THIS weekend saw the launch of the very first Taste Salisbury, a celebration of local and regional food and drink.

Over the course of the ten-day event there will be a programme of events, special promotions and discounts held across the city.

Salisbury BID, Experience Salisbury and Salisbury City Council have come together to produce the city-wide feastival.

Venues including Salisbury Museum, Salisbury Arts Centre and Salisbury Cathedral are all involved. Arundells in the Cathedral Close also jumped at the chance to be part of the festivities

Jess Kay, Events and Marketing Manager there, said: “Here at Arundells we were delighted to be asked to take part in Taste Salisbury, it is very important for us to be part of the local community, but we don’t have any obvious links to food or drink.

"We do however have a fabulous garden in the heart of Salisbury, so with the help of local business Artisan Wine & Spirit Co and performance chef Talk Eat Laugh we were able to come up with the idea of a wine tasting evening with a twist. We hope that the evening is a great success and that we can repeat it again in the future.”

Artisan Wine and Spirit Co are one of the newest businesses in Salisbury, having only launched in May 2021. They were keen to be part of the festivities, and are involved in two Taste Salisbury events: Perfect Pairings and beer tasting with local brewers, Dark Revolution.

Co-owner, Elizabeth Coombes, said it was important for them to be involved: “We were so excited when we heard about Taste Salisbury - it’s right up our street! There are so many great food and drinks businesses in the city and this is a brilliant opportunity for people to explore what Salisbury has to offer."

Other events and promotions over the ten-days include:

• Learn how to taste beer with a guided tasting of local brew, Dark Revolution (Wednesday September 1)

• A teddy bears picnic at Salisbury Museum café (Tuesday September 2)

• All you can eat pizza at Pizza Venti (September 2)

• Rifleman's Table café in The Close will be serving special dishes during Taste Salisbury incorporating their delicious home-produced honey

• The Rocketship Bookshop will be offering money off The Viking Of Who Liked Icing, a brilliant new picture book by Lu Fraser and Mark McKinley

• Experience the very best of modern British cuisine in a relaxed atmosphere with Allium's special Taste Salisbury tasting menus

• Special Taste Salisbury menu at the Salisbury Cathedral Refectory

• Offers, including a two-course special, at Blue Boar Bistro

• SSSS - Soup, Salad, Sandwich, Sweet Menu at the Bell & Crown

• Salisbury City Council’s Foodie Sunday will take over the Market Place on Sunday September 5 and will mark the culmination of the ten-day festival - including The Great Salisbury Bake Off.

The Old Ale and Coffee House will be offering a World Street Food menu based on their travels abroad. There will also be live music today.

Shane O’Neill, co-owner of the Old Ale House, was thrilled to be involved: “Sincerely, I think that after the torrid times we have been through it’s really important for people to come together and re-unite. What better way than when sharing food and a drink. When the whole city does it together, then it really means something.”