Evesham is hosting its inaugural Pie and Ale Festival on Saturday 17 September. There will be string of local food producers and award-winning local brewers, including Purity Brewing Co and Sadler’s Ales. A variety of family-friendly entertainment from Morris dancing and ferret racing to Punch and Judy and a circus skills workshop.

Chef to the stars and pie expert Tom Bridge will be judging the festival’s pie-making competition, open to anyone from kitchen novices to professional culinary masters. Tom will also be filming for his next television series during his time in Evesham.

From 5pm onwards a selection of local bands will take to the stage.

Date: Saturday 17 September
Time: 11am onwards
Tickets: Free
Location: Market Square and Abbey Park, Evesham, Worcestershire
Audience: Entertainment for the whole family

Tune in to tonight’s Inside Out on BBC1 at 7.30pm – Tom Bridge will be back on the box talking about Elizabeth Raffald!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00tvc54/The_Great_British_Bake_Off_Pastry/

It’s pastry time on the Great British Bake Off! Make sure you catch tonight’s programme which will feature Tom himself talking about the origins of the good old British pie.

Watch it today, at 20:00 on BBC Two

Synopsis (from the BBC):

It’s the penultimate round and as the travelling marquee pitches up in the Cornish village of Mousehole, it’s time for the bakers to get to grips with the most difficult of all baking skills – pastry. They bake their own versions of hearty British pies, get down to details with exquisite pastry canapés, and take a crash-course in crimping for this week’s surprise bake.

While they’re rubbing-in and rolling-out, Mel and Sue will be finding out that Britain’s earliest pies really were humble, how pastry became an art form and how pies used to have a more sinister side.

Then judges Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood will decide who will be the final three to go through to the final.

We’re gearing up towards the publication of Pie Society this Autumn and we’ve been delighted by the interest so far! The author, Tom Bridge, will be appearing on numerous TV shows and radio programmes over the coming months – here’s what he’s up to in the next few weeks:

Coming live from the Bolton Market, Tom Bridge will be interviewed by Becky Want about Pie Society on Becky’s Retail Therapy, BBC Radio Manchester’s popular Saturday morning show.

14th September, 20:00 on BBC Two: The Great British Bake Off (Week 5: Pastry)

Tom Bridge will be chatting with Mel Giedroyc about pies! After all, it couldn’t be a British bake-off without a good pie or three could it?

16th September between 9am – 11am (time tbc)

Tom will be giving a live cookery demonstration in Bolton market. With the British Food Fortnight kicking off on 18th September, Tom will open the Bolton events, as well as showcasing some great British recipes.

30th September (11am-1pm)

As the British Food Fortnight draws to a close, Tom will be giving another live cookery demonstration in Bolton market! See here: http://www.piesocietybook.co.uk/pie/pie-cookbook-party/

8th October: Eighteenth-century meal and talk at The Mark Addy

This excellent pub restaurant, renowned for its top quality British classics, will host a special dinner where the menu, cooked up by Tom, uses recipes from The Experienced English Housekeeper, first published in 1769. Eighteenth-century cookery sensation Elizabeth Raffald [1] [2] wrote the book and as food is served Tom will talk about her fascinating life, as well about Pie Society (of course!).

More info about this event will be posted soon!