Some 10,000 visitors turned out for The Watercress Festival in Alresford, Hampshire, which marks the start of the watercress season and beginning of National Watercress Week, on Sunday.
Celebrity chefs treated the crowds to a series of watercress cookery demonstrations and other highlights included a cavalcade, children’s cookery workshops, cookery competitions, street entertainment, live music, Morris dancers and Hampshire Farmers’ Market selling everything from watercress pesto, watercress scones and even watercress chocolates.
Glenn Walsh from Hampshire proved he could handle the heat when he beat a number of other contestants to win the World Watercress Eating Championships. Walsh ate two bags of watercress and a pint of water, in just 57 seconds.
Mustard Communications’ Wendy Akers, who developed the event six years ago, said: “National Watercress Week is the main focus of our PR campaign - funded by the Watercress Alliance, Bakkavor, Vitacress Salads and The Watercress Company - and we have been really pleased with the publicity achieved, which will give us a good start to the British season. If the predictions of a hot summer are right then we are hoping for a very good year.
“Our next big PR launch is in September when we will be publishing the results of a new study being conducted by the University of Southampton into watercress’s potential ability to suppress breast cancer cell development. The £100,000 study has been funded by The Watercress Alliance.”
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