We had a great day out at food festival!

Helen Smith, executive director of Leamington’s Business Improvement District (BID), said more than 100 stalls were set up in the Pump Room Gardens to showcase their wares over the two day event.

Exotic meats, olives, anchovies, paella, cheeses, candied fruits, and cider from Poland and Sweden were among the delicacies to savour in the open air.

There was also live entertainment from some talented local musicians like Lament, Beth Tysall, Night Trippers and the Sheila Fawkes Jazz Band appearing over the weekend.

For younger visitors there was storytelling courtesy of an organisation called Charred Grizzle and, for those keen to keep produce local there was a farmer’s market alongside the international stalls.

Helen said: “Our third Food and Drink Festival has been an unprecedented success with exhibitors reporting substantial sales, many trebling their usual weekend turnovers.

“Once again the ‘taste trail’ proved to be one of the highlights with thousands of people trying a total of 2,567 food samples of food and raising £1,000 for charity.”

Restaurants and pubs involved included Cafe Rouge, Strada, The Shakespeare, Benjamin Satchwell, The Clarendon, Pizza Express, Sozzled Sausage, Sabai Sabai and, newcomer to Regent Street, Kayal.

Several visitors have already written letters of thanks. One wrote: “Next year we’ll be there for the whole weekend - thank you for such a great day out!”

Others compared the relatively young Leamington festival with the long-established Ludlow event which occupied the same weekend. And still proving to be a hit is BID’s Little Book of Offers which features more than 100 exclusive discounts, promotions and free give-aways across a wide range of products and services in the town. The vouchers are still valid and can be downloaded by visiting Royal Leamington Spa website www.royal-leamington-spa,co.uk/offers