AS this season of mist and mellow fruitfulness closes in, stalwart tractors a distant crumb of colour rumbling along sun bleached fields to gather in the year’s yield, it seems an apposite time to celebrate the harvest.

And Vallum Farm has thrown a harvest festival to remember, hosting the prestigious Universal Cookery and Food Festival.

The event, which took place on Wednesday, boasted enough culinary treats to make any gourmet worth his salt weak at the knees.

Organised by industry experts Ian Nottage, Lee Maycock, John Feeney and Billie Moore, the festival aims to get chefs out of the kitchen and connecting with one another and the land around them.

An annual item on the national culinary calendar, last year’s show took place at the River Cottage headquarters in Devon.

But for 2015 organisers looked North and the festival tent at Vallum Farm was groaning with fresh produce, inspiring technology and exciting new tastes.

Introducing new and curious flavours to chefs from around the country was Sarah Calcutt from Worcestershire-based speciality growers, Westlands.

The colourful display of edible flowers and exotic herbs drew intrigued crowds, eager for a taste of the unknown.

Sarah said: “The company is run by a family of proper, old fashioned Victorian plant hunters.

“A lot of what we do is about surprise, a different colour or texture and very intense, unusual flavours.

“It’s about setting new trends and making things accessible.

“We’ve done the show for the last few years. Usually it’s in a conference centre so to be out in the countryside is fantastic.”

Over at the Innovation Zone, commercial director at Infusions 4 Chefs, Jeremy Medley, was wowing visitors with space-age cooking techniques.

Showcasing the latest culinary innovations he used a smoking gun and a glass cloche to infuse a dish with a smoky flavour.

Jeremy said: “We’ve used the smoke to make the dish more aromatic. It’s all about multi-sensory eating, it’s not just about the mouth.

“This festival is one of the only places we can come together and share ideas across all the platforms.

“We’ve had a good response today, chefs like to see how they can update and improve.”

Visitors were able to get up close and personal with Japanese Wagyu cattle in a tour of Vallum farm, and the feather and fur section, with clay pigeon shooting, proved popular.

Up on the festival stage a packed bill of top chefs entertained the audience, including executive chef at The Ritz, John Williams, and Northcote Manor chef patron, Nigel Howarth.

Local heroes Raby Hunt head chef James Close, House of Tides chef patron Kenny Atkinson, and chef patron of 21 Hospitality Group Terry Laybourne showed what our region has to offer.

And the young kitchen team at Vallum Farm were also given the opportunity to showcase their skills at a dinner thrown for sponsors the night before the event.

And they did not disappoint, the ‘harvest festival’ menu written by young head chef Nick Allen and whipped up by Lucy Andrews (21), Martin Futers (19) and Rhys Robinson (17) and Tony Heath, went down a storm.

The culinary might of the North-East was in evidence throughout the festival, with local producers such as the Northumberland Cheese Company, Davenports Chocolates, Tyne Bank Brewery and the Northumberland Sausage Company all on show.

Development chef for Lancashire’s Oliver Kay Produce, Laurence Tottingham, cooked up burgers using top-grade Aberdeen Angus beef from Scotland’s Buccleuch Estate.

He said: “This festival is a great opportunity for people to try new flavours and pick up new ideas.

“And it’s getting great produce from around the country to chefs.”

Tony McClean, from Taylor Seafood, added: “A lot of what’s on offer today is local food and it’s a great chance to show what the North-East has to offer at a national level.”

If the faces of those bustling through the festival tent were anything to go by the event proved a roaring success.

However Vikki Moffitt, of Vallum Farm, says that the decision to take the show to Northumberland was not taken lightly.

“Every year the show is taken around the country, to different areas and different communities, specifically to see new producers and chefs,” she explained.

“Most of the organisers came up from the South and they said it was a bold move to have it up in the North-East.

“People complain that everything happens in London but there were people here who had travelled from Edinburgh, Yorkshire, Cumbria and all over the country. I think we have sold them on the North now; the general feedback we had from people was that they just loved it.

“Seeing Kenny Atkinson and James Close up on the stage, they came and shone and showed all these people from all over the country what’s happening up here.

“It’s such a positive event, the organisers all have full time jobs but this is something they do out of passion for the industry.”