The inaugural Henley on Food Festival took place at Shiplake College across the May bank holiday weekend. The event, which was the first of its kind to be held at the school, was a resounding success. Beaming sunshine brought flocks of people to the grounds, with over 4,500 people sampling the delights of the event. This is the first year that the festival had been held, and it went down incredibly well with the local community; staff members and pupils alike were amongst the crowds relishing the variety of food on offer to try, and listening with keen interest to the different talks and demonstrations that were taking place across the school.
The College had been completely taken over by the organisers, with Skipwith Lawn being home to a packed riverside bar, the Thinking Space becoming a hive of children’s activities, and the Great Hall seeing many famous faces pass through its doors to give a plethora of demonstrations and talks about all things foody. Masterchef presenter John Torode was amongst those speaking on Saturday, along with Great British Bake Off winner Frances Quinn and local chef Shaun Dickens, from Shaun Dickens at the Boathouse in Henley. Shaun also gave a demonstration of cooking a dish from the menu at his restaurant, which wowed audiences. A variety of other speakers also made an appearance, including nutritionist Madeleine Shaw, of Ready Steady Glow fame, chef Anthony Worrall Thompson, of the Greyhound pub, Peppard, and David Morgan, who own the Real Organic Food Company. Presentations covered all manner of topics, from healthy eating and a history of cake right through to breakfast food. A riverside bar held great appeal for visitors, who enjoyed wine, champagne and beer provided by local brewery Rebellion.
There was plenty for children to do as well; a River and Rowing Museum stall provided entertainment, as well as different activities in the John Turner building such as making cheesecake, which were going on over the course of the two-day festival. There was plenty of food for visitors to try; the main drive was covered in stalls offering everything from proper hotdogs to natural ice cream to sweet and savoury crepes. The Sports Hall had been transformed into a market place, with different stalls from all over the country displaying food and drink for sale.
The festival was a fantastic success, and there is now hope that it will become an annual event, growing in popularity and following in the footsteps of its sister festival, the Henley Literary festival.
