Chester, Designed by Nature: A Taste of Spring in Chester

A Taste of Spring in Chester is a brand-new food and drink trail, featuring the best of our local produce right here in the City, Cheshire and North Wales.

This is a collaboration between local promotional platform We Love Good Times, local produce specialists Taste Cheshire (who also run the much-loved Chester Food, Drink & Lifestyle Festival), Marketing Cheshire and a whole host of fabulous bars, restaurants, dining pubs and bistros who are bouncing back from the pandemic so admirably.

A Taste of Spring in Chester is a month-long celebration of the best use of local produce on our menus, as well as a separate cocktail trail and a real ale trail, featuring a superb selection of locally brewed beers and spirits from award-winning distillers.

This city-wide initiative is also part of ‘Designed by Nature’ and ‘Spring Blooms’, which will see art installations and special events appear all over the city to mark the arrival of Springtime in some of our favourite parks and outside spaces. ‘Designed by Nature’ has been created by the Destination Chester network, to celebrate the city in all its glory after a challenging period. Alongside the installations, there is a host of free activities for all the family including kayak taster sessions, zero-waste cocktail making, street theatre and acrobatic performances. Head to the Spring Blooms site for updates on the programme as it unfurls this month.

A Taste of Spring in Chester kicks off 1st March and includes a digital and printed map with QR code, to guide local food and drink lovers and visitors alike around the city to enjoy fabulous produce from over 30 independent venues, that continue to pride themselves on delivering great quality and service, despite such challenging times over the last two years.

The campaign will showcase dishes from the city’s only Michelin Green Starred restaurant hypha, as well as cocktails from everyone’s favourite neighbourhood bar The Suburbs in Hoole. We also celebrate sustainability with a closed-loop food and drink system on Common Farm in Waverton, which delivers award-winning beer and pork straight to their own dining and real ale pub in the city centre, The Brewery Tap. Local producers themselves are also celebrated, including Orchard Range Eggs in Christleton and the city’s longest-standing food retailer The Cheese Shop, which source the very best Cheshire cheese, chutneys and condiments.

The campaign will also include a competition to win a Taste Cheshire hamper full of award-winning locally produced food and drink, as well as two special Chester Dining Events, one at Michelin-recommended The Forge on Grosvenor Park Road, and another with TV Chef Ellis Barrie at The Townhouse Hotel & Restaurant on Lower Bridge Street.

A Taste of Spring in Chester runs from 1st to 31st March, and organisers will look to make this an annual event in the city’s food and drink calendar, which is headlined by the Chester Food, Drink & Lifestyle Festival over Easter bank holiday weekend at Chester Racecourse.

For more information head to wlgt.co.uk/a-taste-of-spring-in-chester

Funding to provide the services in this project is provided by the Welcome Back Fund (WBF). WBF is managed by Her Majesty’s Government and is supported by the European Regional Development Fund.

The project is receiving more than £300,000 of funding from the England European Regional Development Fund as part of the European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme 2014-2020. The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (and in London the intermediate body Greater London Authority) is the Managing Authority for European Regional Development Fund. Established by the European Union, the European Regional Development Fund helps local areas stimulate their economic development by investing in projects which will support innovation, businesses, create jobs and local community regenerations.