It might have been a soggy and blustery weekend but the Surbiton village fete – a flagship food festival event – drew a crowd nonetheless.

This year’s fete saw the return of two stallholders who credit the festival with their success, with one trader saying she might not be in business without it.

Tough economic times hit teacher Ruth French last year and, with daughter Hannah she made a go of her confectionary business, Yum Yum Chocolate, setting up shop at last year’s Sardine Festival, village fete and Seething sports day.

She said: “I thought, ‘Right, I’ve got to do something.’ That led to me becoming involved in the Seething group. Without this I wouldn’t still be trading, to be honest.”

Surrey Comet:

Nima Dibazar serves up some Moroccan food to Jawad Tadimi and Sam Elmaliky

And transplanted Parisian Fabienne Jaimes, who runs multicoloured sugarfest The Real Macaron, returned to the festival having taken part in the final weekend last year.

She said: “I didn’t make macarons before, really. They are quite difficult to do – it’s a long process.

“Because of the food festival I had this opportunity. I’m thinking to open maybe a pop-up for a while.”

Both Yum Yum Chocolate and The Real Macaron are now regulars at the monthly Surbiton farmers’ market in Maple Road, and praised the support of The Lamb landlords Liz and Adam Lewis.

Did you enjoy the village fete? Leave a comment below or send a picture to newsdesk@surreycomet.co.uk.