It’s the month of bunnies, eggs, chocolate and beer festivals, what a time to be alive.

I’ll crack straight on with the good stuff, but needless to say, it’s another exciting month ahead.

If you can’t be bothered to read the full list of events, check out the Events Calendar.

News

First up, the 2019 programme for Bristol Food Connections has been announced! As per usual, it’s an absolute beast and chocca full of some brilliant events, from talks and dinners through to trails, workshops, street parties and more. Whatever your budget, palate or preference, I guarantee you’ll find something you like the sound of. Highlights (in my opinion) include:

• Spoke & Stringer Food Quiz
• Bristol Vineyard Tours: Chew Valley
• Cider & Burger Night (featuring Squeezed & Bristol Cider Shop)
• Cider vs Cheese: The Bristol Boat Edition 
• Surplus Food Feast with Fareshare
• Cameroonian Food at The Commonwealth Club
• Malaysian Afternoon Tea
• The Future Food Banquet, by Poco and Chef’s Manifesto
• Getting Pickled Not Wasted at Psychopomp
• Booze on the Brain at Bristol Spirit
• A Feast with Talking Tables at Windmill Hill City Farm
• A Midsummer Night of Wild Cocktails & Feasting at Feed Bristol
• At The Sauce: Live Podcast Recording
• Vela Pop-up: Mango Mela
• Vineyard & Orchard Tour with Limeburn Hill

My good pals and part-time employers Duchess Media are also doing a supper club if any of you are keen to learn more about marketing while scoffing your face and inevitably getting wasted. And I’ve programmed a day of business events aimed at food & drink folk if you’re interested.

Speaking of festivals, 3-6th April is the 12th Oyster Festival at Source in St Nicks. Try a selection of oysters from small farms and wild creeks all over the UK, with a late opening on Fri 5th.

The Pony & Trap have a new six course Chef’s Menu with three options for diners to choose from: Vegetable, fish & Shellfish, Classic. The menus will be available Tue-Sat, with their famous roast dinners taking over on Sundays.

The brilliant Coexist Community Kitchen are fundraising for a new premises – find out more and do your bit here. 

There are a couple of great markets going on this month – House of Veg vegan market on Sat 13th,  and Harts Bakery Spring Market on Sat 27th. Harbour Nights street food & music also returns to the quayside outside Arnolfini every Friday, 5:30-10pm  from Fri 19th April. See a list of other markets in Bristol here.

Bristol Spirit in Easton are hosting Game of Thrones screenings every Monday from 8th April (starting with last episode of the last series). They’v got an exclusive set of the Game of Thrones whiskies in for the occasion – get a flight of four single measures for just £15, plus it’s bring your own food or take away.  

Easter

Some top tips for the long Easter weekend: Easter Beer Fest at The Volunteer Tavern, Bristol Whisky Appreciation Society, Good Friday Sherry Fiesta at Bar 44, Cream Tea Cruise on The Matthew, 6 O’clock Gin supper club at Riverstation, Pilton Cider Smokey Plum launch at Wild Beer Wapping Wharf, Brewery Experience at Brewhouse Bar + Kitchen.

Dinners 

Treat yourself to something special…

• CAMRA Ladies Cake & Beer Pairing at The Good Measure, Sat 6th – 3 beers and 3 cakes, all ladies welcome not just CAMRA members, £10. 
• Fishponds Supper Club, Sat 13th – 4 courses of comforting and seasonal food, £28.
• Cake Bush at Bristol Spirit, Sat 13th – a selection of cake & a welcome cocktail, enjoyed while listening to Kate Bush, £15.
• Sunday Supra Club at Friendly Records, Sun 14th – an evening of Georgian food, wine and culture, £38.

• FoodFireEarth: Greek Night, Thu 18th – a Greek-inspired feast cooked over fire by Genevieve Taylor & Jo Ingleby, £35.
• Pub Classic Monday at The Pony & Trap, Mon 22nd – a long lunch service (12 – 3pm), with pub classics including: Ploughman’s; Ham, Egg & Chips; Sausage, Mash & Onion and a Fish & Chips with all the extras – crushed peas, tartare sauce, curry sauce, pickled cockles and pickled samphire.
• Seasonal fondue evening at Two Belly, Tue 23rd – a fondue evening with UK cured meats, potatoes, sourdough and more, £25.
• Bake Off vs Masterchef at Bambalan, Sun 28th –  The Great British Bake Off’s Briony Williams and MasterChef’s Dean Edwards come together to create a delicious three course dinner, £45.
• Root x Anglo Thai, Tue 30th – John Chantarasak joins the team for a collaborative 6 course dinner, £55. Sun 28th is also the last in the series of their Vegetable Sunday Roasts.

Workshops

Learn something new this month to show off to your friends!

• Mad Hatters Tea Party Workshop at Cooking It (Wed 10th), £40 per child.
• Cheese and beer tasting at Two Belly (Thu 11th), £15.
• Breakfast pastry making course with lunch at Assembly Bakery (Sat 13th), £60.
• Breweries, Brunel & Brigstow beer tour (Sat 13th), £25.
• Prosecco & Italian sparkling wine tasting (Sat 13th), £35.
• Michelin Star Recipes and Molecular Science at Cooking It (Mon 15th), £90.
• Vegan Indian Cookery: Indian Fusion (Wed 17th), £79
• Mastering Pasta class at Little Kitchen (Thu 18th), £40.
• Bristol Whisky Appreciation Society: Supermarket Sweep (Thu 18th), £21.55.

• Ross on Wye Cider Tasting with Albert Johnson at Bristol Cider Shop (Thu 18th), £10.
• The Great Bristol Food Tour with Cycle the City (Sat 20th), £40.
• Happily Ever After…noon Tea at Bristol Harbour Hotel (Mon 22nd), £19.95.
• Classic Italian Cellar Tasting at Averys (Wed 24th), £30.
• Springtime in Italy workshop at Square Food Foundation (Thu 25th), £49.
• Intro to Belgian Beer at Brendan’s Brewtique (Thu 25th),  £15.
• Milk Thistle Gin Club: That Boutique-y Gin Co (Thu 25th), £20.
• Eatchu Gyoza Masterclass (Sat 27th), £55.
• Celebration Drip Cake Class at ANNA Cake Couture (Tue 30th), £150.

Pop-ups

Some goodies coming up this month – there’s a new pop up at Steam, La Yaya. La Yaya has been setup by Paco, he is from Malaga but has been working in restaurants in Bristol for the last 6 years. His grandma taught him how to cook authentic, homemade Spanish food (hence the name la yaya, which means grandma) and he is now serving home made tapas at Steam! 

Bristol Spirit in Easton (or Whitehall/Redfield if you prefer, I can never decide which to say) has two belters coming up in their kitchen – veggie & hummus maestros Hummusapiens from 3-14th April, followed by Gujurati cooking by Naasto Baasto from 17th April- 29th June. 

Newbies

Say hello to these new places…

• The Vegetable Diva – a new zero waste vegetarian cafe & deli on the Harbourside.
• The Nordic Cafe – a Scandi style cafe on North Street.
• The Spaghetti Incident – fresh made pasta to eat in or take away on Stokes Croft.
• Low n Slow – the best barbecue in town opens in St Nicks at the end of April.

And coming soon…

• Two new businesses are in the pipeline from the Pasta Loco team – one new restaurant in Montpelier and a deli on St Stephens St next to Pasta Ripiena. Goody goody gumdrops!
• BackYard Chicken is opening on the Triangle in the spot previously occupied by Cau – the menu will be based around fried & grilled chicken and use some very snazz technology.
• FLIP is a new vegan cafe and deli opening soon on North St in Bedminster.
• Seven Lucky Gods is a new Izakaya style bar-restaurant opening in CARGO 2 in May – expect sushi, yakitori and some damn fine cocktails.

That’s it for this month, exciting eh? Let me know what you end up going to over on Twitter, keep up to date with other Bristol food news by following A Life Less Organised on Facebook, or see what I’m eating over on Instagram.

If you’re looking for other stuff to read, maybe check out my guide to Bristol’s Cosiest Pubs if the weather is crap, Best Pub Gardens if the weather is good, or Pub Crawls in Bristol if you want to get properly leathered over the long weekend.

See you next month!

Dates for the diary
(or check the Events Calendar)

• Wed 3rd – Sat 6th – Oyster Festival at Source
• Thu 4th – Sun 7th – Brandon Hill Beer Festival
• Sat 6th – Wiper & True brewery tour
• Sat 6th – Artisan cheese & wine tasting
• Sat 6th – Bristol Micropubs Hoppy Bus Tour
• Sat 6th – Cake & Beer with Good Chemistry Brewing
• Sat 6th – Gin Masterclass
• Sat 6th – Arbor Ales brewery tour
• Sat 6th –  Moor Beer Brewery Tour
• Tue 9th – Macaron Class at ANNA Cake Couture
• Wed 10th – The Ultimate Indian Vegan Dinner Party
• Wed 10th – The Little Mermaid Afternoon Tea
• Thu 11th – Cheese and beer tasting at Two Belly
• Thu 11th – Chocolate & truffle making class at Thornbury Castle
• Thu 11th – Syrian Supper Club at Harts Bakery
• Thu 11th – Easter egg making & afternoon tea at Thornbury Castle
• Thu 11th – Explore Australia & New Zealand wine tasting
• Fri 12th – Bristol Dry Gin tasting
• Fri 12th – Spanish Tapas Supper Club at Cooking It
• Fri 12th – Introduction to Cider at Bristol Cider Shop
• Sat 13th – Fishponds Supper Club
• Sat 13th – Gin Masterclass
• Sat 13th – Prosecco & Italian sparkling wine tasting
• Sat 13th – Breweries, Brunel & Brigstow beer tour
• Sat 13th – Breakfast pastry making course at Assembly Bakery
• Sat 13th – A Spring Happening with Lervig at Lost & Grounded Brewers
• Sat 13th – Wiper & True brewery tour
• Sat 13th – The Great Bristol Food Tour with Cycle the City
• Sat 13th –  Moor Beer Brewery Tour
• Sat 13th – Cake Bush at Bristol Spirit
• Sat 13th – South of the River food tour
• Sat 13th – House of Veg vegan market
• Sun 14th – Sunday Supra Club at Friendly Records
• Mon 15th – Michelin Star Recipes and Molecular Science at Cooking It
• Tue 16th – Silent Reading Party at Bristol Spirit
• Wed 17th – Vegan Indian Cookery: Indian Fusion
• Wed 17th – Bottle Share at Two Belly
• Wed 17th – Sexy Fish takeover at Crying Wolf
• Wed 17th – Spring supper club at Brewhouse Bar & Kitchen
• Thu 18th – FoodFireEarth Greek Night with Genevieve Taylor & Jo Ingleby
• Thu 18th – Six O’clock Gin supper club at Riverstation
• Thu 18th – Ross on Wye Cider Tasting with Albert Johnson at Bristol Cider Shop
• Thu Thu 18th – Bristol Whisky Appreciation Society: Supermarket Sweep
• Thu 18th – Starting your own microbrewery at Bristol Brewery School
• Thu 18th – Mastering Pasta class at Little Kitchen
• Thu 18th – Mon 21st – Easter Beer Fest at The Volunteer Tavern
• Fri 19th – Bristol Dry Gin tasting
• Fri 19th – Good Friday Sherry Fiesta
• Fri 19th – Harbour Nights outside Arnolfini
• Fri 19th – Cider and cheese tasting at Bristol Cider Shop
• Sat 20th – Rum Punch Brunch at Turtle Bay
• Sat 20th –  Moor Beer Brewery Tour
• Sat 20th – Easter Egg Masterclass at Little Kitchen
• Sat 20th – The Great Bristol Food Tour with Cycle the City
• Sat 20th – Bristol Brewery Tours
• Sat 20th – South of the River food tour
• Sat 20th – Wiper & True brewery tour
• Sun 21st – Bottomless Burger Club at Burger Theory
• Sun 21st – Cream tea harbour trip on The Matthew
• Mon 22nd – ‘Pub Classic Monday’ at The Pony & Trap
• Mon 22nd – British Isles on a Plate at Cooking It
• Tue 23rd – Seasonal fondue evening at Two Belly
• Wed 24th – Indian Cookery for Guys: North Indian
• Wed 24th – Flamenco & tapas evening at El Rincon
• Wed 24th – Fish & chips on board The Matthew
• Thu 25th – Milk Thistle Gin Club: That Boutique-y Gin Co
• Thu 25th – Pressure Drop takeover at The Good Measure
• Thu 25th – Intro to Belgian Beer at Brendan’s Brewtique
• Fri 26th – Bristol Dry Gin tasting
• Fri 26th – Chocolate and wine matching course
• Fri 26th – Beery Road Trip to Bath
• Fri 26th & Sat 27th – Good Chemistry Brewing brewery tap re-opens
• Sat 26th – Spanish Wine Dinner at Hotel du Vin
• Sat 27th – Kefir School
• Sat 27th – Kimchi College
• Sat 27th – South of the River food tour
• Sat 27th – Eatchu Gyoza Masterclass
• Sat 27th – Harts Bakery Spring Market
• Sat 27th – Bristol Brewery Tours
• Sat 27th – Moor Beer Brewery Tour 
• Sat 27th – The Great Bristol Food Tour with Cycle the City
• Sat 27th – Wiper & True brewery tour
• Sun 28th – The Chocolate Course at Little Kitchen
• Sun 28th – Bake Off vs Masterchef at Bambalan
• Sun 28th – Sunday Riverside Roast with Bristol Ferry
• Tue 30th – Root x Anglo Thai
• Tue 30th – Celebration Drip Cake Class at ANNA Cake Couture