The Great British Food Festival 2016
Published On Saturday 30 Apr 2016 by Sticky Beak
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Well, we’ve just got back to the nest after having a fantastic morning at The Great British Food Festival held at Hardwick Hall. I finally got to meet my lovely fellow blogger Becky Explorer and her charming husband; after exchanging numerous tweets it was great to be able to put a face to the name. We got there early doors but there was already plenty of eager foodie folk about, and all the producers were ready to sell their delightful wares.
There were some familiar faces from last year including the wonderful Will at Granny Marys; obviously, being a huge fan of their quality potted meats I couldn’t leave without stocking up. I got some Sun dried Tomato Tapenade as it is incredibly versatile (I use it as a pasta sauce and pizza base sauce as well as just with fresh bread), some Hummus and some Pulled Pork potted meat as the sample I had was lip smackingly good.
The Man Bird and I clearly aren’t their only fans as there was a nice crowd of people sampling and buying their products, and there are some good multi buy show offers on too. Hartington Creamery was there too in their Cheese Factor capacity, so I had to have some of their marvellous Stilton and Derbyshire Oatcakes to go with it.
Last year we discovered the marvels that are Arancini Divas Rice balls and so we were happy to see that they were standing again this year. Their Macacinis caught my eye as my Chickadee loves Mac n Cheese and this little gem sounded right up her street, so a couple found their way into my basket.
Charlie’s Country Garden was all set up with his amazing products and I tried his Wild Garlic Pesto, which has an incredible flavour to it. This product is only available for a couple of months of the year due to the season of the Wild Garlic. It tasted a smidge milder to me than ordinary Garlic, still pungent but without that slight sour/bitter note of its commercial cousin. His Piccalilli is fantastic as well, I love it on toast; yes, I know what you’re thinking, but I like it!
Our Chick had sacked us off again, but being the amazing parents that we are we couldn’t resist getting her a few little treats. I spotted the gooiest chocolate brownie imaginable (unfortunately I can’t give credit where it’s due as he didn’t have a stall name I could see) and my beady little eye spotted a Hot Chocolate kit complete with chocolate slab and mini marshmallows to melt into the milk at Daniels Delights.
At seeing the sweet treats for our chick His Nibs little lip dropped, so we had a quick foray over to Deli Vignette where he was soon soothed by their incredible Turkish Delight and came away with a bag of assorted flavours to keep him quiet.
Having sorted the Chicks dinner tonight my attention turned to thoughts of food for The Boy Wonder and I, and it was just at that moment Shirleys Pies were portioning their gargantuan Steak and Potato pie. It looked and smelled ridiculously tempting, and the portion size was so generous that one slice will be more than adequate for us to share.
Now, having sorted the main course out I was on the prowl for pudding and soon stumbled on Burtree Puddings’ stand. Their rich Flapjack was gorgeous, but it was their Treacle Parkin with Treacle Toffee Sauce that took my breath away and so one of those was duly purchased for my little flock to enjoy tonight.
Having taken care of the most immediately pressing needs of my Flock, my thoughts turned to treats to enjoy today and beyond. Emily’s Jams and Pickles had a beautifully arranged stand showcasing their traditional marmalades, jams, chutneys and mustards as well as their oils, dressings and vinegars. Their Lemon Curd is absolutely fantastic, a really zingy tart affair that has none of that artificial sweetness or cloying-ness that mass produced variants have, and their Lime Curd is equally impressive so a jar of that has come back to the nest with me. His Nibs and I will enjoy that on our toast for the next few weeks :)
There was an incredible stand (again, no name that I could see) with every bread imaginable and I couldn’t help but buy a Rosemary and Sultana Sour Dough loaf and an incredible smelling Onion, Garlic and Cheese Focaccia. As I type this I am munching away on said Focaccia and it is delicious to say the least.
The incredibly talented team at Bakewell Bakery had their yum-tastic Original Bakewell Puddings on display, so being the wonderful daughter that I am I purchased a large pudding to take to the Elders nest for Sunday Lunch tomorrow. That will earn me a few Brownie points I’m sureJ.
We were heading out of the marquee when The Boy Wonder spotted Amos and Toms stand with its super selection of sweet and savoury gourmet Popcorns. Our nest is a divided place when it comes to Popcorn; The Chickadee and I both prefer Salted or Savoury varieties whilst Him Indoors (surprise surprise) prefers sweet flavours. We sampled the Cherry Bakewell flavour and I was converted to the sweet camp by this little minx; it has a true flavour of a Cherry Bakewell thanks to the clever use of oils in it.
Outside in the grounds there is an amazing array of stalls selling every kind of food imaginable from Vietnamese, Caribbean and Thai to Mexican Churros, Ostrich Burgers and Fish and Chips (with great sounding Bloody Mary Ketchup).
We plonked our little bottoms down at Daisy’s Vintage Tea Room as I was absolutely gasping for a brew, and it looked very welcoming with its floral bunting. I really liked the fact that the drinks are served in proper teacups with saucers and you get a good two cups of tea out of a pot each.
Their Cream Tea sounded cracking at a fiver and any other time it would’ve been a foregone conclusion but I had spotted Bluebell Dairy and their award winning Ice Creams a mere few metres away and was focussed on going there.
Diane and Paul were overwhelmingly lovely and brought us up to speed on all their recent achievements; this team are winning more awards than you can shake a stick at, and having tried their Dark Chocolate Brownie and Sticky Toffee varieties The Man Bird and I can see why. The Chocolate Brownie Ice Cream is so good that I even had to run my finger round the inside of my tub to get every last bit out, much to the amusement of Paul and His Nibs (sorry mum!).
There are several spots for demonstrations and talks and there was a great little tent for Kids Baking as well. Plenty of families were taking in the atmosphere and I noticed a brilliant area called the Family Circus where there is a selection of different equipment that Children can use. Several animal organisations, including the RSPB, were exhibiting too with tips on how to encourage birds and wildlife into your garden, so there really is something for everyone to enjoy.
The Great British Food Festival runs on the 30th April, Sunday May 1st and Bank Holiday Monday (2nd May), so please do go along and explore all the fantastic things on offer; dogs are welcome so you can walk Fido at the same time :)
You can see all the photos here
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