Reepham’s Panther Brewery held a brewery tour and local produce pairing event on 28 September as part of this year’s Norfolk Food & Drink Festival.
The Panther Brewery team with Claire and Andrew Elliott of South Fork Farm in front of the 1959 Bristol coach in which Richard Dixon of Eastern Transport Collection brought visitors from Norwich to the Norfolk Food & Drink Festival event held in Reepham
Brewery owner Martin James said: “I was keen to be involved in this festival, now in its third year, and decided to stage an event to include a BBQ, tour and beer tasting at the brewery.
“We already participate in various farmers’ markets throughout the county and I wanted to invite some of the fabulous producers to be involved in our event by making ale-infused bread, pork pies and chutneys for our BBQ.
“Joe Trewellard of Bread Source, Candi Robertson of Candi’s Chutney and Sarah Pettegree of Bray’s Cottage Pork Pies all said yes. And Andrew and Claire Elliott of South Fork Farm, Hockering, who feed their rare breed animals with my waste malt, agreed to bring along some meat for the BBQ.”
Visitors from Norwich were brought to Panther Brewery in a vintage 1959 Bristol MW5G coach driven by Richard Dixon of the Eastern Transport Collection.
“I was pleased that the Bell Hotel in Norwich was keen to sell tickets for the event and we had more than 30 people come on the coach – everyone had a great time,” said Mr James. “The weather, food and, yes, the beer, was enjoyed by all.”
The Norfolk Food & Drink Festival 2013 took place from Saturday 31 August to Sunday 6 October during which hundreds of foodie events took place all over the county.
The festival has become the largest event of its kind in the UK – a celebration of local food and drink, Norfolk producers and healthy eating featuring delicious food experiences, lively debate and fun food-related activities.
Panther Brewery said it would like to do a similar event next year. “Perhaps we could involve more local businesses,” Mr James added, “possibly something to work alongside the Aylsham Food Festival.
“This could include cookery demonstrations in the market square, brewery trips, local farmers exhibiting their produce, an archive of Reepham as an historic centre of food and beverage production, cookery for children in conjunction with the schools, and the involvement of the allotments and the WI (competition for cakes, largest marrow, etc.), and the Norfolk Beer Festival. Maybe this could be called the ‘Reepham Food and Drink Fest’?”
If you would like to get involved, please contact Martin James at Panther Brewery on 07766 558215 or email martin@pantherbrewery.co.uk
Sarah Pettegree of Bray’s Cottage Pork Pies with her pies and a selection of products from Candi’s Chutney, including a Black Panther-infused apple chutney that tasted excellent with a delicious burger expertly cooked by Candi Robertson on the BBQ