Salcombe Crabfest 2025: All You Need to Know
Salcombe’s crab fishing industry is coming out of its shell on Sunday 4th May to celebrate Crabfest 2025, the...
by Barney Munn / Events
With Dartmouth Food Festival 2024 on its way, we’re sure you’re just as excited as we are to tuck into some of Devon’s finest delicacies. This year’s festival will take place from Friday 25th to Sunday 27th October, with plenty of tastings, workshops, talks and demonstrations for the whole family to enjoy.
Most importantly, there’ll be an array of delicious food to enjoy, with over 100 exhibitors attending. Here’s our guide on everything you need to know about Dartmouth Food Festival 2024.
Use our quick links below to jump to a specific section, or continue reading for all there is to know about Dartmouth Food Festival!
Dartmouth Food Festival started from humble beginnings in 2004 and has since become a mainstay in the foodie calendar, drawing food fanatics from far and wide. Celebrating their 20th Anniversary this year, the festival promises to be an unforgettable foodie experience.
Located in the picturesque seaside town of Dartmouth, this venue has a wealth of great gastronomic offerings from cafés, restaurants and local food suppliers. With an exciting lineup of exhibitors and celebrity chefs, Dartmouth Food Festival 2024 is not one to miss!
This year’s festival will see over 100 exhibitors and an abundance of mouth-watering produce to satisfy all taste buds. Most of these exhibitors are from Devon, so you won’t struggle to find amazing local producers flying the foodie flag for the South West! Not only are there great eateries to be enjoyed, you’ll also find a selection of local businesses offering great activities at the weekend.
Here are just a few of the traders you can expect to see at the event:
The full list of exhibitors is available to view on the Dartmouth Food Festival website.
This food festival takes place in the heart of Dartmouth, with most stalls under cover so you can enjoy all things foodie, whatever the weather. It will be hard for anyone in Dartmouth to miss the festival, with plenty going on at the Embankment, Boat Float and Royal Avenue Gardens. There will also be much more at the town’s eateries, including The Flavel, Royal Castle Hotel, Browns Hotel, Rockfish and Café Alf Resco.
The simple answer to this question is no! The amazing organisers of Dartmouth Food Festival have made this event free to enter, making it perfect for families who are on a budget. Even the Chef’s Demonstration Kitchen is free to enter, and there will be free children’s activities run by Coast and Country Cottages at the event.
Although the festival is largely free, there are some events which you’ll need to buy tickets for, including seminars and workshops. These are known to sell out fast, so we recommend you buy your tickets on the Dartmouth Food Festival website before it’s too late!
As well as an extensive list of food exhibitors and some highly accomplished chefs in attendance, Dartmouth Food Festival has an excellent event lineup. From wine seminars to children’s activities, there’s guaranteed to be something that will pique your interest.
Here’s a small selection of some of the events taking place at Dartmouth Food Festival 2024:
Chef Demonstrations
When: Friday 25th – Sunday 27th October
Where: The Chef Demo Tent, Royal Avenue Gardens
Cost: Free
Food Matters: Water in our Rivers and Taps
When: Saturday 26th October
Where: Food Matters Tent, Royal Avenue Gardens
Cost: Free
Tastings: Chocolate Master Class
When: Friday 25th October
Where: Brown’s Hotel, Victoria Road, TQ6 9RT
Cost: £15.00
Wine Seminar: South West English Wines
When: Friday 25th October
Where: The Upper Deck Room, Dartmouth Yacht Club
Cost: £18.50
Workshop: Fresh Pasta Making
When: Friday 25th – Sunday 27th October
Where: The Workshop Tent, Royal Avenue Gardens
Cost: £25
Workshop: Sweet Pastry Tarts
When: Friday 25th – Sunday 27th October
Where: The Workshop Tent, Royal Avenue Gardens
Cost: £25.00
You can find more events on the Dartmouth Food Festival website.
Children’s Biscuit Decorating with Coast & Country Cottages
When: Friday 25th – Sunday 27th October
Where: Coast & Country Cottages Stand, Royal Avenue Gardens
Cost: Free
Family Fun – Pizza Making
When: Saturday 26th October
Where: Flavel Church
Cost: Free
Family Fun – Bread of Life
When: Saturday 26th October
Where: Flavel Church
Cost: Free
Image courtesy of Ed Ovenden
As with previous years, Dartmouth Food Festival have invited an impressive list of industry-leading chefs, well-published food writers and renowned critics to deliver demonstrations, talks and seminars. If you’re looking to be informed and entertained by some of the nation’s best authorities on food, then this is the place to be!
Below is a sample of some of the culinary characters attending this year’s festival:
Visit the Dartmouth Food Festival website to find out more about the celebrity chefs attending.
Dartmouth is a hub for good food, with an array of great restaurants and cafés which are perfect for tasting the flavours of South Devon. You’ll still be able to find foodie heaven outside of the festival at any of our recommended restaurants below:
Led by accomplished executive head chef Elly Wentworth, The Angel provides a quality of food and service that is second to none. The restaurant is located on the South Embankment, right next to the River Dart, and has a fine dining atmosphere and an ethos focused on local and sustainable ingredients.
The first branch of Mitch Tonks’ now well-loved chain, Dartmouth’s Rockfish is one of the best places in Devon to taste local seafood. It’s situated on the South Embankment of the River Dart and serves fresh fish, sourced from the waters of nearby Brixham Harbour. With a focus on sustainable ingredients, diners are offered the catch of the day and can choose to have it grilled or fried.
The Seahorse serves fresh fish daily and can be found on the Embankment, alongside the River Dart. They offer exquisite Mediterranean seafood dishes, with menu mainstays of whole fish cooked on the grill and seafood pastas.
This restaurant was also founded by South-West culinary icon Mitch Tonks, alongside co-founder Mat Prowse. The head chef (and Mitch’s son), Ben Tonks, will also be demonstrating his skills at this year’s Dartmouth Food Festival.
Awarded with a Michelin Bib Gourmand, Andria is an ideal place to taste delectable dishes at affordable prices. Here you’ll find modern European dishes cooked excellently, in a cosy and stylish bistro setting.
South Devon is also home to some amazing local, sustainable food suppliers. Riverford Organic Farmers might be the most well-known, founded by local farmer Guy Singh-Watson. South Devon Chilli Farm are another amazing local producer, supplying spicy delights across the UK, from hot sauces to chilli jam.
Tideford Organics, Sharpham Wine and Sharpham Cheese are other purveyors of wholesome, local food in the area. You’ll quickly notice while dining at Dartmouth’s restaurants that locally sourced produce is a huge part of South Devon’s food culture. You can learn all about how to incorporate local ingredients into your own dishes with our free-to-download South Devon Cookbook.
One of the UK’s most beautiful harbour towns, Dartmouth is the perfect destination to get away from it all and pair some delicious food with a hearty portion of sea air and stunning views. If you like the sound of its annual food festival, why not spend the weekend here in one of our collection’s self-catering holiday homes?
Book your stay for Dartmouth Food Festival 2024
Or, if you can’t attend this year’s festival, there are a range of other exciting events held in Dartmouth annually. Dartmouth Regatta and Candlelit Dartmouth both feature stalls from some of the Food Festival’s local exhibitors. Discover the best of Devon’s festivals for this year!
by Barney Munn / Events
I'm Barney, a regional marketing executive with over 2 years of experience writing UK travel content. Having lived in the stunning...
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