Altrincham Festival Spotlights Sourdough Baking with Hands-On Workshops

MOST Bakery is putting sourdough at the centre of Taste of Altrincham, hosting a hands-on sourdough masterclass led by co-owner Matt, who is a finalist in the 2025 Baking Industry Awards. The masterclass joins a strand of "sourdough mastery" sessions and patisserie teaching across the 10-day programme that runs around late February and early March; some listings and outlets give the launch as Thursday 26 February while others report a Friday 27 February start, and the Visit Altrincham programme should be checked for event-by-event confirmation.

Mandy White, director at Altrincham BID, says the festival has expanded in its second year and highlights the town’s independent businesses: "A Taste of Altrincham has grown in its second year, and this programme really reflects the creativity and variety of our independent businesses. With events for families and food lovers, it’s a fantastic opportunity to explore the town and enjoy everything it has to offer." Altrincham Market remains central to that framing, positioned in festival coverage as key to the town centre’s reinvention.

MOST Bakery’s bread teaching sits alongside a Patisserie Foundations workshop at the same bakery, led by head pastry chef Laura; Visit Altrincham lists that class on Mar 8 from 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm. Festival programming also includes chef demonstrations, community workshops and paired tastings described in the schedule, giving home bakers and professional cooks multiple opportunities to work with local ingredients and learn techniques in person.

The festival opens its tasting strand with an opening-night wine event titled The Opening Glass at Jardim Rodizio, and other specialist evenings include Alibi’s Wine & Cheese Night pairing five wines with five cheeses, Bar Etna’s Sicilian Wine Tasting and Hive Stores’ Spring Wine Tasting. Independent venues are staging exclusive dinners and workshops too; Blanchflower has a rare evening service billed as "Blanchflower Does Dinner" offering a four-course menu focused on hyper-local, seasonal ingredients, while Shere Khan Kitchen runs a Samosa Chaat Workshop and Kit:ch’s Amy Regan leads a Charcuterie Cup session.

Family programming and community pick-ups are woven through the schedule. Visit Altrincham’s listings show Coffee Cupping at Two Brothers Coffee on Mar 6, 7:00 pm–10:00 pm and again on Mar 7 at 9:30 am–10:30 am, a Giuseppe Arcimboldo Kid’s Fun Faces Workshop on Mar 7, and the Ultimate Altrincham Pudding Competition final on Mar 7, 2:00 pm–4:00 pm. Printed programmes are available while stocks last from OYEZ Arts at Altrincham Town Hall, Altrincham Library and Altrincham Interchange, and the Visit Altrincham App offers exclusive festival promotions free on the App Store and Google Play.

Tickets and full event times are listed on the Visit Altrincham programme; local offers such as La Filia’s Two Courses for £20 (starter and main, Tues–Thurs 5:00–6:30 pm) are also promoted through the festival channels. The breadth of hands-on baking classes, timed masterclasses and market-centred tastings underlines the festival’s aim to put local bakers and foodmakers, including sourdough practitioners, in front of the public for practical learning and tasting across the town centre.