BBC Good Food Show Winter: 23rd – 27th November 2011

With over 400 exhibitors to choose from it's the perfect opportunity for Christmas shopping and meeting some of the best producers in the UK, including some of those on The Artisan Food Trail.

The MasterChef Experience will be back in Birmingham bigger and better. If you enjoy watching the TV show you're sure to love the live version! John Torode and Gregg Wallace, the most fearsome duo on TV are going to be live at the Show on Friday 25th, Saturday 26th and Sunday 27th November 2011 plus a whole host of other MasterChef faces.
As well as the MasterChef faces you'll also get the chance to watch top chefs live on stage in the Supertheatre (tickets required).

But our favourite part of the show is the Producers' Village, a huge speciality food market at the heart of the Show, packed with small artisan producers who pride themselves in the quality and provenance of their produce. The Producers' Village is the perfect place for picking up ideas for great festive produce to help you create the finest Christmas dishes.

So while you're there, please visit the following Artisan Food Trail members, have a chat and taste and buy their produce:

Edible Ornamentals – Passionate, slightly obsessive chilli growers and makers of chilli sauces. (Stand SL36)

Fudge Kitchen – Handmade luxury fudge hand-crafted to a special recipe for 25 years using traditional methods and a lot of love. (Stand H80)

Samphire – Award winning food from their Norfolk smallholding including rare breed pork pies and sausages. (Stand PB2)

Womersley Fruit & Herb Vinegars – Maker of fine fruit vinegars and herb jellies. Balanced recipes allow maximum versatility in the kitchen ensuring that the true aromas of all the flavours shine through. (Stand FLF46)

Great Glen Game's Wild Venison Chorizo and Salami and selected products from The Artisan Smokehouse will available on stand C40.

When: 23rd – 27th November 2011
Where: NEC, Birmingham
www.bbcgoodfoodshow.com

MasterChef Live: 11th – 13th November 2011

With hundreds exhibitors to choose from it's the perfect opportunity for Christmas shopping and meeting some of the best producers in the UK, including some of those on The Artisan Food Trail.

If you appreciate fine cuisine and love dining out, you'll be in your element at the Restaurant Experience which is located in the very heart of the Show.

The ultimate celebration of gourmet food, the Restaurant Experience brings together a selection of London's top restaurants, giving you the opportunity to sample signature dishes from the capital's leading lights. With such an array of tantalising menus from an assortment of exciting culinary traditions, you'll be spoilt for choice. (Purchase of Dining Currency required)

If it's culinary entertainment you're after, the Chefs' Theatre is the place to be. Hosted by Andy Friedlander you can come and see John Torode and Gregg Wallace, get a master class from Michel Roux Jr, then watch MasterChef Professionals Champion 2010, Claire Lara, cook-off against this year's MasterChef Champion, Tim Anderson. (Tickets required)

But our favourite part of the show is the Producers' Village, a huge speciality food market at the heart of the Show, packed with small artisan producers who pride themselves in the quality and provenance of their produce. The Producers' Village is the perfect place for picking up ideas for great festive produce to help you create the finest Christmas dishes.

So while you're there, please visit the following Artisan Food Trail members, have a chat and taste and buy their produce:

Edible Ornamentals – Passionate, slightly obsessive chilli growers. (Stand PV51)

Fudge Kitchen – Handmade luxury fudge hand-crafted to a special recipe for 25 years using traditional methods and a lot of love. (Stand PV13)

The Artisan Smokehouse – A small family run and owned smokehouse on the Suffolk coast producing award-winning smoked food, made in small quantities to ensure quality and freshness. (Stand PB6)

Great Glen Game's Wild Venison Chorizo and Salami will available on stand PV41.

When: 11th – 13th November 2011
Where: Olympia, London
www.mastercheflive.com

Artisan Food Trail members win BBC food shows Producers Bursary Awards

We are proud to announce that two of The Artisan Food Trail's members have won a Producers Bursary from BBC Good Food which means The Artisan Smokehouse will be exhibiting at MasterChef Live and Samphire will be at BBC Good Food Show Winter.

BBC Good Food scoured the country to find the very best, most deserving and outstanding producers to award bursaries to attend their shows.

After receiving a tremendous amount of applications from some really great producers, all qualifying applications were taken to the BBC Good Food Kitchens to be judged by a panel including BBC Good Food editors Gillian Carter and Barney Desmazery. There were some difficult decisions to make but they were made based on the producers’ passion, quality of product and took into account of how much visitors to the shows, would like to meet the producers, sample and buy their outstanding produce.

We are very excited about the opportunity this has given our producers, so congratulations to both of them!

Who, When and Where?

The Artisan Smokehouse
11th – 13th November 2011
MasterChef Live, Olympia, London
www.mastercheflive.com

Samphire
23rd – 27th November 2011
BBC Good Food Show Winter, NEC, Birmingham
www.bbcgoodfoodshow.com

St Edmunds Real Beer & Food Festival at Greene King

The best in local food will be showcased at the St Edmunds Real Beer & Food Festival. Now in its second year, the Festival attracted over 4,000 visitors last summer, and organisers at Greene King are expecting even more success this May.

A wide range of top quality local food and drink producers will be joining the Suffolk brewer to promote their wares, offering opportunities to sample as well as to buy. Among the delights will be locally produced smoked cheese, cured beef, jam, chutney, whisky, cider, premium sausages, seafood, ice cream, fudge and much more.

There will also be live music in the gardens, food demonstrations, tutored tastings and beer master classes over the weekend. Families are welcome and we even have activities for the children, so get these dates in your diary!

The Artisan Food Trail is proud to announce that four of its listed producers will be exhibiting:
The Artisan Smokehouse, Breckland Orchard, Edible Ornamentals and Alder Tree.



When: Saturday 21st May, 10am-6pm & Sunday 22nd May, 10am-5pm
Where: Greene King Brewery Gardens, Bury St Edmunds
Tickets: £3 available from the Greene King Visitors' Centre
on 01284 714297 or from the Apex in Bury St Edmunds.
OR on the gate.

Join the ‘St Edmunds Beer’ Facebook group (www.facebook.com/stedmunds) for regular updates and announcements.
For more information visit the website: Click here

Real Food Festival 2011

Earl's Court, London 5 – 8 May 2011

We have visited the Real Food Festival as a member of the public on previous occasions, but this time we became trade for the day in our quest to spread the word about The Artisan Food Trail and to discover more foodie gems.

The festival takes place over four days from Thursday to Sunday, the first day being trade only, the second for both trade and public and then the weekend which is devoted solely to public visitors. We went on the Friday and were surprised how relatively quiet it was. Having previously gone on a Saturday when the public crowds make it almost impossible to move, let alone get to talk to producers, it was a surprise.
Many of the producers seemed disappointed that there was practically very little foot fall, so we hope it picked up over the weekend for them.

However we got to meet some lovely people and tasted some of the finest artisan food on offer, even though the buzzing atmosphere of its previous shows was sadly lacking.
We met up with people from our Artisan Food Trail LinkedIn group, Baileys Real Food, Rupert Parsons of Womersley Fruit & Herb Vinegars and although not in person, Great Glen Game and The Artisan Smokehouse were represented by their produce on the British Fine Foods stand.

The Edible Garden Show

Stoneleigh Park, Warwickshire 18-20 March 2011

We love a spot of gardening, especially growing our own fruit and vegetables, so we thought we'd pay a visit to a brand new event, The Edible Garden Show, to see what new things we could find.

There were numerous stalls selling various bits of horticultural gadgetry, plants and seeds, but the highlight for us, turned out to be the smallholders' marquee. The edible aspect of the show was not just confined to fruit and vegetable but also livestock. Rare and native breed pigs, poultry and goats stirred up images of The Good Life – a nice thought to be able to have your very own pork, eggs and milk.
It seems that more and more people are keeping hens in their back gardens, so it'll not be long before nearly everyone has a pig or two.


Several demonstrations and talks covered everything from how to start your own allotment to caring for animals giving an all round introduction to would be smallholders.

The Edible Garden Show would not be complete without food of course and the Food Lovers Britain area had enough to satisfy any avid foodie. Amongst the exhibitors were two of our listed producers, Samphire and Edible Ornamentals.

    

Photos: ©childsdesign 2011

The Edible Garden Show

Next year's date: 16-18 March 2012

Feast East

Chilford Hall, Linton, Cambridgeshire 3-5 March 2011

You'd be forgiven for thinking that Feast East was some kind of Asian eating extravaganza, it is in fact a foodie event run by Tastes of Anglia to showcase some of the best small producers from Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Norfolk and Suffolk.

Held at Chilford Hall, site of 18 acres of vineyard it was the perfect place for such an event. As well as opportunities for sampling and buying, there was also a demonstration kitchen where Hector Bunting, chef and owner of the Anchor Inn at Nayland cooked up some interesting dishes. Emma Crowhurst was there too – does anyone remember the BBC's Food and Drink programme? You may recall seeing her on it, along with Anthony Worrall Thompson.

The event was quite packed with eager members of the public clamouring to get their hands on some fine local produce. It's great to see so many people who appreciate quality food made with care and most of all passion.

We met up with Breckland Orchard (again – Claire really does get around!) and The Artisan Smokehouse, which, incidentally, won the runner-up prize for Best Dressed Stand.

Feast East
Next year's date: TBA

Photos: ©childsdesign 2011