Eat, drink and be merry
Feeling Chilli... turn up the heat! W
INCHESTER welcomes the Cheese & Chilli Festival 2016 from August 20-21. Billed as a‘ fantastic, fun food festival for all the family’ the stars are the traders, with around 70 expected – and the chillies. Having visited Basingstoke, Christchurch and Guildford en route to our city, family attractions include a children’ s play zone with shows, fun rides, demonstrations / talks, a chilli sauce competition, live music and a weekend Beer Festival by Wiltshire microbrewery Downton Brewery.
For those with a less sweet tooth‘ cheese & chilli’ is an enticing combination and chilli-centred events have been growing in popularity for several years. Add a cool drink, sit back and enjoy local acts performing on the dedicated stage area.
Lastly – and not for the faint-hearted – there’ s a chilli eating competition, guaranteed to bring out a glow in participants.
Fact: The Scoville scale measures of the‘ hotness’ of a chilli pepper or anything derived from chilli peppers( e. g.: hot sauce). It’ s named after Wilbur Scoville who developed the test in 1912. A sweet bell pepper is 0, jalapeno 2,500-5,000, Dorset naga 923,000, habanero 100,000-350,000... and it keeps on rising!
When and where: North Walls( behind River Park Leisure Centre), 10am to 5pm.
Cost: On the gate, adults £ 7, seniors, carers, disabled £ 4, children under 16 free. Advance booking offers reduced prices.
cheeseandchillifestival. com
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All that jazz
HE inaugural Winchester Jazz Festival( WJF) takes place from September 22-25 at venues across the city centre.
Audiences can enjoy four days of performances by major Jazz and Swing acts from across the UK, as well as showcasing some of our best local musicians.
The organisers say:“ By bringing the Jazz Festival to this beautiful and historic city we will create a platform to nurture local talent, expose a wider local audience to world-class jazz music and show the rest of the UK what Winchester has to offer as an arts’ destination.
“ We are working in partnership with the city’ s key venues as well as alongside our valued
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Spirit Leveller
AMPLING the coolest of spirits proved a great leveller at the recent Ginchester Fete, held at City Mill, which revealed a very different side of Winchester.
The growing popularity of trendy and flavoured gins – dubbed a‘ ginaissance’ – has led to a sharp rise in the number of distilleries operating in Britain, cocktail masterclasses and increased space on supermarket shelves, with promotions encouraging people to sample what was once called‘ mother’ s ruin’.
There’ s also been a surge in the number of vineyards and breweries opening up across the country as discerning drinkers turn to small independent producers and away from big international brands.
Ginchester featured stalls manned by the gin hounds from the Green Man, Toscanaccio and Paul Bowler, founder and distiller at Winchester Distillery, home of Twisted Nose Watercress Gin and Hampshire Dry Gin.
The juniper spirit, which marries perfectly with quinine in tonic water, is seen by many as the nation’ s most exciting drink.
independent pubs, bars and cafés to offer a diverse programme of ticketed and free events, balancing maximum engagement with high quality performances.”
Alongside scheduled performances, WJF will be delivering a series of educational lectures for adults and visiting workshops for city secondary schools.
Keep an eye on the website for more information as acts are announced. www. winchesterjazzfestival. com
18 Resident www. residentmagazine. co. uk