It’s a busy old week in food land. The biggest event is the Thame Food Festival this weekend.

Patron Lotte Duncan will be cooking in the main kitchen and demonstrating in the Aga shop. Celebrity guest Raymond Blanc will be signing copies of his new book Kitchen Secrets, and other guest chefs include Mark Peregrine and Adam Johnson from Le Manoir aux Quat’ Saisons.

There are fantastic culinary prizes for the raffle, to be held on the day, including a voucher for a one-day cookery course worth £375 at the Raymond Blanc Cookery School, a dinner party for eight in a David Wilson Windmill Place showhome and a Fortnum & Mason hamper kindly donated by Harrison catering.

An amazing array of attractions will include music all day from Jack & Glide FM, live music, a beer tent by The Thatch, a town crier, compere Jams Davies, face painting, barber shop choir, brewer tours, hog roast, ‘Make a Dough Tortoise’, cookie decoration, making the perfect cup of tea, sausage making and food talks. See thamefoodfestival.co.uk Millets Farm Craft & Gift Fair is also running this weekend from tomorrow with lots of activities for the children to get stuck into as well, from face painting to arts and crafts. See milletsfarmcentre.com It’s also British Food Fortnight and The Oxford Belfry Hotel in Thame has introduced a menu to support the very best produce in Oxfordshire with a starter of ham hock terrine with wholegrain mustard, homemade beetroot and dill pickle; a main course of Hook Norton beer-battered cod, with mushy peas and chunky chips and a dessert of homemade croissant bread and butter pudding, available in The Rycote Restaurant until October 2. Call 01844 279381 or see QHotels.co.uk Then on Tuesday, Carluccio’s in Bicester will host Opera A Tavola – an informal evening of live opera paired with a three-course feast. Arrive at 7pm for a prosecco and canapé reception, before sitting down to an evening of live entertainment and Italian dining. Guests will enjoy antipasto, slow-roasted chicken leg with mushrooms and a sweet marsala wine sauce, served with creamy potato purée, and homemade mixed berry tart. Diners will be serenaded the Cameo Opera group. Tickets cost £35. Book on 01869 247651.

The Chef & Brewer Seafood Festival is running at three pubs in Oxford including the Kings Arms in Sandford-on-Thames and the Fox Inn in Boars Hill throughout September. The deal includes three courses of seafood featuring red snapper, Shetland salmon and sea bass, rounded off with a chocolate fudge brownie at £14.99 per person. See chefandbrewer.com.