Last week was the BBC Good Food Show Summer at Birmingham’s NEC and as usual I was there with Mummy Bites by my side. This year we were there on the Friday – here is my round-up!
It was gloriously sunny and the Gardeners World section outside was packed with visitors basking in the sunshine which meant that the show was very slightly quieter than usual and in turn that meant we were able to wander to our hearts content and really get to speak to the traders!
This year we met Mr Truckle (ok, this may not be his real name) from the Truckle Cheese Company. They are at the show every year and have several Taste awards to their name but this was the first time we’d seen them, which just shows that you can go as many times as you want and still find something new! Their mature cheddar was delicious,, creamy and full of crystals which is just how I like it. Obviously some was purchased and taken home!
One of this years Good Food Champions was Great British Sauces I’m starting to see their distinctive bottles in supermarkets now so their brand is really taking off. You will pay a bit more for a bottle of tomato or brown sauce than usual but its worth it. Try their Sweet Curry Sauce for a taste of the chippy or their tomato and chilli for something a bit special! Love them!
We always like to partake in a baked good and this year we tried Pig in the Middle, a local company making delish gourmet sausage rolls all from the owners kitchen at home! We went for their traditional pork, sometimes you just can’t beat a classic. We loved their art deco inspired branding too.
A trip to the show is never complete without a bit of celebrity chef spotting and this year was no exception! We were particularly pleased to see Valentine Warner on the Summer Kitchen stage with Lisa Faulkner. He’s such a creative cook and someone I’ve always enjoyed watching on TV. His passion is infectious, you can’t help but like him! We also saw Matt Follas cooking on the MasterChef Street Food bus (how fantastic does it look?) and I was gobsmacked when I peeked into the serving hatch and saw him there!
New to the show this year was Lee Kum Kee who were supplying Ping from MasterChef with their oyster products for her demonstrations. It was great to see Asian food covered at the show as I’ve not seen it before. The hubby and I love Chinese food so you guessed it.. I stocked up on some goodies and am planning to cook up a Chinese storm in the next few weeks!
Comte cheeses were there this year not only serving up delicious cheese to places like Le Manoir.. and us of course… but also very handsome staff. Mummy Bites and I loitered for as long as possible before moving on.. but not until we’d got a couple of pictures to share with you lovely folk.. Phwoar!
Finally, we couldn’t leave the show without seeing our mates Spicentice! These guys from Leicester are going from strength to strength so look out for their brightly coloured branding in a supermarket near you. New in the range are a Chipotle rub and Chimi Churri spice mix. I can’t wait to try them!
All in all, we had as lovely a day as we always do. The show can get a little bit samey if you go every year but if you take time to look around the producers village and look out for the stalls labelled Good Food Champions or Bursary winners – you’ll find some real gems. These are the guys who are up and coming and people with passion who love what they do and do it very well! Its the best bit of the show for me.
Did you go to the show this year? What was your favourite bit? What did you buy?
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