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Maidstone Food & Local Events
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Three Stops in West Kent on England's New County-Wide Wine Trail
Visit Kent has just launched The Kentish Wine Way, bringing together 30 of the county's vineyards under one tourism brand - and three of them are on our own doorstep, in Westerham, Staplehurst and Wateringbury.
Cheese, Cider and a Perfect Score: West Kent's Winners at the 20th Taste of Kent Awards
Kent's biggest food and drink awards handed out Gold across the county last week - and five of them went to businesses and makers in Maidstone, Tonbridge & Malling and Tunbridge Wells, from a farm shop with a flawless mystery-shop score to a cheese that's now won twice.
The Cozy Chapter: Maidstone's New Books-and-Coffee Spot With Gong Baths and Comedy Nights
A new bookshop and café has opened in Maidstone's Royal Star Arcade, already running comedy nights and a book club in its first fortnight, with a gong bath sound meditation evening booked in for 29 October.
A Taste of Porto Could Be Coming to Mill Street, Maidstone
A new company called Francesinha Club of Porto Ltd has just been incorporated at 13 Mill Street, Maidstone, its name borrowed from Porto's famous meat-and-cheese sandwich - though there's no sign yet of it actually trading.
Marden's Old Post Office Is Now a Coffee House, and the Village's History Lives On Inside
Sisters Olga and Anna turned Marden's former post office into a cosy coffee house, keeping the building's original features and filling it with old photos from Marden History Society - including a bicycle once used by the village's postman.
Why West Kent's Vineyards Are Picking Grapes Weeks Early This Year
A hot, dry spring and summer have pushed this year's grape harvest to among the earliest in decades - a pattern stretching from Champagne to California, and now visible on the vines at Westerham's Squerryes and Staplehurst's Hush Heath.
West Kent's Award-Winning Food and Drink Scene, in Four Stops
From a Michelin Green Star farm restaurant in Kilndown to a much-loved 15th century pub in Shoreham, West Kent cleaned up at the Muddy Stilettos Kent Awards 2026 - here's a tour of the winners actually worth booking a table at.
Maidstone's Four Community Food Hubs Mark 10 Years of The Bread and Butter Thing
The Bread and Butter Thing, the affordable-food charity that runs weekly collection hubs in four Maidstone neighbourhoods, is marking its 10th anniversary - and Maidstone was its first base in the South East.
Steam Trains, 70 Stalls and 200 Real Ales: 5 West Kent Food Events to Catch This Autumn
From a monthly farmers' market in Sevenoaks to a beer festival run from a heritage railway in Tunbridge Wells, here are five West Kent food and drink events worth putting in the diary this autumn.