Lake District hotel launches new food festival

A new food festival on the shores of Lake Windermere aims to give some of Cumbria's best local produce a new twist.

The festival at The Waterhead Hotel's Bay Restaurant will run from Tuesday 18th to Saturday the 22nd of November.

Each night will have a different theme ranging from traditional Cumbrian dishes and the best of modern British cooking to classic French cuisine and food from the East.

The restaurant's award winning head chef Michael Weston-Cole says: "We are very lucky in this area to have a fantastic range of local producers offering some excellent quality food and drink. We're keen to show the versatility of this produce by creating dishes using different styles of cooking.

"We're going to be dusting off some old cookery books to produce some tasty traditional Cumbrian dishes that most people won't have had the opportunity to try before. We'll also be showing how some of our best local products can be used in a very creative way in cuisine from the British Isles and overseas."

The event will be launched at lunchtime on the 18th of November with an opportunity to try a specially created 21-course Ultimate Cumbrian Taster Menu.

Michael Weston-Cole says: "Most taster menus don't have something that really shows the diversity of Cumbrian produce. Anyone who joins us for the meal will be able to try everything from well known favourites like Cumberland Sausage to some more unusual dishes that we're creating specially for the festival. But all of the dishes will be made using local ingredients."

Bookings for the Ultimate Cumbrian Taster Menu must be made in advance as the number of places available for the meal will be limited to just 21.

The dishes at the festival will range from historic Lakeland recipes like Cumberland sausage loaf and John Peel Tart to eastern themed menu items such as crispy wanton skins topped with Morecambe Bay potted shrimps and tomato sambal, as well as banana sticky rice pudding with coconut sauce and mango syrup.

Throughout the festival diners will be able to watch the chefs in action in the kitchen on screens set up in the Bay Restaurant. There will also be opportunities to meet local producers.

More information on the festival will be available from early October at www.elh.co.uk/restaurants

Words: Clare Riley

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