The organisers of Stone Food and Drink Festival are puling out all the stops to make sure this year’s event on 5th, 6th and 7th October is the most family-friendly yet, with a Little Foodies marquee packed with fun hands-on activities aimed at inspiring a new generation of foodies.
Kate from Kiddy Cook North Staffs, which runs cookery classes and parties for children in the Stoke area, will be holding special sessions throughout the weekend. Children will first be introduced to the five basic tastes – sweet, salty, sour, umami and bitter – using common ingredients like sugar, salt, citric acid and tonic water; followed by experiments that will help to introduce the role our senses play in distinguishing flavour and help kids to discover their taste buds.
Following this introduction to the science of food, the kids will get the chance to work as a group to cook a delicious, healthy tomato soup from scratch – before tasting the fruits of their labours with bread and some butter they have just churned by hand. To round each session off, a carbon dioxide rocket will be launched to show them what makes the bread that they’ve just eaten rise!
In between Kiddy Cook sessions there will still be plenty to keep youngsters entertained. Melanie from Melody Time will host sessions packed with songs, rhymes and musical games, a face painter will help transform little ones into their favourite animal, there will be fairground rides to enjoy, a coconut shy and a 10-pin bowling alley. Following its success at last year’s festival, Treasure Trails Staffordshire will once again set a cryptic trail of food-themed clues to guide families around the Westbridge Park site, with the chance to win a great prize once all the clues have been solved.
Festival Chairman Richard Stevens said: “The Stone Food and Drink Festival is all about giving the community a great event to enjoy and we’re committed to ensuring all our visitors have plenty to keep them occupied whether they’re five or 95! It’s a natural progression as the festival continues to grow to offer even more for our youngest visitors – and hopefully help inspire a passion for food and cooking in the next generation.
“We full anticipate both the Kiddy Cook and Melody Time sessions to be very popular, so will be running a number of sessions on both Saturday and Sunday and parents will be able to sign up their children for a slot on arrival.”
Another thing that makes the Stone Food and Drink Festival so great for families is that accompanied under-16s get free entry to the main site at Westbridge Park. Adults, meanwhile, will pay £6pp for a single day ticket or £15pp for a three-day pass, with tickets available to purchase on the gate. Those who wish to avoid the queues on festival day, however, are advised to visit www.stonefooddrink.org.uk to purchase tickets in advance, which allow them to use a special ‘fast track’ lane.
1 comment
The happy weigh
Great … So long as they are learning how to create delicious, fun and healthy dishes with natural, wholesome ingredients. So sick of meeting children whom only learn how to make cakes, biscuits and pies. Please Parents and Teachers – stop the flow of business for me from young people already overweight before they leave first school.