Chef demonstrates his passion for food

The Sussex Produce Cafe was packed for The Italian Extravaganza with the star of Two Greedy Italians – a restaurateur and author of numerous cookery books.

Reina Alston, one of the festival organisers, said: “The cafe was packed to the gunnels, with guests enjoying prosecco on arrival, supper, a stage interview with our star, conducted by Gudrun Bowers from The Steyning Bookshop, and a personal book signing by Gennaro of his publication Passione.

“Gennaro was a delight, full of enthusiasm and humour – in fact he well overran the time allotted to answer numerous questions from the assembled company.

“It was obvious that he enjoyed liaising with the public and happily shared anecdotes from his lifetime of cooking adventures. A great time was had by all –an event that will long be remembered.”

To round off last week, Cobblestone Walk held a family fun day on Saturday, with face painting, a treasure hunt, animals to meet and special offers.

Reina said: “The owls were especially popular and we were pleased that they had stayed awake for the day, rather than waiting for nightfall to be up and about.”

There is still time to bag a special offer, as the festival is running until Sunday.

The three-day Steyning and District Beer Festival launches at Steyning Cricket Club tomorrow at 6pm. Organised by Adur Brewery and Riverside Brewery, the beer festival is free to enter.

The Tasty Bike Ride on Saturday at 2.30pm is a festival first, an off-road fun ride raising money for Chestnut Tree House children’s hospice.

Also raising money for the hospice is the final festival breakfast, taking place at The Chequer Inn on Saturday.

Steyning Farmers’ Market on Saturday morning will include the annual pumpkin competition and Steyning Community Orchard has its annual Apple Day during the afternoon.