Sunshine on Crail

Months of planning and organising paid off last weekend, as the first annual Crail Food Festival was a roaring success. Even Saturday’s relentless rain couldn’t keep people away, as foodies from across Fife descended upon the town hall to sample Fife’s home grown specialities. With stalls selling out due to their array of delicious produce, it’s fair to say that the popularity of the event exceeded all expectations. I visited the festival on Sunday, where I left a very rainy Edinburgh to bask in the Crail sunshine, for a day of eating, drinking and my favourite subject, talking about food.

Sunday’s foodie delights took place down at the harbour, which was bathed in sunshine. As I made my way down the rocky path, I could see nothing but queues for every stall, and with the fresh local produce on offer it was easy to see why. Our first stop was a visit to the Fife Diet stall, where the challenge was to pedal your own smoothie. As Rob hopped onto the bike, which had a food processor attached, I watched as the strawberries and raspberries were painstakingly whizzed up with each rotation of the wheel. The end product was arguably the most delicious smoothie I have ever tasted.

With 20 minute long queues at every stand, I had a difficult decision to make, the choice between a hog roast roll from Lucklaw Farm, and a venison burger from Fletchers of Auchtermuchty. In the end, my hunger outweighed my desire to wait, and as the queue for venison was marginally shorter, I opted to sink my teeth into prime venison on a seeded bun. It was truly delicious, and the quality of the meat was undeniable.

Although I opted for the venison, there was no shortage in terms of choice, especially when delicious seafood had been freshly plucked from the shore. With fresh lobster, crab and the famous Arbroath Smokies, even the most discerning fish lover would have found something to curb their appetite.

Even if the sun hadn’t been shining on Crail, I have no doubt that the festival would have been a success regardless. With such an array of foods on offer, and producers on hand to answer consumers’ questions, the whole event was a resounding success. I’m already looking forward to next year.