10^th CHEESE FESTIVAL BIGGEST EVER

Cheese lovers, exhibitors and sponsors unanimously agree: the brand new home of the SA Cheese Festival is simply perfect.  The 10th SA Cheese Festival took place at Sandringham over the weekend and thousands of visitors came to taste, eat, drink and enjoy.

"The new more spacious venue enabled us to accommodate up to 10 000 people per day and tickets for Saturday and Sunday were sold out," says Johan Ehlers, CEO of Agri-Expo. "The move to Sandringham came at just the right time as the 10th Cheese Festival was the biggest ever with much more cheese and other exhibitors than previous years. The larger space kept the marquees from becoming uncomfortably full."

The Cheese Festival is by far the best place for boutique cheese makers to promote their products to the cheese loving public.  "I found the feedback from tasters invaluable," says Pauline Leppan, cheese maker at Sandford Farm in the Hemel and Aarde Valley outside Hermanus.  Pauline is a first timer at the festival. "The buying power of visitors is surprisingly good and the event was functionally well organized."

Rian van der Merwe, marketing manager of Ladismith Cheese – one of the country’s larger cheese manufacturers – agrees that the terrain works exceptionally well.  "The generously spaced passages contributed to a more effective flow of people," he says.  Ladismith Cheese has been involved with the festival as sponsor and exhibitor for the past nine years.

The Cheese Festival is also known for treating visitors to a fun-filled experience with interesting foodie shows and demonstrations.  Nataniël, who has also performed at the festival for the past nine years, kept visitors entertained with his sharp wit and his favourite recipes at the Checkers Living Table. "The Cheese Festival is already a tradition in my life," he says.  "And this year’s ‘new’ festival was definitely technologically and logistically superior."

Cheese lovers, pull that calendar closer: your favourite festival takes place next year over the long weekend of 27-30 April 2012.

For more information contact Agri-Expo on tel 021 975 4440 or cheese@agriexpo.co.za or visit www.cheesefestival.co.za


Issued by Marlene Truter Communications
Contact: Yolandi de Wet
charlene@marlenetruter.co.za

On behalf of Agri-Expo
Contact: Mariana Rabie
Tel: 021 975 4440 / 082 871 1114
mariana@agriexpo.co.za