BREAKFASTERS were out in force in Ledbury over the weekend for the sixth Ledbury Big Breakfast – a festival celebrating breakfast and the wonderful local produce of Ledbury and the surrounding district.

Nineteen food businesses took part in the event, including cafes, pubs, hotels, delis and butchers.

Everyone excelled themselves with breakfast specials for this event featuring the widest range of local produce.

Breakfasters were able to try creamy mushrooms, poached eggs with crushed avocado and smoked salmon, potato and chorizo hash, cider baked ham, parsnip leek and potato cakes, savoury and sweet scones, roasted basil infused tomatoes with mashed avocado, or avocado salsa with poached eggs.

All the favourites were on offer too including Eggs Benedict and Eggs Florentine, porridge served with all kinds of accompaniments, French toast with bacon and syrup, breakfast pancakes, breakfast stacks, traditional devilled kidneys, and the even more traditional English breakfast.

Ledbury’s butchers and delis tempted those who prefer a breakfast at home – Gurneys with special Big Breakfast sausages, Wallers with a mountainous breakfast stack and Ceci Paolo and Handley Organics with lots of breakfast ingredients.

All venues reported good business on all three days as local residents and visitors ignored the January gloom and took full advantage of what was on offer – some reportedly savouring a local breakfast at a different venue on each of the three days.

Patrick Wrixon, the Herefordshire NFU chairman, visited the event on Friday. Bill Wiggin MP together with the mayor of Ledbury Elaine Fieldhouse and deputy mayor Keith Francis, visited venues taking part on Saturday, accompanied noisily by town crier “Big Ben” Gunn.

Griff Holliday, organiser for Ledbury Food Group, said, “Once again we are pleased to thank all those who have made the Ledbury Big Breakfast such a special festival of local food at a dark time of the year.”

Find out more about Ledbury Food Group at ledburyfoodgroup.org.