Super Supper at Newport Food Festival

A good Supper on the eve of a Food Festival is becoming a must, providing a launch pad and building the buzz about the event.

Last year the Newport Food Festival Supper was held in the Market Hall already bedecked for the main event and was well received (see earlier blog post).

This year it moved to the Riverfront where many of the Demonstrations and Masterclasses would take place and presented the organisers with a challenge. How do you convert a relatively bland area like a theatre foyer into an intimate dining area? Answer with hard work and good will. Starting at 8:30am teams built backdrops, put in tables and dressed them and organised cooking facilities. The other challenge that was faced was returning it to a foyer by the morning to allow the Festival to take place.

There had been a lot of interest as the first ever Supper was a huge success and tickets sold out very quickly leaving some people disappointed but determined to act quickly next year!

The experience started outside the Riverfront as two comedy French Chefs welcomed diners before they moved in for drinks and a mingle with other diners. It was good to see old friendships being renewed and a lot of enthusiasm being built up.

The menu, as last year, was designed and cooked by three local restaurants the Waterloo Hotel, the White Hart Llangibby and Ristorante Vittorio. Vittorio’s provided the desserts whilst the White Hart and Waterloo each had a starter and main course dish on the menu. Menu choices had been made previously so service could start promptly and each diner would receive their choice.

Last year service was provided by a group of unemployed people who had been trained for the event and several used their new skills to gain employment in the hospitality industry as a result. It is this involvement of the community and development of skills that I really like about the Newport Food Festival and which sets it apart from other festivals. This year the waiting staff were all from the Crosskeys campus of Coleg Gwent, youngsters getting valuable experience that could serve them well for the future.

But to the food.

We  had both chosen a Wild Mushroom dish served with Melba Toast, Hollandaise and a slow poached egg. It was brilliant, earthy mushrooms offset by crisp toast, rich Hollandaise and a poached egg that oozed a golden yolk when pierced. Near perfection.

At this point the French Chefs reappeared as Italian waiters who toured the room entertaining diners and allowing time for the dishes to be cleared and mains to be served.

The mains were not easy to choose; I could have gone for all three dishes but settled upon Duck with Quinoa. Perfectly pink breast. with a cigar of chopped leg meat in a thin pastry and, a rich cinnamon/peppery thick sauce and a rich jus. Another triumph for the chefs.

Mrs K had opted for the Sewin with a mussel veloute and declared it Yum! I tried a little and would have to agree, herb crusted and with several plump mussels resting in a rich veloute the Sewin was great and the dish hit the mark on all levels.

A return of the chefs, this time as Health and Safety Officers provided a comedic interlude as they demonstrated Kitchen Hazards involving knives and flames whilst again the tables were cleared down.

Wine had been placed on the tables but I snuck away to the bar and bought a bottle of Tiny Rebel beer. I have written before about this Newport micro-brewery and their range of ales but was pleased to find a new brew there. Chocoholic is infused with Belgian Chocolate, but before you think it horribly sweet or alchopoppy, it is not. A great bitter bite is balanced by a chocolate perfume and as a fellow drinker said “We have dessert wines why not a Dessert Beer?” Not one for a long session but a nice crisp beer.

Desserts arrived and we had covered the options. Mrs K choosing the Seasonal Fruits with Mascarpone, served with ice cream and fresh raspberries this was a clean tasting delight. I had opted for Tiramisu which had a good alcohol kick and a smooth creamy texture and finished my meal in style.

As coffee was served the stage was set for the finale of the evening and Bhangra band RSVP tuned up.

This was a highly interactive band and soon diners, including the Mayor, were lining up to learn the moves and dance. Even if you couldn’t get onto the dance floor you could join in at your table and the room was soon a sea of “light bulb changing” and “Frisbee throwing”. Perhaps the most enthusiastic dancer was food blogger Heather Grant (@cookupaparty) who threw herself into the dance with, it must be said, more enthusiasm than actual talent!

 RSVP have played major festivals such as Glastonbury and Reading so getting them for the Supper was great. They would also take Bhangra to the streets of Newport during the festival playing in several locations around the festival.

If you want to see what you missed go here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PcRJhGnDPY

As with last year the Supper was a huge success and set the tone for the Festival brilliantly. Thanks to the chefs and their staff, the Coleg Gwent students and the Festival staff who made it all possible.

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Demos and Masterclasses at Newport Food Festival

An important part of Food Festivals is Chef Demonstrations and Masterclasses.

At some the demos are held in huge halls where viewing on small screens is as near as you get to the chefs and Masterclasses are really demos as 100 or so people crowd into them.

Newport Food Festival is different.

The demos will be held in a number of venues, the Market Hall, Riverside Theatre and on the streets as well. Not only that but some will take place on Market Stallholders stalls! This really brings the festival to the people and it is the sense of community which runs through the festival that I like.

17 demos are planned starting with Matt Dawkins from the Star Inn Llansoy at 10 in the Market Hall. Matt is a highly talented young chef who will go far, and started his rise to fame when he represented Monmouthshire in Taste the Nation on ITV.

Matt will be followed there by Kate Jenkins of award winning Gower Cottage Brownies at 11 Norman Musa of acclaimed restaurant Ning in Manchester at 12. Just before lunch Liz Knight of Forage Fine Foods takes to the stage at 1. Liz lives just over the border in Herefordshire and converts the natural bounty of the countryside into brilliant product. Is she good? Well, Liz has just been selected by Fortnum and Mason to provide foraged product so that speaks for itself.

After lunch, at 2; 30, award winning Bryn Williams of Odette’s restaurant and S4C fame leads off before Giacomo Cucinella of great Italian restaurant Vitellos in Newport delivers the last demo in the Market Hall.

Matt

Kate

Norman

Bryn

Liz

In the Riverfront Adam whittle of Good Food guide listed The White Hart Llangibby leads off at 10:30 before Michelin starred Hywel Jones of Lucknam Park (and judge of Teen Chef) takes over at 1130. Hywel will get only a short break after his demo as the final of Teen Chef takes place in the same room at 1.

Having been to the semi-finals I can assure you that three highly talented teams will battle out for glory and all three finalists will gain Kitchen Experience as prizes, well worth a visit.

The afternoon in the Riverside sees James Summerin of the Crown at Whitebrook showing why he holds a Michelin star at 2:15 before Anand George of the Purple Poppadom rounds off the day with award winning curries.

Adam

Hywel

James

Anand

 

Meanwhile, on the streets, Luke Cueto of the Bell Inn Caerleon starts the demos at 11 with some great gastropub food. At 12 Deri Reed “The Ethical Chef” will demonstrate some brilliant vegetarian recipes having trained under probably the best vegetarian chef in the world Denis Cotter of Café Paradiso in Cork, (to see more about Deri read the earlier blog “The ethical Chef”.

In a complete turnaround the terrific Jerk flavours of Antonio Smith from Newport’s very own Backyard Company take on at 1. I saw a demo at a food festival in Brighton earlier in the year and can assure you that they are fun as well as serving up tasty food.

Faisal Rahman and B Ahmad from Poppadoms will be working their spicy magic at 2 before Phil Roberts of the Waterloo demonstrates some of Newport’s finest food.

Antonio

Deri

As if that was not an amazing line up of demos, Matt Dawkins will also be cooking on Elstons Butchers stall in the Market at 11:30 and Hazel Thomas will be at Needhams Fishmongers.

Best of all the demos are all free though you should ring the box office on 01633 656757 to ensure a ticket for the Riverside events.

Encouraging people to cook and to use local and seasonal ingredients is one of the aims of the festival, and nothing could be more important than  encouraging children to cook and understand that things do not have to come out of packets, bottles or the microwave.

To encourage youngsters to cook Lisa Fearn of the Pumpkinpatch Cookery and Gardening school will be returning for two more of her workshops in the foyer of the Riverfront. Last year was a huge success and Lisa will have some great but do-able recipes for  the children to cook, If you have kids, or know someone who does, and you want to give them a good start to life – get them into one of the workshops which are on at 11 and 2.

Finally there are a number of Masterclasses.  Unlike some festivals where they are paid for demos Newport Food Festival wants you to get up close and personal with the chefs, to see and understand what is happening and to get a lot out of the sessions.

The Masterclasses will all take place in the Riverfront and are priced at just £5, cheaper than many festivals, and include a complimentary drink and tasting.

Tim McDougall the chef at Terry M in the Celtic Manor is first to give a Masterclass at 11am in the Riverfront. “Wales at its Best” is the theme so expect really good ingredients and some top tips on getting the best out of them.

Next up at 12:30 is Anand George from the award winning Purple Poppadom in Cardiff. Anand has won huge praise for his modern Indian cuisine and has just launched his Autumn menu. If you want to make beautifully spiced and balanced dishes this is the place to be.

Brilliant Malaysian chef Norman Musa takes to the stage at 2pm and will bring a little of his cookery school to Newport. Author of a best-selling cookery book Norman has also recently set the challenge for one of the cooks in Wales on the Menu (Radio Wales) see how they did on BBC player,

Finally giving a Masterclass at 3pm is Michelin starred Hywel Jones of Lucknam Park. Though he runs a busy brigade of over 30 Hywel gives up a lot of time to support the Food Festival and in particular the Teen Chef competition where he both judges and mentors. Hywel offers the winners of that competition kitchen time at Lucknam Park, This is your chance to learn from a local lad at the top of his profession.

Tim

Anand

Norman

Hywel

There is a lot to see, do and learn at this year’s Newport Food Festival so plan your day, ring for tickets to the Riverfront events 01633 656757, and don’t forget there are 74 brilliant producers and all the usual Market stalls to get to as well.

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Buffalo several ways

One thing I love about Italy is their commitment to their own food and immense pride in locality and “typicality”.

Sorrento is full of restaurants serving local specialities and using the great local produce, fish, San Marzano tomatoes and the iconic Amalfi Lemons. Not once do the Golden Arches sully the skyline and the Colonel is nowhere in sight. Why would you need to import fast food when the Pizza is the local speciality and faster than a flame grilled burger? That’s not to say there aren’t burgers available - but where else would they be topped with Smoked Mozzarella and the ubiquitous Iceberg be replaced with Rocket. Oh yes in Italy even the burger is special.

The freshest of fish is also available as this little sequence of photos shows, and the locality cannot be questioned.

A number of dishes are described as “Sorrentina” e.g. Gnocchi, Scaloppini, Insalata, all of which use the great tomatoes grown locally and Lemon is a major ingredient whether in the melting Lemon Cakes, Gelato or best of all Limoncello. There is a celebration of locality that has been lost in the UK and Ireland though some great producers, chefs and retailers are working hard to redress that loss.

One restaurant, however, is specialising in the food of the region, Campania, rather than just Sorrentine dishes, and it does it using one Primary ingredient Buffalo.

With a small store in the main Piazza Tasso, and a larger restaurant further along the “drains” Inn Buffalito is championing the amazing products of the Buffalo both the cheese, Mozzarella, and the meat.

Arriving early (by Sorrentine standards) at 7:30 we were told that there would be a half hour wait, no problem there was a well-stocked bar for Mrs K and a view into the open kitchen where we could see the chefs in action. Later in the evening the waiting time was around 2-3 hours and the pavement outside was full of people happily drinking and chatting as they whiled away the evening.

But to the food.

From a menu that offered all sorts of Buffalo related dishes – though with a range of fish or vegetarian ones as well, we chose Buffalo Carpaccio for Janet and a plate of Aged Cheeses for me with the intention of sharing both, and Focaccia with Rosemary. The portions were substantial, beautiful thin rounds of Buffalo for Janet on a bed of Rocket and with oils, vinegars, pepper and Parmesan to enhance the taste four types of cheese for me, and the Focaccia was a large round of freshly baked bread with a crisp crust and a pillowy crumb.

The cheeses varied from really fresh (that day’s) to a grainy, dark and strong cheese that seemed to have been aged at least two years judging by the similarity to a Grana Padano or Parmesan though I was surprised to discover it was only 8 months old. The Carpaccio was smooth, tasty and melt in the mouth – I think I prefer it to Beef. With some torn off Focaccia we had largely filled ourselves before even trying the mains.

Though there is a wide ranging selection for main course delight, and of course, Pizza and Pasta options as well, we chose to go with the daily Specials. Spezzatina for me and local Pasta with Buffalo Sausage Ragu for Janet.

My Spezzatina had cubed Buffalo stewed in a rich stock and enhanced by the addition of a few potatoes, warming comfort food.

Janet’s plate of Pasta combined a Ragu made from herby Buffalo Sausage and tomato with more herbs to bring out all the rich flavour of the dish.

Again portions were notsmall and, with the rest of the Focaccia I was too full to try a dessert. Notso Mrs K who ordered the Panacotta with seasonal berries, this of course came with two spoons so I had to try a little though the Espresso I ordered was really all that I wanted.

Despite service which allowed all the time needed to enjoy the meal whilst not leaving excessively long periods between courses, the queue outside was steadily growing and the 2-3 hour wait was not discouraging anyone. Bufalito is a restaurant well worth a visit and the growing crowds were strong evidence for this.

To find out more go to the link http://www.innbufalito.com/en/about_us.html 

Me, as Zorro said, “I shall return".

 

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