Belgrave Hall Good Food Fair

Just a quick reminder that it's the The Belgrave Hall Good Food Fair this weekend on both Saturday 15th and Sunday 16th September from 11.00am to 4.00pm.

The fair is held in the gardens of Belgrave Hall Museum & Gardens, , Church Road, Leicester LE4 5PE and entry is £1

Food Gusto Food and Drink Festival

Vouchers for reduced price admission are available by registering at:

www.foodgusto.co.uk

You won't get a better day out for £1!

Budding Business People?

The First Great British Mustard Bash

The First Great British Mustard Bash takes place at Scalford Hall, near Melton Mowbray on March 12th. Scalford Hall is the former home of Colonel Colman, founder of Colman's Mustard, so is a most appropriate venue.

Entry is only a fiver (£5) per car so super value. For more information see: www.mustardbash.co.uk

BBC Good Food Show Winter 23 – 27 Nov, NEC, Birmingham

The BBC Good Food Show Winter is the perfect place to find everything you need for Christmas all under one roof. With 21 years experience of putting together the country’s biggest and best Food event, The Good Food Show offers a great festive day out.

Following on from British Food Fortnight (17 September–2 October), the BBC Good Food Show, 23-27 November, will host the largest display of artisan and British producers in the country. From Aberdeenshire to Cornwall, exhibitors across the UK will display some of the very best food products Britain has to offer. With something for everyone, now is the time to book tickets and support the best of British.

To book please visit BBCGoodFoodShow.com or call 0844 581 1360.

Food Gusto Xmas Fayre

Competition Winners

Congratulations to local Leicestershire cooks, Holly Bell and Rosie Clark, who were both in the finals of food competitions this week.

Holly was the runner-up in the BBC's 'The Great British Bake Off'. Although beaten in the final by Essex grandmother Jo Wheatley, Holly is still a real winner. Just to get to the final is a major achievement, to come runner-up, more so.

Rosie was the winner of the Leicestershire Cook-Off where her offering of three local breads were named as Leicestershire's signature dish(es?). Congratulations Rosie, the breads sound fantastic.

That said, the official website tells us that Sarah Harrison, city centre director and Leicestershire Cook Off judge, said: "Lots of counties have a signature dish. Birmingham has its balti and Lancashire has its hot pot, and now this county has its Leicestershire Loaves! Congratulations to Rosie, her recipe will go down in history as the county’s signature dish...".

The breads are: Leicestershire beer and honey bread, an Eastern rye bread featuring Asian spices and a Leicestershire Stilton cheese, Irish soda bread...
...Leicestershire's signature dish? Mmm, well I suppose that I never thought that we would have a Black-American spiritual as our national rugby anthem!

Seriously though, somebody please tell me that they're having a laugh!

Leicestershire's Signature Dish

I've written before about the current competition to find Leicestershire's 'signature dish'. Initially when it was announced, and then when the deadline for entries was extended.

The final takes place at St Martin’s House, next to Leicester Cathedral, on Tuesday 4 October, between noon and 2pm. The six judges, including celebrity chef James Tanner, will choose which of the dishes will become the winner. The finalists are:

• Coralie Featherstone, 17, from Markfield, whose recipe of stuffed pork tenderloin wrapped in bacon with a honey mustard sauce, has made it through in the 16 to 18 category.
• Rosie Clark, 48, from Clarendon Park, Leicester, was chosen in the quirky category with her three 'Leicestershire loaves'.
• Maurice Flynn, 35, from Hoton near Loughborough, had his apple and mulberry crumble cake chosen in the over-18 category.
• The remaining finalist is Amardeep Singh Anand, 31, from Leicester city centre, who entered in the professional category with his Bradgate Park venison curry with Red Leicester naan bread.

The competitors, who could win a prize of £1,000 worth of cooking equipment, will have their dishes cooked by a team of professional chefs.

That said: if they think that the winning dish will be 'Leicestershire's Signature Dish', then they're living in 'cloud cuckoo land'! There's more chance of me walking than that happening.

"Blimey, he's off again: moan, moan, moan; He told us all this in his last rant". Well yes, and I'm going to do it again! You see, last night I was thinking that maybe I'd misinterpreted what a signature dish actually is. I'm from Enderby in Leicestershire; it could be said that English is not my first language! So, I actually checked what them posh clever people in Oxford say in their dictionary. They reckon that a signature is summat what is a noun and what, among other things, means:

a distinctive pattern, product, or characteristic by which someone or something can be identified:

the chef produced the pâté that was his signature
[as modifier] :
his signature dish

To my simple brain, that means that Leicestershire's signature dish should be "a dish by which Leicestershire can be identified". I'm sorry Mr Rhodes, but a competition, even with a fantastic £1000 prize, cannot decide that: only time and reputation can!

...and to the competitors: I wish you all good fortune. Have a great day; I'm sure it will be a fantastic experience.