Health benefits of mushrooms at Nourish Festival

Scott Marshall was inspired to take up mushroom growing when he discovered the health benefits of mushrooms.

Now an expert grower supplying some of Devon and Cornwall’s top restaurants, he is all set to take his mushrooms to the streets for the Nourish Festival in Bovey Tracey this weekend.

Visitors will have the opportunity to try the flavoursome fungi that Scott grows when he joins some of the region’s top food producers taking part in Nourish.

Scott said: “Nourish is a great opportunity for us to meet the public. I’m chuffed that we have the chance to show people the whole process starting at the beginning with growing the mushrooms. We’ll have garlic mushrooms, pate and even pickled mushrooms for people to try.

“I discovered the health benefits of mushrooms a few years ago. Nutrition is very important, and I found out that mushrooms are really good for you as well as tasting delicious.

“I took a new perspective, completely changed my career, and now I specialise in growing mushrooms for some of the top restaurants in the region. I’m looking forward to meeting the public at Nourish and showing them the mushrooms that the top chefs use.”

The Nourish Food Fair will fill Bovey's high street with some of the best producers from the South West on Sat 3 September. Stalls will be selling a huge variety of locally produced food including artisan cheeses, preserves, handmade chocolates, oils and pies as well as Scott’s speciality mushrooms.

A selection of street food will offer Caribbean, Spanish, Moroccan, wood fired Italian pizza, French crepes, Mexican, local seafood and the good old British Banger.

The Bovey Bake Off and Junior Bovey Bake Off will get the community reaching for their mixing bowls. The competition will be judged by Bovey’s own Queen of Cakes, Tracey Godwin.

This year, Nourish Festival launches The Devon Street Food Awards, a lively competition to decide who is the Best Street producer in Devon. Devon is packed full of inspirational and exciting street food producers and Nourish celebrates our Food Heroes.

Because Nourish is designed to feed the body, the mind and the senses, the festival also has a craft fair and a programme of music from nationally and internationally renowned musicians.

The Nourish Contemporary Craft Fair will be hosted in the Methodist Church Hall, showcasing beautiful handmade craft from across the South West with craft demonstrations and other events taking place at the Devon Guild of Craftsmen. Exceptional makers from across the South West will present an inspirational selection of jewellery, pottery, glass, textiles and wood.

The Nourish Music programme from 1-3 September will see the internationally renowned Brodsky Quartet return with Schubert’s Death & The Maiden.

The Festival also features the Westcountry debut of the Dutch group, Calefax Reed Quintet, whose flair for performance and communication is matched only by their musicianship. In their 30-year career Calefax have played all the great music festivals and venues across Europe. For Nourish they present a fairytale-inspired programme, including Tchaikovsky, Ellington & Ravel, and featuring Bach’s iconic Chaconne.

Nourish Festival organiser Sarah James said: “We are delighted that Nourish Festival has been welcomed so warmly to Bovey Tracey. It has been a success for the stall holders and craft makers visiting the town, for the local traders, and best of all for the local community. There is such a buzz in the town with so many people visiting the food stalls, talking to expert craftspeople and taking part in our own Bovey Bake Off. I’m also very excited about the new Devon Street Food Awards, we’ve had a huge response from Devon’s food companies.”

Nourish Festival is a community initiative led by The Contemporary Craft Festival, The Devon Guild of Craftsmen and the Cheese Shed.

The Food & Craft Fair on Sat 3 Sept are free. Concerts on 1, 2 & 3 September will be ticketed. Full details and ticket information can be found at www.nourishfestival.org.