Chefs

Mark Gilchrist is, he fears, the last person of his generation who has the traditional skills to cook and process game, so he asked if he could come to the festival to demonstrate game preparation and cookery.  He has a game cookery school and catering company, appears on TV and is Tom Parker Bowles’ consultant. He is passionate about game and loves the wild concept of this festival so he came all the way from Kent to be one of the chefs and sell game from his stall.

Margaret Ferrazzi is a chef and culinary consultant. She lives half of the year on Strumble Head in North Pembrokeshire and the other half in California. Last year she found Parasol Mushrooms the size of dinner plates actually on her way to the festival, so was able to share some of her immense knowledge of fungus whilst creating a tasty mushroom dish.

Alastair Vaan’s restaurant ‘Y Mochyn Drwg’ is in Newport where he sees local supply and fair trading as the way forward, if it is to be sustainable. He is fanatical about responsible food sourcing and imports no fresh food other than Spanish lemons, onions and carrots outside of the UK season. His wines are European, and the necessary imported products (coffees, spices, etc.) are all fair trade or organic; even the water is part of an ethical water aid scheme. By sourcing superb quality ingredients that thrive here naturally, he hopes to remind people how certain ways of cooking have been forgotten.

Peter Vaughan has become a popular face on TV and in food/health magazines and is the author of several books.  He leads a busy life running his Bistro and Natural Food Store, plus his Cookery School in Wiltshire. This was his third visit to the festival, during which he cooked several Vegetarian Dishes with the help of some volunteers from the audience!