FOOD lovers in North East Wales are in for a treat in the coming weeks as the region prepares for an autumn packed with foodie events featuring a host of fabulous local food and drink producers.

These delightful events are all hosted and dotted around the area.

Many of the business showcasing at these events are clients of Cywain – a Menter a Busnes project. Cywain is a business-led programme dedicated to developing new and existing micro-businesses and SMEs in the Welsh food and drink sector, focusing on maximising opportunities and growth potential.

The first festival is at Wrexham September Saturday and Sunday 7 and 8.

Organised by a community group that works on a not-for-profit basis, Wrexham Food and Drink Festival saw over 5,500 people visit the event last year. And the 2019 Festival will involve more than 75 local and regional food producers.

It will be the first time that James Duckers and Leigh Brigham will have brought their fresh, handcrafted doughnuts to Wrexham Food Festival – or indeed any festival!

The pair launched their enterprise - Doughnutology Chester – last October and deliver to customers within a 15-mile radius of their Wrexham home-town.

Leigh said: “We take orders for our doughnuts up to midnight and then make them fresh the next morning and deliver them. We’ve done some markets and fetes, but this will be the first time we have done anything the size of Wrexham Food Festival. Cywain has given us lots of help, and we’ve been to meetings and workshops with them.”

The next event is Mold Food and Drink Festival Saturday and Sunday September 21 and 22.

For Delaney’s Gluten Free Bakehouse, this foodie event will be on home turf.

Established in 2018 by Elaine Delaney, Mold was the first event the new bakery attended.

Says Elaine, “Last year’s festival was our first event, and it was unbelievable. It’s a fantastic event, and we had a really, really good time. Mold is our home, and we had such great support from friends, family and local people.

“Our products are fresh-baked, and we want to give people more gluten and dairy-free options. Being able to sell directly to the public is important, and it was wonderful to see the customer appreciation that we were making something new and exciting.”

The Denbigh Plum Festival on Saturday October 5 and this will be the first festival since the fruit was granted Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) status in February, under the European Union Protected Food Name (EUPFN) Scheme.

Llangollen Food Festival is being held on Saturday and Sunday October 19 and 20.

A popular producer at food festivals and events across Wales and the borders, Rossett-based artisan chocolatiers – Aballu – will once again be taking part in Llangollen Food Festival.

Formed 13 years ago by Jo Edwards, Aballu also supplies retailers and the hospitality sector with its sumptuous chocolates.