Abergavenny Food Festival, 2008.

The best thing about working at Abergavenny Food Festival is the holiday atmosphere. It teems with giant chicken sculptures, film crews, toddlers and colourful bunting. The stunning weather this year meant that everyone was either clutching an ice-cold cider or an ice-cream from Wild Fig, and more than a few people had delved into their forgotten summer wardrobes.

Of course, another reason why working at Abergavenny is so enjoyable is all the delicious food and drink always on offer. Genuine Welsh cakes, goats’ milk fudge, chickpea burgers, prosecco, cinnamon brioche, enormous wedges of foccaccia sprinkled with Halen Môn, lentil pate and smoked salmon are a few of the best we sampled.

When you’re full up you can go and listen to a talk from any one of the fabulous speakers or enjoy a stroll down the high-street of little boutique shops, lined with yet more market stalls.

The festival is also home of the ideal customer. One who comes to the stand (we’ve had the same pitch for the last four years) with their re-usable bag and says they’d like a 500g pot of pure Halen Môn sea salt because they’ve been using it for years and nothing else (including Maldon) will do! They are always happy to try new flavours and generally buy a tube or two.

And when it’s all over and there’s not one more recipe you can suggest for using the sea salts, (‘Vanilla salt, now what would you do with that?’) you can pack all your superb purchases and swaps into your car, before trundling off home.