Foodie focus for garden centre’s ‘Meet the Heartisans’ weekend

A Bradford garden centre is to host a celebration of Yorkshire food and drink  in its recently refurbished Food Hall.

Hearty’s Food Hall at Tong Garden will host a ‘Meet the Heartisans’ weekend at the start of British Food Fortnight on 18^th September to  showcase local and regional producers and makers who have been listed in Hearty’s for the uniqueness and quality of their produce.

The two day event on 18^th and 19^th September will feature different producers on each day and will include tastings and special offers.

Food Hall manager, Andy Bradley said: “We are proud and excited to host our first food and drink tasting event in Hearty’s and are looking forward to welcoming some of our fantastic local and regional suppliers to Tong, in addition to our talented in house team of butchers and bakers .

“Over the weekend, visitors will be able to meet the makers and try a range of food and drink products before they buy, hopefully discovering something they have never tried before, and be inspired by our choice of all occasion dishes.

“There will be a range of produce from award-winning pies and pastries, gourmet chocolates and freshly baked goods to locally crafted beers, spirits and an array of artisan jams, chutneys and pickles. Why not come along and treat yourself to something special?”

Producers over the weekend include Wold Top Brewery, Sloemotion, Marrds Marinades, Hooting Owl Distillery, Gourmet Chocolate Pizza, Dinnewell’s Gin, Raisthorpe Manor and Stephenson’s pies.

On both days, members of Hearty’s Butchery, Bakery and Deli teams will be on hand to share their expertise, hints and tips and will be offering samples of their sausages, pies, traybakes and cakes as well as Hearty’s ‘Lovingly Made’ range of sweet and savoury biscuits, sweets, jams and chutneys.

The Meet the Heartisans event is free to enter and takes place in and around Hearty’s Food Hall and starts at 11am on both days.

British Food Fortnight is a national celebration of British food and drink that is held annually to coincide with harvest festival. The aim of the fortnight is to raise awareness of the benefits of buying and eating from the “home produced British larder.”

Tong Garden Centre occupies a 19 acre site in Tong village. It is one of Yorkshire’s biggest independent garden centres with 125,000 square feet of retail space and parking for up to 700 cars.