Award-winning venues, producers, chefs and restaurants have joined forces to celebrate the incredible food and drink on offer across East Devon’s stunning coast and countryside.
Taste East Devon is a nine-day food and drink festival taking place across the whole of East Devon from 11th - 19th September 2021.
From farm feasts to brewery open days, seafood tasting experiences to BBQs and parties, each event will have its own mix of experiences and entertainment. Some events will be ticketed, some will be open freely for all. www.tasteeastdevon.co.uk
This unique festival is a true ‘field to fork’ experience with participants including Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, Michael Caines MBE, Darts Farm, THE PIG-at Combe, River Cottage, Deer Park Country House, East Devon AONB, Mazzard Farm, Jack in the Green, Otter Brewery, Lympstone Manor and the Donkey Sanctuary.
Ottery St Mary in the heart of East Devon will kick things off with its own Food & Families Festival on the 11th - from then on all manner of tastings, demos, producer visits, special menus will be staged across the area, culminating in a grand finale at THE PIG-at Combe’s Summer Party in Gittisham on September 19th.
From an evening at River Cottage HQ to a Darts Farm all day ‘Field, Fire and Ferment’ food festival and feast in its new ‘The Farm Table’ restaurant there will be something for everyone. Various restaurants in the area will create special menus and experiences throughout the nine days including a seafood tasting experience at The Salutation Inn, ‘Cocktails & Canapés of East Devon’ at The Jack in the Green and flour milling, gin making at Otterton Mill. The Donkey Sanctuary will be hosting a vegan lunch with conservation talk, while beer lovers may book a tour and pizza experience at Otter Brewery.
East Devon is a sensational destination for food and drink lovers, with a coastline full of beaches and seaside resorts. The area includes the world-famous Jurassic Coast and two Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty. All events are within 30 minutes of the sea, many are right up along the shore. The area is renowned for its locally landed fish and seafood from East Devon day-boats. With a patchwork of fields spanning the region, Devon is home to native breed Red Ruby cattle.
Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall said about Taste East Devon: “It is important that we celebrate what we have. We have this landscape - I don’t know the exact term, but I call it Dingly-Dell. Up-hill-and-down-dale… It lends itself to small-scale mixed farming. People doing bits and pieces. And because farms have tended to be small there’s been that entrepreneurial spirit of adding value to products with a bit of artisan craftsmanship thrown in. Little dairies with their own cheeses - small farms making their own cider on the side.
“And that is a great thing to feed a food culture,” Hugh added. “The patchwork of small dairy farms has all but gone, which is a great shame - but in their place there’s diversification. River Cottage was, itself, an old dairy farm - but we have diversified here as others have. What’s great about this part of the world is that quite a few people have come from elsewhere because they sense a kindred-spirit here.

“Food entrepreneurs. They come to grow, they come to experiment, they come to diversify. They come from places where the land is more mono-cultured - and there are still opportunities here to do really amazing things with food.
“The productivity - the entrepreneurial spirit of small growers and producers - it has become a bit of a Mecca.”
Michael Caines MBE adds: “We needed to have something in the calendar that said we are going to celebrate this wonderful region. Our own identity is shaped by the places and the people who live here - so come and be a part of it!”
Sponsors include: East Devon District Council, East Devon Excellence, NFU Mutual Honiton, NFU Mutual Tiverton, Jurassic Fibre, Ashfords Solicitors and Lympstone Manor.
For further information and regular updates about the festival, visit www.tasteeastdevon.co.uk. Follow Taste East Devon on Instagram or Facebook - /TasteEastDevon.

Taste East Devon Events Timetable
Further information found at www.tasteeastdevon.co.uk
· Saturday 11th September 10 - 5pm - Ottery St Mary Food & Families Festival
· Saturday 11th September 12 - 6pm - Darts Farm Picnic at Pebblebed – with vineyard tour and tastings
· Saturday 11th September 6.30 - 8.30pm - Sidmouth Gin School - gin and rum making
· Sunday 12th September 9 - 5.30pm - Otterton Mill - Gin distilling day and wheat milling
· Sunday 12th September 9.30 - 5.30pm - O’Hagan’s Meadery - Open day at Trill Farm - learn about honey, bee keeping and how mead is made
· Sunday 12th September 2 – 7pm – Devon Cookery School – Farm to Fork. Butchery with Peter Greig from Pipers Farm, cooking and feasting
· Monday 13th September, 2 - 4pm - THE PIG-at Combe - Kitchen Garden Gurus - how to run a kitchen garden followed by flatbreads and mocktails
· Monday 13th September - 5 - 7pm - Sidmouth Distillery spirit tasting
· Monday 13th September, 6- 9pm - Deer Park - Cider and wood fired pizza, tour of the orchard with estate manager
· Tuesday 14th September 11 - 4pm - Samosa Lady - Samosa making workshop
· Tuesday 14th September – Lympstone Manor vineyard tour and tasting, followed by a Celebratory ‘Devon’ lunch matched with local wines from Lyme Bay Winery.
· Tuesday 14th September - The Jack in the Green, Cocktails and canape night
· Tuesday 14th September - 6 - 7pm and 7 - 8pm Buzz Coffee cupping
· Wednesday 15th September 6.30 - 10.30pm - Otter Brewery - Brewery tour and Dough Bros Pizza
· Wednesday 15th September – 12 – 5pm – Heron Farm – BBQ, wine tours and tastings
· Thursday 16th September 11:30 - 2.30pm - The Donkey Sanctuary - Loving our Land, 2 course vegan lunch and conservation talk
· Thursday 16th September 7 - 10pm - Jack in the Green ‘Meet the Brewer’ evening in partnership with Otter Brewery - 5 course tasting menu with Otter Brewery’s finest
· Friday 17th September 10 - 3pm - Two Drifters Distillery open day with cake and cocktails
· Friday 17th September 6 - 9pm - The Nightjar Inn - homemade pie and pint night - Sandford Orchards Rib Tickler cider
· Friday 17th September 6.30 - 7.30pm - River Cottage six course feast celebrating summer
· Saturday 18th September 10 - 4pm - Darts Farm Field, Fire, Ferment Food Festival
· Saturday 18th September 11 - 3pm - Dalwood Vineyard - tour, tasting and food
· Saturday 18th September 11 - 2pm - Courtneys - Apple picking, cider, sausages and homemade apple pie in the orchard
· Saturday 18th September 7 - 10pm - Darts Farm Field, Fire, Ferment Evening Tasting Feast
· Sunday 19th September 12 - 7pm - THE PIG-at Combe’s summer party. An afternoon of food, drink, live music, food masterclasses and gardening pop-ups.
· All week - The Point Bar and Grill - Celebration of Exmouth seafood specials
· Wednesday 15th - Saturday 18th September - The Salutation Inn - local seafood six course tasting menu with a glass of English fizz on arrival