The multi-award-winning gastro-pub will be joined by other top pubs and restaurants offering specially priced menus on selected days during February to encourage diners to eat out as part of the Exmoor Food Festival.
Patron chef Paul Berry, who co-owns The Swan with his wife Donna, who is a chef too, said: “We’re very excited once again this year to be part of the Exmoor Food Festival, which runs from February 1 until 28.
“It’s an event to showcase the very best the region has to offer diners and it is a celebration of all local produce and the culinary expertise we have here on our doorstep.”
The Swan will be running special menus as part of Exmoor Food Festival on Tuesday to Friday lunchtimes and Tuesday to Thursday evenings, excluding Valentine’s Day, during February with two courses priced £10 and three courses £15.
Paul and Donna will also be cooking at a special launch dinner for the 2017 festival at the Luttrell Arms in Dunster on January 26. They will be one of sevenaward-winning chefs including Olivier Certain from the Taste of the West top award-winning restaurant, Clavelshay Barn, joining the Luttrell’s Head Chef, Barrie Tucker to cook seven courses.
Paul added: “It’s a privilege to have been asked again to cook at this special event and we’re delighted to be working alongside some of the areas most talented chefs like Olivier. It promises to be a fantastic evening out for everyone who comes along.”
The Exmoor Food Festival runs throughout February and is organised by Elke Winzer who is also behind Exmoor4all, an online platform for all things Exmoor related, including an online shop, and the Exmoor Markets.
Elke said: “The Exmoor Food Festival helps local businesses in the hospitality sector to show off their skills. The festival deal of two courses for £10 tempts many people into restaurants at a time of year when business tends to be slow.
“For the first time this year all participating pubs and restaurants will also take part in the Taste of Exmoor Awards. Customers will be able to vote online for their best dining experience – the winners will be crowned at an awards ceremony at Butlins in Minehead at the end of March.
“Tearooms and village shops are also encouraged to sign up for the Exmoor Food Festival.”
The Swan, which is an AA Four Star Inn and the oldest pub in Bampton, has scooped a plethora of awards for its food including being voted Best Trencherman’s Pub 2016. It has two AA Rosettes for Culinary Excellence as well.
Last year the pub was named (March, 2016) as a Highly Commended winner in the national tourist board VisitEngland’s Awards for Excellence 2016. This Award places The Swan in the top five businesses for excellence in the pub category in England.
The team has a passion for food and embraces the use of produce from the area to create some real pub classics, as well as some more modern English dishes.
Donna said: “We try to keep our dishes simple, yet bursting with flavours and imagination. Our kitchen produces everything we serve here at the pub.”
The Swan’s menu is created from fresh, seasonal ingredients, sourced from nearby, on a daily basis by Paul and Donna and their team.
Paul, who is a leading chef with more than 30 years’ experience in the industry, explained: “We are dedicated to using all the local or regional produce available to us, needless to say we are so lucky living here in the West Country, we have local farmers supplying us with their beef, pork and lamb and the fishing communities providing us with the freshest cod for our classic cod and chips.”
To find out more about The Swan, please call 01398 332248 or visit www.theswan.co.
Exmoor Food Fest 