Spring 2008 sees the launch of a brand new four-day food festival in the UK, the Real Food Festival. The event is designed to reflect the focus given to food standards and, in particular, provenance and sustainability in the UK and around the world. Its aim is to bring together producers and consumers in a celebration of excellent produce, reflected in the festival’s profile as both a trade and a consumer show, with a dedicated trade day on the 24th.

Hundreds of small producers in the UK and overseas will offer visitors the opportunity to explore, taste and buy their products. However Real Food Festival’s main point of difference is its Selection Panel, which has used unique criteria to appoint small or artisan producers to showcase at the festival. A total of 400 of the most passionate producers have been hand-picked, using a quality and integrity selection process, and the smallest producers are being subsidised to attend, courtesy of support from sponsors Whole Foods Market, Daylesford Organic, Grana Padano and Tyrrell’s.

The selection committee is made up of a cross-section of members, who are all passionate about produce. They include Alex James, farmer, journalist and bass player with Blur; Juliet Harbutt, international cheese expert; Matthew Drennan, editor of Delicious magazine; Rose Prince, food writer for The Daily Telegraph and author; Richard Johnson, journalist and broadcaster; Sebastiano Sardo of FooDiscovery; Anthony Davidson of Localfoodshop.co.uk and BigBarn.co.uk.

The trade day on the 24th includes a start-studded gala evening.

== Bakery exhibitors ==

Bakery products exhibitors at the festival include De Gustibus, one of Britain’s leading artisan bakers, Midfield Granola, which produces a range of luxury cereals baked in honey and sunflower oil, and The Flour Station, where Jon Rolfe and his team draw on extensive influences to produce full-bodied craft breads at a company that began life as a ’bakery in a cupboard’ in a corner of Jamie Oliver’s restaurant, Fifteen. In total, there will be over 40 producers representing baked goods, cereals and pasta.

Other festival attractions will include one of the largest farmers’ markets seen in the UK, the wines, beers and spirits fair, Delicious magazine workshops, and the Real Food Theatre, with presentations from top chefs, such as Raymond Blanc. A small selection of the UK’s most exciting restaurants, including Canteen and the Duke of Cambridge - the world’s first certified organic gastropub - will be serving signature dishes.

Tickets to the trade day on 24 April cost £20 (excl VAT). For more information or to buy tickets as either a consumer or trade attendee, contact [http://www realfoodfestival.co.uk]

Where: Earls Court 1, London

When: 24-27 April, 2008

Opening times: 24 April - 10am-6pm

25 April - 11am-6pm

26 April - 11am-7pm

27 April - 11am-5pm