs until April 27. Across the summer the festival are operating the Sussex Wine Bus Tour every fourth Saturday of the month.

The Autumn Harvest runs September 4 to 14. For more details visit www.brightonfoodfestival.com.