Abergavenny Finalised

July 1st means the finalised line up for Abergavenny is released!

You may have missed the chance to win a great prize by getting your wristband early, but now that the full detail is available you simply have to get there!

One major star will be Raymond Blanc  who is President of the Sustainable Restaurant Association.  Raymond will be interviewed by Sheila Dillon from BBC Radio 4’s Food and Farming programme.

Raymond Blanc

Sheila Dillon

Their conversation  will explore the roots of Raymond’s  passion for produce, dread of waste and respect for the land,  revealing  how early lessons learned from Maman Blanc  guide him throughout his career as chef and restaurateur . Raymond will also explain how ,only by understanding that food connects with every part of our lives,  we can truly secure a future for our food.

Yotam Ottolenghi., alongside his head chef, Ramael Scully, will bring the inventive NOPI ethos to the festival, pushing culinary boundaries. You could be amongst the first to get hold of NOPI the cookbook too.

Yotam and Scully

Bake-Off champion Frances Quinn brings  her unique style of baking;

 Exciting new London trio, The Groundnut Boys  will demonstrate recipes from their African Heritage with a contemporary twist . 

Groundnut Boys

Festivals don’t feel complete without  Cyrus Todiwala OBE who has been changing perceptions of Indian Cuisine since her arrived from Goa in 1991, and treating us to his food and strongly held opinions in his annual Rude Health Rant.

Happily Rude Health will again be sponsoring the Rants, in the Castle, so grab some food and drink, and settle back to hear some passionate views about food and food production, with a few laughs along the way and the possibility of an accordion accompaniment from Paulo Arrigo of Franchi Seeds.

Its not all household names though,  and this year there are some demonstrations with a difference;

 Jon Old from the Wasabi Company will talk visitors through how, from a secret location in the UK, they grow one of the world’s most expensive crops.

Jon Old

 Mitch Tonks, renowned for his radical career change from accountant to fishmonger, will demonstrate recipes from his book The Seahorse, the inspiration coming fromItaly and the South West of England.

Mitch Tonks

On the drinks front,  the festival boasts a number of cocktail, foraging and alcohol master classes. 

James Chase from Chase Distillery will expertly guide you through spirits, wines and ciders, while author and forager by day, Andy Hamilton presents ‘Wild Booze and Hedgerow Cocktails’ showing you how you can make delicious cocktails from a hedgerow near you.

James Chase

Expect more additions as the website goes live and get your tickets for events at www.abergavennyfoodfestival.com

  Finally in this quick view a big mention to Hang Fire Smokehouse, locally based and BBC Food and Farming Award Winners, Best Street Food 2015.

Samantha Evans and  Shauna Guinn came to the Festival last year as stallholders and return this year on the bill with their amazing smoked and barbequed foods.

 Sam said: “It’s incredible that just one year on from our first appearance at Abergavenny Food Festival, and just two years since starting this business, we will be standing where our inspirations from the food industry have stood. We're looking forward to both feeding the Festival goers our brand of Welsh slow and low BBQ and being a part of the Festival over the weekend."

Shauna added: “This Festival is the highlight of the foodie event calendar and we’re delighted to be included in all aspects of the programme, for the first time, as we share the alchemy of meat smoking.”

First select your meat

As always there will be over 200 stalls and the introduction of The Meat Market as well as the well established Cheese Market.

The Festival doesn't stop when the stalls close either, the Night Market is back with a great  range of Street Food and if it's entertainment you want head to the Castle for Swing Time on Friday and the legendary Party on Saturday, food drink and fun the perfect way to end your day.


More to come later, but visit the website www.abergavennyfoodfestival.com and start planning your visit

Great Taste Awards

Now in their 21^st year the Great Taste Awards, organised by The Guild of Fine Food, have not only come of age, but are THE benchmark of a great product.

Thousands of products are tasted and tested,  from Anchovies to Zabaglione and all to ensure that the consumer gets the finest of product.

A volunteer collective of Chefs, Producers, Retailers, Food Writers and Food Critics do the tastings in sessions held across the UK - all seeking the perfect food that will earn a 3 Star rating.

Waiting to taste

Several sessions are held at Guild Headquarters in Gillingham, Dorset but the tastings take place in several cities which have included Belfast and Dublin and, for the first time this year, Cardiff.

Welsh producers have always taken the awards seriously, and with the Welsh Government behind them through its Bwyd a Diod Cymru (Food and Drink Wales) arm, a Cardiff heat was a chance to show the best of Wales. See what previous Great Taste Award winners from Wales had to say about the effect that winning had for them here  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yGdJhvRa7a0&feature=youtu.be

So, in early June I was invited to three days of tasting.

I have judged various competitions before, both here and in Ireland, but they have usually been of the complete dish, such as in The Celtic Cook Off, rather than single ingredients so there was a degree of uncertainty in the days leading up to the tastings.

I should not have worried, helpful notes for new judges were sent out in plenty of time and I was assured that you work in teams of 4 or 5 with a very experienced co-ordinator to collate your views and record them.

Experienced Coordinators

Each tasting session will have up to 10 tables of judges who will work their way through the list of foods presented for them. All foods are tasted blind with the tasting sheet having little more than a simple description, for example “Gluten Free Welsh Cake”. I did actually recognise one item from the description and obviously declared an interest and took no part in that tasting.

 After tasting, and discussing, each plate the team give a rating from 0 to 3 Stars. A 3 Star item is nigh perfection and they are limited in being awarded.  Getting a 1 Star award is a major triumph.

Once graded the items are collected, and passed to another set of judges for a second opinion.  If needed, third or fourth panels are involved to ensure that the ratings are fair and accurate. To get a 3 Star rating at least five tables of judges must agree that it deserves that accolade.

The upshot of this for judges is that you start a session with a list of around 15 tastings but with second tastings you wind up with 30 plus!

Session commences

As the aim of the Guild is to support producers every item has the judges comments sent to the producer. Judges are required to make positive comments, as well as criticism, so that products can be improved and a 1 star become 2 etc. All entries have positive aspects, even those which will not be awarded Stars, and the comments and advice given in tastings can lift the product to Star level, or raise it to the next one.l.

Food production and service is a major contributor to the Welsh economy so it was hardly surprising that on Wednesday morning we came under close scrutiny as both BBC and ITV sent camera crews to see us at work. (Confidentiality was maintained at all times.)

ITV interview the Deputy Minister

BBC Wales Economics Correspondent Sarah Dickins at work

It is the rigorous tasting and the experienced judges who ensure that the Great Taste Awards really do find great foods, and deserve the high regard in which they are held. Often called the Oscars of the Food World, they are much more like the Olympic Games of Food where getting a medal (Star) confirms you are at the top of your game.

Tastings will continue for some weeks and the results will all be collated and the final decisions revealed later this summer. How many 3 Star Awards will be given? I don’t know but we found some in Cardiff!

Did I enjoy myself, ABSOLUTELY!

Even though, as a Rookie Judge, seeing Charles Campion get his game face on and settle for some serious tasting was a little disconcerting at first, I had lots of help, advice and encouragement from fellow judges and would love to judge again next year.

Abergavenny Food Festival First glimpse

 This year the Abergavenny Food Festival will be held 18-20^th September and excitement is building already.

As usual the first event, on Friday evening, will have a major figure in conversation about their work as a perfect introduction.

TV’s favourite Michelin starred chef, Tom Kerridge, will headline the festival on Friday night (18 ), talking exclusively about his new cookbook, Tom’s Table: My Favourite Everyday Recipes, with food journalist Xanthe Clay.

In Tom’s own words  “This will be my second visit to the food festival in Abergavenny and the first opportunity for people to get my book before its release on 24 September, which is very exciting. I am looking forward to sharing some of my new recipes with the audience and hope it gets the same warm reception I have always received at the festival.” (last time Tom was here the session totally sold out in minutes)

Star bloggers and Vogue columnists  Hemsley + Hemsley sisters, Jasmine and Melissa, are amongst the star attractions too! The food loving siblings take centre stage for two events on Sunday 20, demonstrating  colourful and nutritious recipes from their international best seller, The Art of Eating Well, and also  cooking up recipes for the audience to try with organic vegbox company, Riverford.

Observer Rising Star of 2015, Olia Hercules, a food stylist and recipe writer will join the line-up to demonstrate some cherished Eastern European recipes from her debut cookbook, Mamushka.

Chief Executive of the festival, Heather Myers spoke about this year’s festival and  said: “Every year we get some of the best names in food and this year will not disappoint. There is a lot more to announce but we hope this teaser will whet people’s appetites for what is set to be another amazing weekend of food, drink and entertainment.”

In addition to the well established Cheese and Wine Market, this year  the festival introduces the Meat Market,. Dedicated to the very best meat producers from across the UK, with butchers, demonstrations, speciality knives and accompaniments, it will be The destination for meat lovers.

Last year’s runaway success the Night Market returns transforming the Lower Brewery Yard into a magical place to eat, drink and hangout as a brilliant collection of speciality street food vendors stay open until 10:00pm on Saturday night (19).

You can get hands on with personal attention from an expert in artisan food and drinks production as well as making a product to take away with you at the Artisan Kitchen School.

Children can, as always, also get stuck in at the Food Academy with a weekend of exciting hands on workshops and activities to tempt budding mini-master chefs to get into the kitchen and learn about food, a real skill for life.

Wash all that down with some of the best of Wales’ craft brews and stay for an evening of music, dancing and food in the special atmosphere of Abergavenny’s ancient castle for the Party at the Castle.

Over the next six weeks the Festival will be announcing the full line up, exciting new collaborations for 2015 and exclusive news looking ahead to the 2015 festival.

Wristbands will get you entry into over 200 food and drink exhibitors across five venues, live cookery demonstrations, children’s activities, entertainment, live music and much more still to be announced.

For more information and to get your tickets visit www.abergavennyfoodfestival.com

And there is a special competition for early online purchasers of tickets.

 September may be a while away, but I can't wait!

Litfest 15 a great experience

In just its 3^rd year Litfest, or the Kerrygold Ballymaloe Literary Festival of Food and Wine is established not just in Ireland but globally.

A three night, two day, sensory experience it just has to be on your Must Do list.

Rory O’Connell, one of the Directors, summed it up by saying, “You have to have written a book to be a guest speaker” but it is not just about speakers. Hell, these are people who write about food, many of them chefs, brewers, winemakers so there are a lot of masterclasses, pop ups and tastings going on.

Some of the big names sell out in minutes and with names like Alice Waters, Claudia Roden, Madhur Jaffrey, Rene Redzepi and Yottam Ottolenghi that’s hardly surprising.

Based on the farm at Ballymaloe House and in the Cookery School a couple of miles down the road a number of venues are available and all are used hard.

There are formal venues, The Grainstore, Carrigaun Room and the Demo Room and kitchens of the Cookery School, but the Farm buildings are converted into venues, The Drinks Theatre, The Big Shed and, it is a Literary Festival after all, The Book Shop.

Displays and talks extend to the gardens with guided tours and this year a very strong Grow It Yourself presence and, for the first time The Garden Tent, a marquee set in a corner of the formal garden.

There’s activity from 9:30 till gone 6 and then a host of dinners and events to fill your evening with some great entertainment and a host of really good local food producers staging popups.

 

 

 

 

 

 

My big formal events this year were the coffee sessions with Tim Wendelboe, learning about cupping and expanding my knowledge of the beautiful liquid far beyond its prior understanding, A Beer tasting with Garrett Oliver of the Brooklyn Brewing Company and a talk about Spices with Arun Kapil of Green Saffron. Janet chose Wine and Soil as her highlights. It’s that kind of event, and we were disappointed to find that the pop up restaurant by OX Belfast sold out in 5 minutes so we didn’t get to taste Northern Ireland’s finest.

 

Tim Wendelboe talks about influences on Coffee

 

Mark from Golden Bean pours tasters for cupping

 

1 of 6 tasted

 

 

Oliver Garrett of Brooklyn Brewery took us up the alcohol scale to 13.5%

 

There’s a very lively Fringe at the Festival, Demos, Blind Tastings and entertainment in the Big Shed and the Garden Tent hosting more informal events such as Caroline Hennesey hosting “Ravenous” the Cookbook Chronicles where anyone can talk about their Favourite/Least Favourite, Oldest/Newest cookbook.

 

Joe McNamee,  who writes the Menu column for the Irish Examiner, hosted a series of Rants, Raves and Ruaille Buaille. Again anyone could take part and had a chance to win the prestigious Golden Gob Trophy. Children’s Menus, Lack of Food Education in schools, Hipster Food such as Dude Slaw and Small v Big Food Business all got debated and in the end, I have to confess, the title came back to Wales as a result of my rant about Vegetarian Options on menus.

Joe

 

In full flow



 



The Golden Gob Trophy

Food and Drink wise it is very easy to graze all day with a host of pop-ups available in the Big Shed, We had superb Chicken on Sourdough from Annie’s Roasts and Arbutus Bread respectively, my caffeine habit was fuelled by Badger & Dodo and The Golden Bean throughout the weekend, Iyers Café had tasty Vegan food from Kerala, Jane Russell’s sausages filled a few gaps and on the sweeter side of life Yum Gelato lived up to their name and we had a Carrigeen Panacotta made with milk from the rare breed Kerry Cow.

Discovery of the year though was Oh My Goodness Minty Limey Keffir made with triple filtered rainwater. Such taste and so refreshing too. Their quirky stand won the Best Dressed award.

 

But away from both the formal and fringe side of the festival it is a great chance to catch up with old friends and make new ones.

We always have great catch ups and meet new people. One nice touch is that Ballymaloe Relish make badges for anyone who wants one with their name and most importantly their Twitter handle on. Often you bump into someone you follow on twitter, but have never met and the handle leads to lots of “Oh, so you’re” conversations. My own this year was with Peter from Blackwater Gin a new distiller from Waterford. We had been discussing Gin online and were hoping to arrange an impromptu Gin Off between his and our Da Milhe Seaweed Gin from Wales. Sadly the Blackwater had proved so popular that it had sold out entirely so the match might take place at Ginapalooza in London later this year,

Nonetheless a tasting took place and the aforementioned Minty Limey Kefir proved the perfect mixer for the Seaweed infused. Though we didn’t get tickets for the OX pop up, we were introduced to them on the basis that the restaurant has a Gin Bar and they were looking for new and great ones. More friends made, and an increasingly hazy evening.

 

But that is what Litfest is all about, lots of people with Food in common coming together to learn, talk eat drink and celebrate.

Personally I can’t wait for next May to bring around #Litfest16