Food & Drink Festival Round-up for July 2012

July is shaping up to be a tasty month, no matter what the weather may be, with a number of food and drink festivals and events occurring. Here are a few for the foodie calendar.

Blog post for Great British Chefs by Doreen of Tasty Fever

The Dorset Seafood Festival also begins this weekend, highlighting fantastic local produce on Saturday and Sunday, the 7th and 8th, along Waterfront Weymouth. There are a number of demonstrations from local chefs, and the festival boasts over 100 stalls selling food and related items. The Dorset Seafood Festival is free admission.

The Hampshire Food Festival is going on throughout the entire month of July, with over 70 events happening throughout Hampshire. View the festival programme online and search events where you can meet food producers, attend tastings, visit farmers’ markets and attend cookery demonstrations. Festival Palace will be hosting a festival weekend in Basingstoke on the 20th through the 22nd, hosted by Olly Smith.

Today marks the start of the Nottingham Food & Drink Festival, which will be happening from the 4th until the 8th of July. There will be chef and butchery demonstrations, real ale sampling, film screenings, wine tastings, brewer meet-ups, dinner specials and even a cocktail masterclass, along with a food and drink market showcasing regional produce. Many events are free, but there are some events which do require purchasing tickets. Find out more on their website.

Taste of Edinburgh will be on this coming weekend from the 6th through the 8th of July. A number of fantastic chefs will be featured at the event, including our very own Geoffrey Smeddle. There are a number of cooking classes and masterclasses, as well as several producers exhibiting Scottish and worldwide fare. Standard adult tickets are £12, with children under 12 attending for free, while Premium and VIP tickets are £30 and £45 respectively. You can purchase your tickets here.

Cheshire’s Tatton Park will be the scene for the Foodies Festival from the 6th through the 8th this weekend. With a fantastic line-up of cheese-tastings, pie making, tagine masterclasses, wine tastings, sausage making, gin demonstrations with Hendrick’s Gin and beer sampling with author Melissa Cole, there’s something for every food and drink interest at this festival. Tickets are £10/£8 concessions per day, with children under 16 able to attend for free, or £18/15 concessions for a three-day ticket. Book your tickets here.

EAT! NewcastleGateshead 2012 is a huge festival celebrating food and drink in Newcastle upon Tyne and Gateshead, spanning over two weeks from the 23th of July through the 29th. With a massive programme of a number of events, parties, interactive projects, plays, film ‘eat-alongs’ and masterclasses, there will be something to enjoy for everyone at this truly epic food festival. View the website to browse the extensive activities and to book the events you wish to attend.

Beautiful Bristol shall be hosting its own Foodies Festival from the 13th through the 15th. There will be food and drink masterclasses, as well as a Chef’s Theatre where top chefs in the area will be holding demonstrations, including The Pony & Trap’s Josh Eggleton. Tickets are £10 or £8 concessions per day, with children under 16 attending free, or £18/15 concessions for a three-day ticket. Purchase your tickets here.

The Glynde Food & English Wine Festival will be on the weekend of the 14th and 15th this month, spotlighting English wine, vineyards and traders. Several chefs will be making appearances at the festival, including a chef previously featured on our blog, Tim Anderson. Several fantastic food and wine traders will be selling their produce at the event, so it will be hard to leave empty-handed. Standard tickets are currently £10 per day, with £5 tickets for children 13-16, while under-13s attend free. Concession tickets are £8, and a weekend ticket is £15. There will be tutored wine tastings beginning at £10, and masterclass tickets at £25, which are in addition to the festival tickets. There is also a Children’s Kitchen, teaching cookery skills to kids, which is £5.

The Great Shoreham Chilli Fest is a free festival also happening on the 14th and 15th on Coronation Green. There will be a chilli-eating contest, along with a spice-tastic array of curries, sauces, dips, snacks and even chilli beer and chilli cocktails to set your tongue aflame.

Gloucester Quays will be holding their Food Festival from the 20th of July through the 22nd, featuring a cookery theatre, a food and craft market, live music and free masterclass sessions throughout the weekend. The event is free, and the cookery theatre is £7.

Saturday, the 21st, will see the Oundle Food Festival, with a food market, cookery demonstrations and . There will also be an interesting food debate led by BBC Presenter Sue MacGregor, given Question Time style, featuring speakers involved with food and food issues. The festival is free, but tickets for the cookery demonstrations and food debate are available online.

The 21st will also be the day for the Leigh Village Food Festival in Dorset, featuring several area food and drink producers. There will be cookery demonstrations and children’s activities. Adult tickets are just £2, with children under 15 attending free.

The Essex Food Festival is on the 21st and 22nd of July in Cressing Temple Barns. The festival will feature several producers in the East Anglia area, as well as other British produce and selections from abroad. Celebrity chef demonstrations will be shown at the Cookery Theatre. Tickets are available online for £5.50/£4.50 concessions, with different prices if you are purchasing at the gate. Children under 12 attend for free, and admission includes free parking and entrance to all demonstrations.

The Whitstable Oyster Festival will be going on for an entire week, from the 21st through the 27th of July. Celebrating glorious local food and drink along Whitstable Harbour and at various locations, the festival’s main food centre will be on the weekend of the 21st and 22nd, and admission is free. 

On Wednesday, the 25th, The International Cheese Awards in Nantwich will be offering the chance to taste over 3,500 cheeses in the Cheshire East Council Pavillion, as well as a cheese and wine bar, and education centre and cookery demonstration theatre. Adult tickets are £14, seniors £10, children £5 and family tickets are £35 for advanced booking online, with additional prices for seats in the Celebrity Chefs Theatre.

If you’re still craving a cheese fix, Caerphilly will be having its Big Cheese Festival from the 27th through the 29th of July. Friday, the 27th, will be the day of the Great Cheese Race, a fancy dress on castle ground with prizes awarded to the best fancy dressed team. The rest of the weekend will feature a food hall, craft stalls, educational activities and a funfair. This is a free event.

Food Festival Round-up May 2012

No matter what the weather, it’s a good time of year if you’re looking to celebrate food and drink. There are a number of upcoming festivals sure to tickle your tastebuds in for the latter weeks in May 2012, so have a look at Great British Chefs round up of events to see what’s on.

Starting us off for this festival round-up is the Cromer and Sheringham Crab & Lobster Festival, running from the 18th through the 20th. Foodie activities taking place during the festival include cooking demonstrations, mobile kitchens and food stalls. 

The Malton Food Lovers Festival will be taking place this Saturday and Sunday, 19 & 20 May, with an amazing amount of activities. There will be two cookery theatres featuring chefs (including Stephanie Moon - pictured above - who recently appeared on Great British Menu), street food stalls, producers stalls, a Masterclass Marquee featuring interviews and tastings, family events and a Beer, Wine and Cider Festival featuring brews exclusive to the festival. Wristbands for the festival are £5, or £4 on the website, with free entry for children aged 15 years or younger.

The Loch Fyne Food Fair will also be on this weekend on the 19th and 20th, featuring excellent artisanal produce from Argyll and fantastic locally-brewed beer from craft brewers Fyne Ales. The food fair is free to attend, with a parking fee of £3 per vehicle.

Shaun Rankin pictured fishing

This weekend will be the beginning of the Jersey Food Festival, which is a week-long event from Saturday, the 19th through Sunday, the 27th, giving one plenty of time to get down and enjoy a taste of Jersey.

Mark Jordan

Some of the notable activities going on during the festival include a clam and razor fish dig, a foodie film festival, charcuterie making demonstration, coffee masterclasses and opportunities to meet with Michelin-starred chefs, including two of our chefs, Shaun Rankin and Mark Jordan. For more information and to book, visit the Jersey Food Festival website.

On Sunday 20th May, Ivy House in northwest London will be hosting Gefiltefest 2012, a celebration of Jewish food in Britain. It is also a fundraising event supporting food-related charities in the UK and overseas. Gefiltefest will feature an impressive number of speakers, cooking demonstrations and food stalls in the garden. Tickets are £25 for adults and are available on the London Jewish Cultural Centre site.

Great British Chefs’ Nigel Haworth will be putting on a Fantastic Food Show in Blackburn Sunday, May 20th. There will be several exhibitors of food and drink, a BBQ competition, talks from food critics and several chefs who will be demonstrating their skills, including Lisa Allen (pictured above) as well as Nigel Haworth, both from Northcote Manor.

Muncaster crab, hen’s egg, tossed salad and English mustard mayonnaise by Nigel Haworth 

Tickets for the Fantastic Food Show can be purchased for £5. Visit the website for more information, with tickets for The M Theatre’s cooking demonstrations and talks booked separately.

Sunday 20th May also sees the start of The Real Wine Fair, showcasing organic, biodynamic and natural wines in Holborn, London. An amazing amount of winemakers will be represented from Spain, France, Italy, Georgia, Australia and elsewhere. Sunday is the consumer day, where the fair is open to the general public, while Monday and Tuesday are trade only days. Food at the fair will be provided by London restaurants including The Modern Pantry, Ottolenghi, Moro and The Ham & Cheese Co. There are also seminars on many different aspects of natural wine from authors, wine journalists and winemakers. Tickets are £20 for Sunday, the 20th, and are available on the website.

Strawberry Millefeuille by Stephen Crane

The Foodies Festival will be taking place in Brighton on 25th-27th May, featuring demonstrations by Michelin-starred and celebrity chefs in the Chef’s Theatre, including our own Stephen Crane, from Ockenden Manor who will be there on Sunday. There are also a variety of Masterclasses during the days, including a beer & food matching session with author Melissa Cole, chocolate tastings from Lewes Chocolate Company and Jamaican street food from The Backyard Company. There will also be a number of exhibitors from food and drink companies to browse from, restaurant tents to dine in and a producers’ market filled with local food. A three-day ticket is £18, and a one-day ticket is £10, and you can book your tickets here.

Great British Chefs Team at Taste of Christmas plus other Food Festivals - December 2nd - 4th 2011

This weekend we’re sharing a stand with our friends Action Against Hunger at The Taste Of Christmas Show at London’s ExCeL. With over 500 exhibitors, an expected 30,000 visitors, endless amounts to try, it’s one of the best foodie events of the year. Come and meet us at stand 112. We’ve already raised over £930 for Action Against Hunger at the first two days of the show selling Bruno Loubet’s yummy Chocolate & Drambuie Truffles (recipe in our Feastive App). Thanks to Cookery School for making them so yummy (& large) that we sold out in just two days rather than three. However,  we have other treats in store….

Learn how to make Martin Wishart’s Nougat on our exclusive Nougat & Christmas Cracker Making Workshop

Sadly, we don’t have any elves at Great British Chefs HQ to make hundreds more truffles.  But, our Head of Social Media, raided her stash of food goodies & has come up with some amazing prizes for our Action Against Hunger Xmas Tombola we’ll be holding on Sunday 4th December.

For just £1 when you visit us on stand 112 you can buy a Tombola ticket where you could instantly win some of the following:

Pairs of Tickets to our exclusive Nougat & Christmas Cracker Making Workshop on Friday 16th December in Mayfair

Mini Bottles of Organic Red Wine donated by Cookery School

Seasoned Pioneers Spices

Delicious olive oil biscuits from Brindisa

The Best of Mrs Beeton’s Jams, Pickles & Preserves Cookery book

Plus surprise stocking filler gifts

As with the £930 we’ve already raised, all extra funds raised from the Tombola go directly to Action Against Hunger

Plus for every  ”new” person who likes our Great British Chefs Facebook Page by the close of Taste of Christmas at 6pm on Sunday 4th December, we’ll make a further donation to the charity.

So plenty of good reasons to visit us on Stand 112, and if you leave us your email address & sign up for our newsletter, we’ll enter you into a prize draw where you could win an iPad2

For those not in London, The Lincoln Christmas Market runs from  December 1st to 4th, so you can catch the last part of the Market this weekend. The Christmas Market will be fun for all the family and truly get you into the Christmas spirit. You will be able to enjoy a variety of cultural entertainment in a unique medieval atmosphere. With over 250 stalls spread around the city, this gives new visitors an opportunity to explore the beautiful scenery and taste some of the best local produce.

Blackwood Christmas Fair in Wales is on December 3rd - 4th.  The town will be transformed into a playground of Christmas festivity with craft stalls, traditional entertainment, food stalls and funfair rides. There will be a lantern workshop for children, so that they can prepare for the Lantern parade on December 8th. There will also be Reindeer for the children to see and apparently an ice-skating Christmas pudding will also be staking around. Sounds very exciting!!

Please let us know if you visit any of these festivals & events, we would love to see some pictures (which are best uploaded onto our Great British Chefs Flickr Group). Also if you’re doing any special baking this weekend, we’re collecting our favourite photos, ideas & recipes over on our Great British Chefs Facebook page & will be featuring the best on this blog. Have a great weekend & hope to see some of you in person at Taste of Christmas!

Blog post by Monique from Great British Chefs

Food Festivals this weekend November 26th -27th 2011

This week has been quite a busy one for us again, some of us were celebrating Thanksgiving this week so the food preparations have been in full swing. If you’re an American living in the UK & are having your Thanksgiving meal this weekend and are stuck for some inspiration, why not try something different?  Pheasant could make a great main dish instead of turkey. Shaun Rankin’s Roast pheasant with orange and onion marmalade looks delicious!

Food allergies are on the increase & many people are being diagnosed with various allergies as they get older. The “Free from” food festival is on November 25th - 27th at the Southbank Centre London and aims to promote an allergy free lifestyle without the negative connotations. Exhibitors will be available to provide advice on dietary needs & selling an array of “free from” artisan food.  As we are now in the Festive season, you will be able to purchase “free from” festive inspired foods. This should hopefully make Christmas that less bit stressful.

The BBC Good Food Show Winter Festival at the NEC in Birmingham started on November 25th and runs until the 27th with a focus on foods for the Festive season. 

Last year the first ever Saturday Kitchen Live took place there. This year some Great British Chefs’ chefs will be there including Theo Randall, who’ll be on the NEC Stage with James Martin on  27th November. You’ll be spoilt for choice at this festival, with a Saturday Kitchen Live Theatre, a Christmas theatre, Producers Village and many other exciting food activities for you to get involved with. 

The Great British Bake Off will be live during the weekend (including a demo from one of Great British Chefs’ new bloggers Urvashi Roe aka @The Botanical Baker - who was a previous finalist in the show), so make sure you go down to see her and all the other chefs in action!

Pictured above is the beautiful Baby Beetroot Smoked with Lapsang Souchong Tea by Marcus Wareing which she made, photographed & blogged for us last week.

For the true Christmas experience head over to St Nicholas Fayre on November 25th - 27th in York. The city centre will be transformed into a Victorian style market with traders dressed in Victorian costumes and the smell of roasting chestnuts on every corner. The food market will have all the usual Christmasy foods and even some unusual things such as Ostrich and wild boar for you to try. You can also try some traditional wine and ale. Or why not try the herbal punch?

Finally as advance notice, some of the team at Great British Chefs will be sharing a stand with our friends from Action Against Hunger UK  at the spectacular Taste of Christmas Food Festival from 2nd - 4th December at Excel in London.  We’ll be fundraising by selling some of Bruno Loubet’s gorgeous Chocolate & Drambuie Truffles from our Feastive App made by Cookery School. We’re also running a raffle and showing other easy ways how visiting our stand will help raise money for Action Against Hunger by simply liking us on Facebook or registering for a Great British Chefs Account where you could also win an iPad2. Look out for more about our activities later next week.

But right now, Action Against Hunger are running a prize draw for you to WIN one of 50 pairs of tickets to Taste of Christmas - visit this link to find out more and we hope to see some of you at the event.  We’ll be on stand 112 near the Peugeot Baking Car so please drop by and say hello.

Please let us know if you visit any of these festivals & events, we would love to see some pictures (which are best uploaded onto our Great British Chefs Flickr Group). Also if you’re doing any special baking this weekend, we’re collecting our favourite photos, ideas & recipes over on our Great British Chefs Facebook page & will be featuring the best on this blog. Have a great weekend!

Blog post by Monique from Great British Chefs

Food Festivals this weekend November 18th -20th 2011

All of the food festivals this weekend have a Christmas theme which is quite fitting as it’s Stir Up Sunday this Sunday, the day when people traditionally start to make Christmas Puddings, Mincemeat & Christmas Cakes. We have just released our Great British Chefs Feastive app, which can help you prepare for Christmas & any other occasions where food is a central part of the celebration. It’s only £1.99 so well worth a download!

Mince Pies by Shay Cooper - recipe on Great British Chefs site

The Ideal Home Show at Christmas started on November 16th, you can catch the last two days (probably the most fun packed) this weekend. The Christmas Food and Drink section is one of the major attractions this year and there will be a host of festive treats available for you to admire and buy at your leisure. Celebrity chef Gino D’Acampo is in the food theatre demonstrating how to prepare an Italian Christmas, you can also meet him at the popup book shop & get him to sign a copy of his new book.  

Gizzi Erskine will be bringing her love of classic British ingredients to the show and creating her very own traditional ‘East End’ style Pie & Mash shop.  

Saturday Kitchen favourite & larger than life wine expert, Olly Smith, will be on hand to help the show’s visitors really get into the festive spirit of things, as Celebrity Drinks Ambassador.

I’m sure a lot of you are already starting to think about Christmas presents; well you can start preparing early and head down to the Festive Food and Gift Fair. It will be in Doncaster Racecourse on November 19th & 20th.  There will be lots of Christmassy activities going on the whole day. You can learn how to make quick and tasty party nibbles or how to make a perfect Christmas lunch.  There will also be aisles of festive meats, pies and cheeses for you to buy.

The Winter Wonderland opens this weekend in London’s Hyde Park. The Wonderland boasts an array of Wintery attractions but the food and drink experience deserves just as much acclaim. With over 10 eateries and a focus on German and British food, your taste buds will be taken on a ride. You can enjoy your food in homely wooden interiors with live music in the background. There’s also an unique Carousel Bar, where you can sit on a Carousel, enjoy a festive drink and take in the beautiful view of the Wonderland.

Please let us know if you visit any of these festivals & events, we would love to see some pictures (which are best uploaded onto our Great British Chefs Flickr Group). Also if you’re doing any special baking this weekend, we’re collecting our favourite photos, ideas & recipes over on our Great British Chefs Facebook page & will be featuring the best on this blog. Have a great weekend!

Blog post by Monique from Great British Chefs

Food Festivals this weekend November 11th -13th 2011

The days are getting shorter and the nights are getting colder. This is not a bad thing though, as it means you can experiment with some Autumnal recipes. At Great British Chefs, we have been using the weather as an excuse to create various soups. For inspiration, have a go at making Dominic Chapman’s delicious Butternut Squash soup!

The Christmas season is definitely around the corner and the Five Lakes Christmas Fair in Colchester, on November 12th - 13th will be showcasing some of the best Festive food and drink. The Fair aims to please every culinary palette, with Italian, French, British and even an Ale Market to quench your thirst. You can even pre order your Christmas tree and buy some Christmas goodies to make sure you are super ready for the big day!!!

I hope you took advantage of the Groupon deal we told you about and got your discounted tickets for Master Chef Live on November 11th - 13th at Olympia in London. If not, do not worry as there are plenty more left and you can use your ticket to go to the Wine Show afterwards!

Do you fancy yourself as the next Tom Aitkens or Angela Hartnett? Enter the Master Chef Live Challenge to impress a top panel of judges one of which is Tim Anderson - Michelin starred chef. For those who would like to put down the pots and pans for the day, you can watch Michelin starred chefs in the cooking theatre or enjoy a fine dining experience in the restaurant food court.

In keeping with the Christmas theme, Country Living Magazine will be hosting a Christmas Fair on November 11th - 13th at the Business Design Centre, Islington. There will be a hall dedicated to Christmas inspired food and it is promised to be ‘gastronomic heaven’. You will be able to ‘try before you buy’ so be sure to try some gourmet sausages, treat yourself to some delicious Christmas pudding and some chocolate from Divine Chocolates!

On November 12th at 7.30pm, The Wellcome Collection in London are holding a “Feast to Cure Melanchony” - They say “We challenge food artists Blanch & Shock to cook up a feast to cure melancholy and balance the humours. Discover whether it’s possible to work miracles on your mental state through what you consume, and explore 17th-century approaches to wellbeing through a variety of interactive games. If the experiment succeeds you will take home new tools for living. Even if it fails, the evening will be an imaginative and sensory delight.”

Unfortunately tickets are now sold out, but if you managed to get some already we’d love to hear how the event went.

Finally there are a number of Remembrance Day events on Sunday and you might like to have a look at our blog post on austerity and wartime food as these dishes (like Shaun Rankin’s Treacle Tart) could provide inspiration for a Sunday Lunch to honour those we wish to remember.

Shaun Rankin’s Treacle Tart

Please let us know if you visit any of these festivals & events, we would love to see some pictures (which are best uploaded onto our Great British Chefs Flickr Group). Also we’re sure to have missed some special food festivals taking place in Great Britain this weekend (maybe there’s a really stand-out weekly farmers’ market worth featuring), so please let us know in the comments. Enjoy!

Blog post by Monique from Great British Chefs

Food Festivals this weekend November 5th- November 6th 2011

This week has been quite hectic for us, with our website re-launch and various events & parties supporting the launch. There’s only a few festivals this weekend, so why not have a play around on our new Great British Chefs website and explore the hundreds of new recipes that have been added. We would love to see what you make. Martin Wisharts’ warming Lamb Shank recipe is already making my mouth water… 

The Shetland Food Festival is on for two weeks and starts on November 5th  and ends November 13th.  Shetland was known for its ‘waste not want not’ philosophy in regards to food. This is still current today as the festival has an ongoing theme to support local produce and local producers. 

The festival has lots of foodie events for the opening weekend. Neil Forbes (Scotland’s 2011 Chef of the Year) will be demonstrating his culinary skills in the Food Theatre, so take a notebook as I am sure he will be giving away a few secrets. If you want to learn how to make some Scottish treats, go to the Bannock workshop and the children can learn how to make fudge inspired Snowman to take home.

The Autumn Festival is on November 5th at Earth Trust Centre, Little Wittenham, Abingdon, with a celebration of everything Autumn from food to Autumn inspired activities.  The Festival is £12 for a family ticket, which includes a day of Autumnal fun and a jacket potato, toffee apples and a mug of hot chocolate at the end of the day! You are also encouraged to bring your left over Pumpkins to contribute to the organic Pumpkin compost for those hungry vegetables.

We don’t usually promote local food markets (as we prefer to focus on larger special events), however this weekend is the official launch of The Malton Food Lovers Market. It is a one day event on November 5th from 9am-2pm. With Antonio Carluccio as one of the endorsers I am sure it will be a success. There will be a Christmas themed tasting table, a one pot ‘Winter Warmers’ table and lots of Autumnal food for you to try and hopefully be inspired to make at home.

Please let us know if you visit any of these festivals & events, we would love to see some pictures (which are best uploaded onto our Great British Chefs Flickr Group). Also we’re sure to have missed some special food festivals taking place in Great Britain this weekend (maybe there’s a really stand-out weekly farmers’ market worth featuring), so please let us know in the comments. Enjoy!

Blog post by Monique from Great British Chefs

Food Festivals this weekend October 28th- October 30th 2011

I’m sure a lot of you will be busy with different celebrations this weekend such as Diwali and Halloween parties. For those who aren’t, we have a few food festivals for you to attend.

James Sommerin - Great British Chefs.

The first ever Newport Food Festival is on 29th October and promises to set the standard for many more to follow.  There will be cookery lessons for children and a workshop teaching them how to look after their garden vegetables.  There will be a host of chefs throughout the day demonstrating their culinary skills. Look out for James Sommerin (from our App), I’m sure he will be cooking up something spectacular for you all!

Another festival in Wales is the Cowbridge Food and Drink Festival which runs from October 29th to 30th. There will be food demonstrations teaching you about Persian, Welsh and Vegetarian cuisine.  There will also be a huge market, displaying the best in local produce from around the area.  Children can join in with all the fun, as there is a designated activity area where they can participate in food inspired activities.

For all you meat lovers out there, we have a treat for you.  The Festival Of Cured Meats is at The Southbank (London) on from October 28th to 30th.  You’ll be able to sample some of the finest Artisan meat from around Europe.  Keeping with the Artisan theme, there will also be Artisan ‘Street Food’ market, where you will be able to try hot and cold meat and bread.

Run out of ideas for the last day of half term? Then take the kids to Love Food Festival: Halloween in Bristol, on October 30th. They’ll be able to plant garlic to scare off the Vampires, make Toffee Apples, and carve scary faces into Pumpkins and lots more Halloween inspired activities. For the adults, there’s a food market, street food stalls displaying worldly cuisines, mulled wine and you can even bring a picnic with you to enjoy the afternoon entertainment.

Please let us know if you visit any of these festivals & events, we would love to see some pictures (which are best uploaded onto our Great British Chefs Flickr Group). Also we’re sure to have missed some special food festivals taking place in Great Britain this weekend (not weekly food markets, there are hundreds of those every week), so please let us know in the comments. Enjoy!

Blog post by Monique from Great British Chefs

Food Festivals this weekend October 21st- October 23rd 2011

Is it Friday already?  That means it’s time for our weekly round up of Food Festival taking place around the country this weekend.

If you love apples you are in for a treat  as Fagans History Museum in Cardiff  are declaring October 21st Apple Day.  From October 21st to 23rd there will be over 350 different apple varieties for you to try and buy. There will also be a free Apple Identification Service, allowing you to bring along apples from your garden and learn more about how to care for them. Bring the whole family along and why not enter the Apple quiz to see how much you know about the humble fruit!

The International Chutney Festival is runs from October 22nd to 23rd and should get your taste buds warmed up for celebrating Diwali on the 26th.  For the Chutney enthusiasts, expect Chutney inspired art,  Chutney recipe books, homemade Chutney and much much more. As it is the first weekend of half term there will be plenty for the children to do such as vegetable modelling, Pumpkin rolling and a Chutney competition.

The Dartmouth Food Festival is  in from 21st to 23rd October. The festival is now in its 9th year is known to attract crowds of over 15,000. There will be cooking workshops from Fergus Henderson (founder of St John Restaurant), Jean-Philippe  Bidart (Pub chef winner 2011) and from several acclaimed chefs from the local area. The festival also promises to have over 90 food and drink stalls and even a beer festival will make an appearance at the weekend. What’s not to like?

We were discussing genetically modified food in the Great British Chefs HQ last week. So it is very topical that there is now a discussion on this subject, being held by Professor Sir David Baulcombe, Regius Professor of Botany and David Nally, at The University Of Exeter on October 22nd as part of the Festival of Ideas.  Visit or the website or tel  012237 66766 to book your ticket.

The BBC Good Food Show Scotland is on October 21st to 23rd and has been called the ‘tastiest Scottish Food Show of 2011’. There will be a host of chefs such as Antony Worrall Thompson,  Tom Kitchin, Clare Lara (winner of MasterChef) and many more, demonstrating their cooking abilities and you may even get to ask some questions. If you like to try before you buy then make sure you  go to the ‘Tasting Theatre’ and sample the delicious food from local producers!  MasterChef will also be filmed live at the Food Show for 3 days and you will also have the opportunity to have a Master Chef inspired meal for £20.  No wonder tickets are selling fast. 

Finally for those of you who are intrigued by food in all of its forms, head down to The Experimental Food Society in London for an exhibition on food art on October 21st - 23rd - the link takes you to a guest blog from Chris Osburn who previewed the event for us. Expect to see unusual and quirky representations of food to tempt your palette. On October 23rd you will have the opportunity to feast on the art work at a grand banquet. I’m hungry already!

Please let us know if you visit any of these festivals & events, we would love to see some pictures (which are best uploaded onto our Great British Chefs Flickr Group). Also we’re sure to have missed some special food festivals taking place in Great Britain this weekend (not weekly food markets, there are hundreds of those every week), so please let us know in the comments. Enjoy!

Blog post by Monique from Great British Chefs

Experimental Food Society Spectacular offers a delectable & weird line up of events

Ever tried (or even contemplating) camel milk ice cream? Would you wear clothing that was designed to be eaten? What in the world is chocolate architecture … and how soon can you eat it after construction? Those are but a few of the questions popping into Chris Osburn’s head (Great British Chefs’ Guest Blogger) as he read over the events and exhibitions on offer at the upcoming Experimental Food Society Spectacular.

Carl Warner, Food Landscape Artist -‘Autumn Cornflakes’

This second annual celebration of the delectably weird is a three part recipe: an exhibition at the Old Truman Brewery (91 Brick Lane, London E1 6QL) on Friday 21 and Saturday 22 October, a ‘wild themed’ banquet at The Folly (41 Gracechurch Street, City of London EC3V 0BT) on Sunday 23 October and a talk at the Victoria & Albert Museum on Tuesday the 25th entitled ‘The Wilderness Year’.

Described by the folks at The Experimental Food Society as ‘a must-see for any food lover’, the all day exhibition with a low cost £5 entry fee certainly features an unusual line up to whet the appetites of the culinary curious. Butter sculptors, sonic food artists, food magicians, cake artists, food futurologists, conceptual food artists and food model-makers and more will be on hand to challenge perceptions about what is food while interactive exhibits, samples of edible art, talks and items available for purchase will provide tips and inspiration to help you learn your own kitchen into an artist’s studio or mad scientist’s laboratory from time to time.

Yum Cha- Cha Comestible Cabaret - Photo Credit Pavla Kopecna

The wild themed banquet on the 23rd sounds appetizingly bizarre as well. The “surreal, multi sensory” five-course feast for 160 diners will be accompanied by an “interactive sonic experience” as well as a variety of food related performances. The banquet runs from 7pm to 11pm with tickets priced at £60.

The foodie festivities end with a talk at the V&A on Tuesday the 25th October during which guests will be shown works of art unveiled over the Spectacular weekend and the processes undertaken to create them. Accompanied by video footage and photography, tickets (£8.00/£6.00 concessions) include Experimental Food Society canapés and two complimentary glasses of wine.

Intrigued? Yeah, me too. To find out more about The Experimental Food Society Spectacular and to book tickets, visit www.experimentalfoodsociety.com/society.html.

Blog post for Great British Chefs by Chris Osburn

Food Festivals this weekend October 14th -16th 2011

There are lots of foodie events this weekend and as it is nearing the end of Chocolate Week (yes, we’re sad too), we have added a few chocolate events for you to enjoy.

Melange Chocolate is celebrating its 3rd  birthday with a chocolate food and music festival in Peckham at October 15th from 2pm-11pm. Expect a feast for the senses and enjoy music and chocolate inspired food from countries that produce the infamous cocoa beans. 

Enjoy a free lunchtime chocolate making session at The Chocolate Cellar in Liverpool on October 14th and October 16th . Places are going quickly, email: chocshop@thechocolatecellar.co.uk to secure your place!

Chocolate Week will culminate with a two-day Chocolate Unwrapped showcase at Vinopolis on the 15th and 16th October  There will be more than 40 exhibitors on hand, including Britain’s best chocolate makers as well as exhibitors from France, Italy, Switzerland, Hungary, Holland and Germany. The event is an opportunity not only to eat chocolate but also to view chocolate art, meet and talk with chocolatiers, attend talks and demos and even relax in a Harvey Nichols pop-up chocolate café or watch chocolate being made in the smallest chocolate factory in the world. 

The Autumn Cheese and Wine Festival at London’s Southbank, now in its second year, will take place on October 14th-16th . There will be demonstrations, talks and experts to answer your questions. You will also be able to try some of the world’s best cheese and wine.

The Arundel Food Festival is a week-long festival running from October 14th - 23rd. The week is packed with great food related activities for you to enjoy.  You can make your own fresh juice or cider, just bring the apples or pears and volunteers from Agenda 21 will assist you with the ‘pressing’.  There will also be a smoothie blending bicycle for you to ride… sounds interesting. As Arundel is a recognised ‘Fair Trade Town’ , expect advice on how to save food and make it more sustainable. 

Keeping with the autumnal theme, the Apple and Autumn Fruits Food Fair has come at just the right time. Celebrate Britain’s favourite fruit, with apple pressing, apple tasting and apple picking. Go and talk to the local Bee Keeper, he will explain how Bees are crucial for the growth of an apple.

The Eat Dorset Food Festival runs from October 14th - 16th, and promises to be an event for all the family to enjoy.  The children need not worry about getting bored as there will be a number of food workshops such as bread making, chocolate making and cake decorating for them to enjoy. There will also be demonstrations from top chefs such as Lesley Walters and Valentine Warner, who will be sharing their cooking tips.

And finally if you have the opportunity to head over to the Birmingham Food Fest  on October 14th - 23rd you can enjoy a 10 day gastronomic adventure which will leave your taste buds well and truly exercised.  Birmingham is known for its diverse food and culture, this will be replicated at the festival as you will be able to experience 27 cuisines during 10 days! 

Please let us know if you visit any of these festivals & events, we would love to see some pictures (which are best uploaded onto our Great British Chefs Flickr Group). Also we’re sure to have missed some special food festivals taking place in Great Britain this weekend (not weekly food markets, there are hundreds of those every week), so please let us know in the comments. Enjoy!

Blog post by Monique from Great British Chefs

Food Festivals this Weekend - October 7th -9th 2011

Autumn has finally reached us and many of the festivals are readily accommodating the seasonal change.

The Neath Food and Drink Festival has been extended to two days from October 7th - 8th due to high demand. There will be over 60 food producers from South Wales, with some award winning suppliers. For those of you who love baking, why not enter the Victoria Sponge or scone competition. We’re sure your would children love baking too, so keep them inspired and help them create shortbread or chocolate brownies for the children’s baking competition.

The Manchester Food and Drink Festival runs from the 7th to 17th October packed full of activities for both adults and children to enjoy. This festival is spread over 10 days in various locations around Manchester, allowing more people to enjoy what it as to offer. From chilli eating competitions, cooking demonstrations given by top chefs (including Michelin starred Fergus Henderson) and food stalls displaying the best produce from Manchester, you will be spoilt for choice.

The festival is also celebrating Chocolate Week and you can visit The Manchester Chocolate Festival on October 8th, where you can sample unusual chocolate delights and even meet some of the well known names in chocolate.

The festival organisers have realised that children need to be entertained for more than a few minutes and have created a Kids Food Fest for the whole family to enjoy. The Festival Hub in Albert Square will be open for children on October 9th  at 11am, activities such as cookie baking, milkshake tasting, pizza making  and a chocolate factory to make sure your  kids get extra messy

The Northumbria Food and Wine Festival runs from October 7th - 9th showcasing the best wine and artisan food from the area.  Attend workshops on finding the best wines without sacrificing on the taste or sample some of the best wines from around the world. There will also be numerous food stalls selling the best food from the area, so you can satisfy both sides of your palette.

With Halloween only a few weeks away, why not start the festivities early at The Autumn Pumpkin Festival on October 8th. There will be a pumpkin parade, pumpkin decoration activities, lots of autumnal treats for you to enjoy and many more activities. Bring a Scarecrow along to help Hampshire set a record for the most scarecrows in a field!

Finally there’s the London Restaurant Festival which started on 3rd October and runs through to the 17th October.  A number of highlights for this weekend include the Tapas Tour on 8th and 9th of October, where you can tour some of the capital’s finest tapas restaurants. Flit from one lively location to the next having a tapa and a glass of Rioja in each using our carefully devised Tapas Passport. The tours are in partnership with Wines from Rioja, LRF’s Official Wine Partner.

And we almost forgot London Cocktail Week which started on 7th October and runs until October 16th. The Whisky Show and the Rum Trail run over the weekend with many other tours and tastings taking place over the whole week.  Registering for a wristband means you get to travel on a special London Routemaster bus so you can enjoy the bars with fellow cocktail lovers.

Please let us know if you visit any of these festivals & events, we would love to see some pictures (which are best uploaded onto our Great British Chefs Flickr Group). Also we’re sure to have missed some special food festivals taking place in Great Britain this weekend (not weekly food markets, there are hundreds of those every week), so please let us know in the comments. Enjoy!

Blog post by Monique from Great British Chefs