THE Battle of the Bangers is set to be one of the highlights of next month's first Haslemere Food Festival. The celebration of Haslemere food includes a competition for professional sausage makers within a 10-mile radius of Haslemere Town Hall, who are being are invited to take part in the first competition of its kind in town, to find "Haslemere's Supreme Sausage 2006". The competition forms part of the two-week Haslemere Food Festival, which runs from September 16 to 30. Haslemere food enthusiast and financial adviser Simon Labrow is leading the sausage challenge and has teamed up with The Aga Shop for the event. "There are a simple set of rules for butchers, chefs and farms to follow, with the overall objective being that the sausages should have good texture and appearance, contain local ingredients where possible and, of course, taste fabulous," said Mr Labrow. The festival starts with an opportunity for members of the public to blind-taste and judge the sausages during the first week, every day except Sunday, from 10 am until 3 pm at The Aga Shop in West Street. "We are delighted to be able to host this event," said Aga shop manager Jackie Reynolds. As well as the sausage tasting, Sara Whitaker, author of several cookery books, will be providing cookery demonstrations to encourage as many people as possible to join in the fun and help with the judging. The second week of the food festival includes a tasting session on Saturday, September 23, when an invited panel of sausage enthusiasts will announce the winner of the title of Haslemere's Supreme Sausage 2006. During the second week of the festival selected local pubs and restaurants will be featuring the winning sausages on their menu. See http://www.haslemere.com/food">www.haslemere.com/food festival for further details. Any business within 10 miles of Haslemere which produces sausages and wants to enter the competition should contact Jackie Reynolds at The Aga Shop on 01428 652873 for an application form. Forms must be completed and returned by Friday, September 1. The Haslemere Initiative is organising The Haslemere Food Festival in conjunction with Waverley Borough Council and Haslemere and District Chamber of Trade and Commerce. The aim of the festival is to celebrate the wide range of local produce in the area. Tourism South East, Waverley Borough Council, Delicious magazine and The Herald Newspaper Group have funded the project. Many local businesses and volunteers are working in partnership on the event.