IT WAS a record year for Bridport Food Festival as chefs and bartenders served up a real treat for the event.

The Bridport News-backed festival, which took place between June 7 and 13, was a big success according to organisers, as crowds flocked to the festival’s events to see what local producers and food experts had to offer.

Throughout the week, a variety of events were staged to promote the local food scene.

Richard Balson, master butcher of RJ Balson & Son, created a special sausage to celebrate the festival, and to mark the firm’s 500th anniversary.

Bridport-based brewers Palmer's Brewery offered free tours of its premises throughout the week, as did Salway Ash-based Furleigh Estate Vineyard and Winery.

On Friday, Italian food and cooking expert Anna del Conte appeared at Bridport Arts Centre in conversation with local food writer Shirley Booth to talk all things Italian food, and to pass on her top tips.

There was also an array of food demonstrations held by local chefs.

The festival culminated on Saturday with a farmers' market outside Bridport Arts Centre, plus a main food and beer festival at Askers Meadows on Saturday.

Amanda Streatfield, who helped organise the event, said: “We think we had a record gate for the festival, it looked that way and it seemed full of people all of the time, which was excellent to see.

“There was a very positive feeling to the event and local people supporting local producers, and that is what we wanted.

“Someone said to me the atmosphere at Bridport Food Festival is always quite special and they said it was again, and I think that’s great.

“People just really feel comfortable and people come from all over to enjoy it.”

Ms Streatfield added: “The beer festival that Bridport Round Table organised was very well received and I think they had a record amount of people as well, they even ran out of beer.

“There was a great cookery theatre as well with a lot of different local chefs giving some fantastic demonstrations, and that was very well received as well, plus all the markets we had which had about 40 different producers all from within 25 miles of Bridport selling their wares.

“There really was something for everyone."That’s what we hoped to achieve and I think we certainly did that.”