A day at the BBC Good Food Show Winter 2015

Well, what a day at the BBC Good Food Show Winter 2015 at the NEC in Birmingham yesterday... a day of food, glorious food. A day of watching the celebrity chefs, a day of fervent food tasting, people watching, present buying...all human life and foodie temptations are there.

 

 

There's hundreds of stalls - some large, some small and some quite beautifully staged and arranged that draw you there....

 

For example The Port of Lancaster Smokehouse

 

 







and The Garlic Farm from the Isle of Wight. I just had to buy some garlic to plant in January. I did taste a few garlicky sauces too...which were lovely but thank goodness, I was prepared . I had a tube of my mints in my bag.

 

 

 

Some stands attracted me because of the sheer beauty of their creations...like Merangz.





 

 

 

And this one, Patchwork Cutters...where a woman was decorating the most beautiful cakes

 

 

 

 

Whereas other stands caught my eye because of their name.

 

 

No, I didn't have a slug of  the sloe gin, it was before midday....but many others were knocking back the gin, prosecco, wines, cocktails, and other fairly lethal looking concoctions with gusto all day.


It's always good fun to people watch at the Good Food Show....to see those whose eyes dart here and there, their antennae on full alert as they spy free samples. In they dive, elbowing others out of the way...before moving on to the next stand.

In one hall, the World Of Cheese Awards were taking place , and I spent a fascinating ten minutes watching the judges deliberations. With around 2,500 cheese to taste, it was a slow process. Everything was tasted in a very considered manner, with nods if liked, slight shakes of the head if not, and of course there was some conferring.

The general public wasn't allowed into the area during the judging, but if I'd have stayed there any longer I would have jumped the safety barrier , fought my way in and grabbed a few of the cheeses myself. And I would have had to question the judges.

 This weekend though, you can book a cheese tour  around the judging tables and there are lots of cheese talks too.

Luckily there were plenty of cheese stands to buy from yesterday

 

 

 

It's so encouraging to see so many local producers of fine foods there, to see someone new, and to find new tastes and flavours.

But back to people watching, and there were plenty of opportunities to sit down and watch the celebrity chefs .The more I see of Michel Roux Junior, the more I like him. He talked openly and honestly on the Lakeland Interview Stage about his life, his favourite meals ..the relish in his voice and his smile as he said his favourite food is chocolate , was quite charming. And he's so good demonstrating different dishes....

And another chef who amused her audiences was Lorraine Pascale. I like her recipes because they really work. She impressed me with her relaxed cooking demo with life stories in between. I knew she had been a model. but didn't realise she had trained to become a car mechanic, (too cold in the garage), a hypotherapist (too boring) before she finally trained to be a chef and found her forte.

I also saw the ever reliable, ever lovely Phil Vickery too...but  one thing struck me  about all three...Lorraine, Michel and Phil...they're all quite skinny, which I think is decidedly unfair.


This weekend at the show, you'll be able to watch Paul Hollywood, Mary Berry. Tom Kerridge, James Martin, Brian Turner and so many more all strutting their stuff, and tempting everyone with their recipes, and their books.

And talking of being tempted, there were so many lovely gadgets and appliances on show...some which I didn't even know I needed, but it's a given  that I shall be back to buy a couple at the next show!

What's also inevitable as  I walked back to the car park, is watching others wandering around  the car parks  having "mislaid" their cars. Feeling smug, I walked straight to mine, but then disgraced myself by getting lost as soon as soon as I left the NEC exit. Again....

A hot day at BBC Gardeners World Live

 

Was it really a year ago I came to the BBC Gardeners World Live show at Birmingham's NEC? Well yes it was, and doesn't time fly by?

 

The normally soul destroying, packed in like sardines, bus ride from the outer wastelands of the NEC car park, was an absolute delight this year thanks to Sue, our driver. With a West Midlands accent and a gravelly voice which hinted that she may smoke a hundred Marlborough a day, she kept up a non stop cabaret as she drove to us to the show...and actually got the sardines laughing and even talking to each other. Top marks Sue...

 

You can tell the real GWLive fans - the excitement was palpable as they almost ran towards the entrance gates, unfolding their jumbo trollies as they did so, eyes scanning the horizon for plants. Rare plants and loos.

 

I took things a little more steadily, and enjoyed a casual wander through the show gardens first of all and as it was very early, managed to get a really good look at all of them.

 

The Twenty One Senses was a garden which appealed to definitely more than Aristotle's five senses. Such a vibrant, cheerful garden by Yvonne Matthews and Andrew Richards which embodied sight, smell (not just the fragrance from the plants) , taste as they began to cook, touch, and balance in the planting .

 

And I just loved this border...

 

 

 

 And it was my sense of smell which drew me to the Spice garden....plants from the Middle East , Africa, Asia and the Americas with homage to the  ships which brought their precious cargoes of exotic spices back to England and Birmingham. A very thoughtful and cleverly designed , not to mention aromatic, garden  which suddenly made me feel very hungry.

 

 

 

By now, the heat was intensifying the wafts of scent drifting along from the plants....and the Kitchen Garden Talks tent, situated right next to a Pimms stand   was looking increasing desirable.....to be able to sit in the shade, sip a drink and listen to the ever gorgeous Phil Vickery.





That man has such a lovely way with him. Self deprecating, interesting stories and some banter between him and Jim. That's Jim Buttress, the former royal gardener who has bloomed into a real TV personality in BBC 2's The Big Allotment Challenge .

But let's get back to  Phil...and why not? I interviewed him eight or so years ago when I had a spell as presenter of our lunchtime show. He was so charming , and told me the first love of his life was a Bridget.

Out in the sunshine was a very easy on the eye garden which attracted me - firstly because everything was so accessible to buy, and also because there were a couple of garden loungers in there. An important part of anyone's garden surely? Down the Garden is a garden for all ages.




It's a given that the RHS Marquee is a teeming mass of noise, colour, scent and brio. Some of the displays were beautifully bold

 

 

But there were two gardens which caught my imagination and my heart at BBC Gardeners World Live...one in the RHS Marquee and one outside. Both commemorated the hundredth anniversary of the beginning of World War 1.

Now this is a subject very close to my heart. As regular readers of this blog may remember, my great uncle Percy was killed at the age of 19 in Flanders, and for a number of months I've been working on a BBC radio series called World War 1 At Home.

So I was very interested to see how the war would be interpreted through garden design. Firstly, Birmingham City Council's display in conjunction with the British Legion and the charity Thrive was a tour de Force...in terms of scale and attention to detail.

Yes , there were poppies, but so much more....we walked past the sandbags...

 

into the display, where we walked on duckboards ...through the sombre shades of a recreation of a trench while overhead grassy planes hovered overhead.



before coming into the brightness




Really, it was quite remarkable.

Outside,  I also was struck by the stark simplicity of Andy Tudbury's garden "We shall remember them". It's a place to sit, to be silent....and this garden really is a labour of love for him.

Firstly, two of his ancestors died in World war 1, both only in their twenties. Secondly, Andy was commissioned to do this only two weeks before the opening day. Two weeks to design, to source plants, a sculpture...and build the garden. Talking to him , he admitted he's had sleepless nights and it has been hard work, but the pride on his face as he showed me around, and the admiring sounds from visitors has proved it's been worthwhile.



The rosemary for remembrance planted by the seat, and the ghost like swaying of the silver white planting were so effective...




At BBC Gardeners World Live, there really is so much to see and inspire...ideas to mull over, new plants to fawn over...and even though we had to queue to get on the bus  to take us back to the outer wastelands of the car park, there was still lots to see, as I shamelessly ogled the jumbo trolleys and bags of other visitors to see what they had been tempted to buy...



Please note...although I work for the BBC, I am not paid to go to go this show or write about it..I visit the show and write about it, because  I love gardens and gardening, and I want to!

A day at the BBC Good Food Show

So, my trip to the NEC in Birmingham the other week was my first ever foray to the BBC Good Food Show. I 'd heard and read lots about the show of course, but it was so interesting to go, see and try for myself.

As I entered the huge hall, I noticed lots of drinks stands.....

serving wines from all around the world....and they'd come from even as far as New Zealand...

All, well mostly all, were tempting passers by with a tot or too...some made sure their customers sat down for the hard sell before handing out free samples

There were drinks of all kinds....

and at every stall, there were crowds necking down two or three samples from each stand. At eleven o clock in the morning....who would be drivng home I wondered...

The one drink that did delight and surprise was Harrington Gin, distilled just across the border from me in Northampton.
I'm not a gin connoisseur ...I use cheap gin to make my own sloe, damson and raspberry gin each summer and autumn. (for my brilliant raspberry gin recipe see here ... http://thinkingofthedays.blogspot.co.uk/2011/12/gin-fuelled-days.html.  )
and yes, I've had a little fling with Bombay Sapphire...but this is something else. Taking the tiniest sip at a time...the fresh, clean smell waved itself under my nose, but  I could taste cardamon , then as the gin warmed in my mouth, there was the faintest taste of toffee...This one drink which will never be tainted with tonic I can tell you. Well not in my house anyway! And to think it's distilled only a few miles away from here....

On other stands, some sophisticates were starting with oysters...

many were wolfing down some of the wide range of sausages, hams, salamis, pasties and pies on offer....these were the prettiest pies I saw...

Other fancied the tarts.....

Before ending with some of Tom's fudge. This fudge is legendary in Leicestershire..run by three guys all called Tom who met at Loughborough University.In fact I watched quite a few people making a return trip to the stall before going home..I have to confirm that this fudge is absolutely delicious........

Obviously you expect to taste, try and eat at this show...I was enjoying myself and bought quite a few bits and pieces after trying them ....the gluten free sausages from Pig and Co were a huge hit, especially the Mostly merguez and walnut and fig sausages, a few pies etc, the gin,  but seeing some people swooping in, elbowing others out of the way...and then hoovering up as many free bites as they could....was enlightening , if not entertaining.

At least they were keeping their energy levels up I suppose - but it's amazing watching people grazing in such an ad hoc way. I would have felt quite nauseous if I'd eaten some strong cheese, a cupcake, a hot pork pie, some chocolate, washed down with toffee vodka, wine and liqueurs in the space of 20 minutes....

After visiting all the stands, I managed to grab a chair and watch a demonstration....I'd just missed this year's Masterchef Champion , Natalie Coleman, but I did see Dale Williams , one  of the finalists.

 

Watching the demo,  realised how, for modern day chefs, being able to cook and create isn't enough. They all have be able to do a turn, be photogenic, keep up the patter ready for their opportunity to shine on the telly ...to satisfy the wonderful growth of interest in cooking .

 

As I made my way out of the food hall, I saw many of the grazers and swoopers staggering out of the  NEC with billowing carrier bags full of food and drinks....they weren't going to go hungry on the way home either ....

 

 

 Tonight's track is by Kathryn Williams...who has one of the purest voices I've heard. She is amazing to watch live...and a lovely person to interview. She's doing a tour in September....I shall definitely be going to see her perform. ...I've been drinking a glass of wine listening to this tonight watching the summer rain on the windowpanes....

Here's "Come with me" with Neill Maccoll

 

 

 





A day out at Gardeners' World Live

Summer is whizzing by so quickly...and I've already missed certain gardening events that I really would have liked to go to. I wasn't able to go to the Chelsea Flower Show this year, and I had withdrawal symptoms, especially after having such a wonderful time  there last year ( see what I got up to last year  here http://thinkingofthedays.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/day-at-chelsea-flower-show-part-2.html  and here http://thinkingofthedays.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/day-out-at-chelsea-chelsea-flower-show.html)

I've not even been to visit any Open gardens either, so I've been in dire need of some botanical inspiration , I had a definite desire to see other people's creativity brought to life, and I rather fancied doing a little shopping.

So, would this fit the bill?

Well yes it did.....there were a number of show gardens which were competing to be as innovative as they could be using a set list of materials. "Metamorphosis " was the theme, which was interpreted in interesting ways.

There were also some funky gardens

But as time was running short, I made a beeline for the RHS Floral Marquee where I could admire the rows of beautiful plants and flowers from around a hundred nurseries...

It was very muggy in the marquee...I began to flag, and decided I needed some fresh air....but then I saw the David Austin  roses display stand. It called me like a siren and I came closer, the most delicious fragrance wafted along in the still air. Gertrude Jekyll is my favourite rose....yet I still don't have one in my garden. This must be remedied!

Mind you I was so taken with this eglantine rose too...so prettily perfect too with such a delicate scent...I've decided that I must make the trip upto David Austin in Shropshire to see more.

There was lots to admire at Gardeners' World Live outside, but going indoors into the main halls didn't fill me with the same enthusiasm ...overall, there seemed a lack of vitality and pazazz, a cohesiveness and staff on a number of stands looked, quite frankly, bored.

What did interest me was the bonsai exhibition

Precision and perfection everywhere....

 

Not that you'll ever see me carefully shaping something like this. Firstly, putting a pair of scissors or secateurs in my hands is a high risk strategy...and secondly  I simply don't have the patience....although I did appreciate what I saw so much.

My first visit to Gardeners' World Live was all too brief....but will I go next year? Yes I will..... I met some lovely people, especially the persuasive lot on the RHS stand touting for new blood! As for the shopping, I've got a fair few ideas, but in the end I didn't buy anything on the day - unlike others on the bus back to the car park, who were poking other passengers with their purchases and plants. Thank goodness I didn't buy my Gertude Jekyll rose...that could have been interesting....

Today's track is my favourite piece of choral music "Oh Spotless Rose". Every time I hear it, I'm lost in the beauty of the composition and the incredible sounds that voices can make. This version is by the King's College Choir in Cambridge. It's for my friends Shannon Hurst lane, Denise Dube and Susan Lanier Graham from across the pond.....on a cold February afternoon  I took them to Evensong at Kings College, something they said they would never forget.

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