The East of England Food Festival!

Today was The East of England Food Festival! It was held at Knebworth Park and was absolutely brilliant!

I was amazed at just how popular the event was, we had to queue 30mins in the car before we even got inside but it was well worth the wait!

Stalls included all sorts of local produce; form organic, locally produced VegBoxes, a range of different oils (including the ever popular rape seed oil,) cheeses, sausages, frozen yogurt, cakes, breads, sauces, chutneys and much, much more!

I couldn’t help myself and almost spent a fortune!

Tonight we have a Blackberry and Apple Pie from the Limetree Pantry (www.limetreepantry.com), I also got to try a gorgeous lemon and apple pie they were showcasing.

There were also a lot of different curry stalls. Indian food is one of my favourites, and I treated myself to Anila’s Hot Methi (www.anilassaces.com) which is so delicately spiced with a nice kick of heat, and I bought a pack of Onion Bhaji mix from the Bhaji Man (www.bhajiman.co.uk). I have never attempted them before but their demonstration made them look so easy to make!

As my boyfriend absolutely LOVES cheese I also bought a smoked apple cheese, and a spicy garlic cheese (after trying all 15 varieties of course) from Lymn Bank Farm (www.postacheese.com) These were brilliant value for money!

I was also astounded at how many cake stalls were present. Hundreds ‘n’ Thousands particularly impressed and I’ve now invested in two types of edible glitter (www.rainbowdust.co.uk)

The day also boasted wine/ale tasting and cookery demonstrations! The wine tasting was most definitely the highlight, and I have learnt so much about how to taste wine, how to NOT match it to food, and how a £3 bottle of wine sold by Sainsbury’s is no different to the branded bottle being sold for £6!

The cookery demonstration was also quite special. The chef whipped up a Pollock and Butternut Squash Chowder in just 15 minutes and it tasted divine!

All in all it was a lovely afternoon and well worth the £8 entry fee! There was so much to keep us entertained, and so many lovely things to taste I won’t be needing dinner tonight!

Emma