With the Alresford Watercress Festival only days away (Sunday 18 May), organisers are making final arrangements to ensure the annual celebration to mark the start of the UK watercress season is another successful, fun day out for Hampshire families.
The Festival is a great way to explore all that is best about the county: there’s fresh, peppery watercress grown in pure, clean, natural spring water, of course but there are also over 140 craft and food stands showcasing the fantastic array of locally produced foods, homeware, clothing, jewellery, body care (and so much more) Hampshire has to offer. Plus, local chefs, Andy Mackenzie and Phil Yeomans from Lainston House, Winchester and Martin Dawkins, AKA The Rustic Chef, now head chef at the Bold Forester in Soberton, will be on hand to show how to use watercress and other seasonal produce grown or farmed in Hampshire – think garlic, tomatoes, asparagus, trout – in some truly mouthwatering recipes.
Andy and his lively demonstrations are a longstanding favourite of festival goers. He has taken part in more than 10, and says: “As an advocate for great local producers of food and drink, the Watercress Festival is always a gathering of the great and the good. Each year it’s like a big family coming to celebrate with food and drink and lots of watercress!”
Having been Executive Chef at Lainston House for several years, Andy set up the Chef Academy Programme for the Exclusive Collection, where he recruits, trains, and develops young chefs, who, after completing the two-year scheme, can go on to forge their own careers. Andy estimates that he has recruited over 150 student Chefs from colleges locally and beyond during the last 10 years and has retained 85% of them, meaning that they can be found in the kitchens of Lainston’s Exclusive Collection properties.
Andy adds: “The Watercress Festival is a wonderful place to shout about all the exciting things we have planned at Lainston, and it’s always a pleasure to see my lovely friend Davina (Tibbetts) who works tirelessly to keep all the chefs in check on the demo theatre.”
The other half of the Lainston duo is Phil Yeomans, who took on the role of Executive Chef in 2019.
He says: “Being from Hampshire, I was always drawn to working at Lainston and I now have my dream role, which is very varied and includes training and developing our new young Chefs and working with the teams to run our outdoor cookery classes – both passions of mine. At the festival, we love to showcase some seasonal cooking, all with a bit of fun. The watercress BBQ workshop is a great place to share our skills and raise some cash for local charity, Abbey’s Heroes.”
Expect more culinary delights from another home-grown success story, Martin Dawkins, aka The Rustic Chef. Currently head chef at the Bold Forester in Soberton, Hampshire, this is his second Alresford Watercress Festival.
“The Rustic Chef vibe is all about epic food with a sustainable twist,” he explains. “I pick ingredients with a low carbon footprint, supporting local producers in Hampshire. It’s not just about delicious dishes; it’s about doing right by the environment and our community. My cooking philosophy is simple – let the flavours shine. No need for too much fancy stuff; fresh and vibrant ingredients can speak for themselves. Every dish is my way of saying thanks to what nature provides. Watercress just gives a great taste – fresh and peppery, almost refreshing, and it goes well with fish, meat, and vegetables. It’s so versatile and can be used in many different ways.”
Come and see some of those ways as shared by the five superb guest chefs coming to this year’s festival – home-grown stars, Andy, Phil, and Martin, and TV chefs, Lesley Waters and Suki Pantal. Demonstration times can be found on www.watercressfestival.org as well as all other details of the day, or follow our social media:
https://www.facebook.com/WatercressFestival
https://X.com/WatercressFest https://www.instagram.com/watercressfest/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjH1QX_TfbBEi7uFYS78BUA/featured
