Having arrived at the festival site, it looked as if it was a little quiet, maybe the weather had put people off of coming. But it soon became apparent that everyone was in the main Gourmet Marque and in the Demonstration Kitchen tent.
People were actually queuing to look at the stalls, which was fantastic to see on such a dreary day. Mean while we headed off into the Demonstration Tent to take more photos of the chef’s in action. First up was The Rotary Young Chef Competition, where four budding chefs, battled it out again each other under the watchful eyes of four judges, one of them being chef Paul Gilmore. Janine Machin was today’s compere.
The young lady on the right of the photograph won the competition. Each contestant had a budget of £6, and they had to come up with a tasty meal for two. They all did themselves proud. We certainly would not mind them cooking for us. No sooner had they packed away their things. Then it was the turn of Richard Cullen Young Master Chef and Master Chef for 2008.
Richard has worked with Gordon Ramsey and in the Dorchester Hotel in London, so he is no stranger to hard work. He is now head chef in his family run restaurant The Spotgate Inn at Spot Acre in Staffordshire. What we have enjoyed about this years festival, is the fact that all the chefs are local, they have not bothered with the celebrity chefs this years, the event organisers have also had the demonstrations on Westbridge Park, so anyone can go and watch the demo’s, where as last year it was ticket holders only in the Crown Hotel. It certainly has worked well, making it more accessible to everyone. The demonstration tent was probably the warmest place to be today. Having taken lots of photographs we then headed for Jimmy’s Farm stall to buy some sausages, £4 a pack or 3 packs for £10, so we of course went for the £10 option. The stall was doing a roaring trade, with people queuing to buy their sausages and bacon. Keith and I also bought some more cheese from Lymm Bank Farm a family run business, having sampled their Tomato & Basil, Garlic and Marmite Cheeses, we handed over the cash and walked away with some lovely chesse. The great thing is I have put their cheeses in the freezer and they will be fine for 6 months. Coming to an event like this is a pure pleasure because it gives you the chance to try lots of food and drink that you would not ordinarily bother trying. You also get to meet some lovely people. We enjoyed trying Whiskey from Celtic Spirit, their single malt was mmmmm very smooth. We tried cheeses and meats from stalls such as Poachers Pasties. If you like game then these are the ones for you. We pecked at the seeds on Munchy Seeds stall, although it was not really for us, despite the fact that we know they are high in Omega Oil etc. You really can spend the whole day just sampling food and drink. If you need a break from the Gourmet Marque eating and drinking outside Bill Bailey was playing the music, trying to keep everyone entertained on this drab day. The Staffordshire Soup Co did their very best to fill people up with their warming soups which included Staffordshire’s Beef Lobby.
Having enjoyed chatting to people and taking more photographs for the festival organisers, we made our way back to Hadar, where we got to chatting with the passing public. The weather did the honourable thing and stayed pretty much dry, even though it remained overcast all day.Now before I close the diary for today, I have a little task for you. We saw this on the way to the festival site and thought it would make a great caption competition. So does anyone have a great caption for this photo?
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