A celebration in the growing & use of herbs
with expert talks, gardening workshops and cookery demonstrations
Jekka's HerbFest
Jekka's HerbFest is a three-day event running from Friday 30th June to Sunday 2nd July 2023, which will be filled with expert talks, gardening workshops and cookery demonstrations from Jekka and her team, plus Friends of Jekka’s.
We are also having Jekka’s Herbetum and Herb Garden tours, a range of artisan stalls as well as music from Phil King & friends.
The National Institute of Medical Herbalists will also be at Jekka’s HerbFest 2023 with their Health and Wellbeing Zone. They will be chatting to visitors about amazing medicinal properties of herbs and provide onsite advice.
The food on the day will be provided by Bristol’s Folk House Cafe & Bar whose ethos is ‘local, sustainable, ethical & nutritious’.
Below is the programme for Friday 30th June. Each day runs from 09:30 am to 4:30 pm.
Festival Ground
We are so excited about Jekka's HerbFest and have organised a wonderful festival with two demonstration tents, food provided by the Folkhouse Cafe, the National Institute of Medical Herbalist Health and Wellbeing Zone and a selection of artisan stalls. All on the backdrop of Jekka's Herbetum and Jekka's Herb Garden.
Jekka's Marquee is where the cookery demonstrations and presentations will be occurring. This is a chance for visitors to watch the speakers practice their craft and hear handy tips that they can take home.
| Time | Speaker |
| 10:00 - 10:45 |
Jekka McVicar- Herbs to flavour and savour Awarded the Victoria Medal of Honour in Horticulture by the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), 62 RHS Gold medals for her Herb exhibits, is Vice President of the RHS and has written 8 books, including Jekka’s Complete Herb Book that has sold over 1 million copies world-wide. She is well known for her herb expertise and designing herb gardens for hospitals, restaurants and private homes. |
| 11:30 - 12:15 |
Josh Eggleton - Learning to use my kitchen garden Josh Eggleton is co-owner and chef patron of award-winning The Pony & Trap, which has undergone an exciting refurbishment to return as The Pony Chew Valley. For three consecutive years Josh celebrated his passion for South West food with his appearances on the BBC’s Great British Menu where he won the regional stage. Josh appears on Channel 4’s The Restaurant That Makes Mistakes, a social project aiming to change how dementia is viewed, which aired in June 2019. |
| 13:00 - 13:45 |
Mark Diacano - A Taste of the Unexpected: less familiar herbs and how to get the best from them Mark is an award winning food and garden writer, known for growing and cooking everything from Szechuan pepper to asparagus to Korean mint. Twice winner of Food Book of The Year and Garden Book of the Year, Mark has inspired a new generation of people to grow some of what they eat. He has written and photographed 13 books. Mark was also involved with River Cottage in the early days, appearing in the TV series and writing three of the River Cottage Handbook series. His latest book, SPICE/a cook’s companion, was published in 2022. |
| 14:30 - 15:15 |
Romy Gill - Indian Kitchen Romy Gill is a British/Indian chef, food writer, author and broadcaster. Romy is one of the chefs on the new series of Ready Steady Cook on BBC One and her new book is The Himalyan Trail - Kashmir to Leh. She was the owner and head chef at Romy’s Kitchen in our local town, Thornbury and, in 2016, she was appointed an MBE in the Queen’s 90th birthday honours list. |
Please note, you do not need to book a place at these talks
Informal chats led by Kate Durr with experts in their fields. Jekka's Gardeners' Corner will hold a number of "in conversation" sessions throughout the day. Pop in and ask the expert a question to help your allotment burst or garden bloom.
| Time | In conversation with |
| 10:45 - 11:30 |
Mark Diacano Mark is an award winning food and garden writer, known for growing and cooking everything from Szechuan pepper to asparagus to Korean mint. Twice winner of Food Book of The Year and Garden Book of the Year, Mark has inspired a new generation of people to grow some of what they eat. He has written and photographed 13 books. Mark was also involved with River Cottage in the early days, appearing in the TV series and writing three of the River Cottage Handbook series. His latest book, SPICE/a cook’s companion, was published in 2022. |
| 12:15 - 13:00 |
Sarah Eberle Sarah Eberle is one of the UK’s foremost landscape and garden designers. She is both a Chartered Landscape Architect and a Fellow of the Landscape Institute (FLI). Sarah has won over 19 gold medals at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show. Her Chelsea Flower Show gardens won 'Best in Show' in 2007 and 2017, she has won six Hampton Court Gold medals and in 2022 she was made an RHS Iconic Horticultural Hero. |
| 13:45 - 14:30 |
Mike Palmer Mike Palmer is a professional gardener and garden designer with over 25 years’ experience in the horticultural industry. He is the producer, editor and presenter of the popular Mic The Gardener - Gardening Podcast and was the chair of the Garden Media Guild. He has a very popular Instagram account, @mike_thegardener, where he gives regular virtual tours of his beautiful Bournemouth garden and interviews gardening personalities, plantsmen and women, authors, designers and many others. |
| 15:15 - 16:00 | Gardeners' Question Time |
Please note, you do not need to book a place at these talks
Jekka's Herbetum Tours
Jekka's Herbetum contains Jekka's collection of culinary herbs grouped into families in separate raised beds. It is an educational resource to inspire the amateur, professional or enthusiast.
Join Jekka, a members of her team, a bee expert or a member of the National Institute of Medical Herbalists for an informative guided tour.
The tour schedule is:
- 10:00: Jean Vernon's Bee Walk
- 11:00: National Institute of Medical Herbalists Walk
- 12:00: Jekka's Herb Tour
- 13:00: Jean Vernon's Bee Walk
- 14:00: Jekka's Herb Tour
- 15:00: National Institute of Medical Herbalists Walk
National Institute of Medical Herbalist
The Institute cannot wait to share with everyone the amazing medicinal properties of herbs.
In their Health and Wellbeing Zone they will have qualified herbalists with them throughout the weekend, who will be able to chat through your health with you in a private setting and look at how herbs may be able to help you.
They will have plenty of herbs in both their plant and medicinal forms for you to explore, and will also give you the opportunity to mix your own herbal tea to take home. If you are bringing younger herbal enthusiasts they will have some great activities for them to get stuck into, leaving you free to chat to one of their experts about how to forage or grow your own healthcare, how you could learn more about herbalism, and what consulting a medical herbalist involves.
Find more about the Health and Wellbeing Zone through the link below.
Phil King & friends
Phil King & friends will be playing twice a day next to the Folk House Café and Jekka's Herb Garden. Grab some food, a Gin & Tonic or a cider and enjoy his beautiful, soulful singing voice:
- 12:00: Phil King
- 14:00: Phil King with Joe Wilkins
Artisan Stalls
Local artisan businesses will be selling their crafts from delicious herb chocolates and ice creams to natural remedies. We are delighted to be joined by:
- 6 O'clock Gin
- Amy West
- Cameler Spice Co
- Gilbert & Swayne
- Honey's Cider
- Seilich
- Shorkk
- South Gloucestershire Beekeepers Association
- The Coffee Lada; and
- The Village Pottery
Plus stalls by the NFU Mutual Thornbury, Riverstone and Ice Cream from Ivor's Ice Cream.
Jekka's café will be open selling her herbal infusions, homemade cakes, coffee and tea as well as her shop selling tools and gifts.
