WEST DORSET: A Taste of France is coming to Dorset with the Onion Jack Festival.

A celebration of the French onion – and the “Onion Johnnies”, the travelling door-to-door onion sellers who for generations brought a taste of France to UK households – is coming to West Dorset.

The Onion Johnnies first arrived in Britain almost 200 years ago after Breton traders first realised the benefits of exporting their produce across the channel.

The sight of a beret-wearing Frenchman, wearing a striped jumper and weighed down by strings of onions as he cycled from house to house was a common sight until the trade almost died out in the 1970’s.

The Onion Jack Festival will be held at various venues across West Bay, Bridport and at Washingpool Farm in North Allington for four days, from Thursday, October 22 to Sunday, October 25.

Onion Jack founders Emmanuel Le Noac’h, with colleagues Laurent Caroff and Damien Zanlonghi, sell strings of Breton onions, garlic and shallots to more than 100 outlets in Britain and are keen to bring back the tradition of Onion Johnnies.

Emmanuel said: "We are all very excited to be a part of the Onion Jack Festival.

“The Festival will mark the traditional ways of harvesting the onions by hand and carrying them by horse to the port and making the voyage to England as it was done in days gone by.”

Visit their Facebook page, The Onion Jack Festival, for updates and information.