BBC Good Food Show 2005
Always a highlight of the food lovers year, giving an opportunity to see so many products under one roof.
As ever it was well organised and very popular, though this year some of the larger companies did not attend, which was amply made up by the number of smaller producers. There were area’s under the banner of Henrietta Green’s Food Lovers, Rick Stein’s Food Hero’s along with those from HEFF (Heart of England Fine Foods) and Blas (Food from Wales), all of which gave many of the smaller businesses an opportunity to show what they have to offer.
It always has a friendly atmosphere, both from those who visit and those who are there to work both on the stands and for the NEC.
There are always lot of things to sample and taste, cheeses, sausages, ice cream, preserves, cakes, biscuits, beers, wines, spirits, the list goes on...
Food
Whether looking for organic, gourmet or something just a little different, there was something to interest all tastes.
Jules and Sharpie's ‘preservaments’ offer a range containing Scotch Bonnet peppers, starting at simply ‘hot’ to ‘extremely hot’ (and it certainly was!!) they offer an interesting range.
Kitchen Guru supply packs of spices, which take all of the hassle out of making curry, they are all themed so you can buy just the right combination for the dish you want to make, adding them to your own ingredients.
Wensleydale Dale Creamery make Wallace and Gromit's favourite cheese (which they now have on certain packs) they also make many others including, Blue Wensleydale, smoked cheeses and Sage Derby. The Cornish Cheese Company have a Cornish Blue, which is well worth trying.
The Orkney Herring Company have an assortment of sweet cured herrings in a range of marinades including Madeira, juniper and dill, along with cured rolls of salmon.
Jonathan Crisp offer an up-market choice of crisps with sea salt and black pepper, mature cheddar and red onion or horseradish and sour cream, as some of their flavours, they are GMO free and approved by the Vegetarian Society.
When it comes to meat, you will see nothing but quality on show, lots of sausages and burgers to taste, all with no added fillers or preservatives.
Debbie and Andrews Sausages have a range of both traditional such as the Harrogate (which contains 97% lean pork) and Sicilian or Thai sausages if you fancy something a little different, they’re available at some supermarkets.
Pieminister make the Thai cook pie (spiced chicken), the Heidi pie (goats cheese, etc), minty lamb, Matador (British beef with a Spanish twist) and the Ho! Ho! pie (a seasonal one for Christmas with venison).
Direct Welsh Lamb is well named and does exactly what you would imagine, they offer fully traceable meat from a family run farm.
If you have every watched Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and wondered what some of the dishes he cook might taste like, then The Wild Meat Company might be able to allow you to sample some of them, with pheasant, partridge, wild rabbit, wild venison, even a three bird roast (in December only), naturally some meats are only available in season.
For those with a sweeter tooth, there were a few chocolate fountains, some offering melted chocolate and marshmallow ‘kebabs’.
Crimbles have a wheat and gluten free selection of cakes and biscuits, I particularly enjoyed their ginger slices, packed with flavour.
Gu have a range of delicious desserts available from larger supermarkets and Posh Fresh Mint Chocs, which are made with fresh mint leaves.
Drinks
As usual many popular brand names were there to promote their products and to show any new products, but it was the smaller companies that I found of most interest.
Classic Wines a web-based supplier who offer a range of hand picked wines, all chosen by Clive Dickinson, his wines are all from independent producers and cannot be found in supermarkets.
The was also Catchpole & Frogitt another small supplier who offer an exclusive range of wines, from smaller producers, selling directly to keep prices sensible.
There was a stand promoting Sherry from Spain, whose main aim was to re-introduce people to what they produce, by giving a series of tastings, to dispel the myth that it’s that brown sweet stuff that granny tippled, far from it - they have some excellent wines.
There were a few breweries offering tastings too, one that caught my eye was the Ventnor Brewery from the Isle of Wight, who make an ward winning range of ales made with their own spring water, I will be writing a min-review soon.
When it comes to whisky, there was a good choice, including a wide range of single mails to sample and buy.
A brand new to me was Jon, Mark & Robbo’s Easy Drinking Whiskey, who offer a simple range of three blends, all of which are what they say on the label.
They are far from precious about their product and keen to get people to try it, keeping it simple and straight forward seems like a great way to encourage those confused by the wealth of blends and single malts offered elsewhere.
I will be writing a full review very soon, as I must admit to being very impressed!
Other Stuff
There are always hard working people demonstrating products that you never seem to see anywhere but at such an event, from steaming cleaners, to robot vacuum cleaners and the gadget that will chop, slice, peel, core, etc.
Heat2Eat offer probe thermometers and a pair of fridge and freezer thermometers along with fact sheets at a reasonable cost to help keep you food preparation safe.
Richardson Sheffield have a range of knives including stainless steel, forged, riveted and soft-touch, ‘home stuff’ an entry level value for money series, as well as the classic Sabatier range.
If you were looking for Japanese style knives there were a few to choose from including Kin and Furi to mention just a couple.
Simac were showing a pasta maker that makes it easy, just put in the ingredients, allow them to mix, then out will come spaghetti, taglaitelle, macaroni, sheets for lasagne or even gnocchi.
If you wanted to buy gifts for Christmas, then you were spoiled for choice, from robust corkscrews to coffee makers and the gadget that no-one else has, if you looked hard enough it was there to found!
Random Irritations
Why is the show always held at the furthest point of the exhibition centre, when the halls closer to the station are usually empty?
This means a long walk before you even arrive at the show, which is made much worse when, loaded up with shopping and those thing you simply could not resist, you have to cart them back to the station. A courtesy bus service would have been welcomed by one and all. (I did ask and was told no service was provided).
When walking around the show, one hazard that one has to be aware of is what I term the ‘articulated people’, those who have large shopping trolleys in tow, which are easily tripped over or worse driven over ones feet!
We are all encouraged to use public transport for the reasons everyone knows. I decided to do so on the Friday, when arriving at the station at around five thirty, there was a massive queue. So, rather than stand and wait (my feet were aching by this time), a leisurely beer in the station bar seemed more agreeable. Every time the queue cleared, within moments it was just as bad again, by seven o’clock it seemed easier, though more expensive to order a taxi (luckily I live in Birmingham), I felt sorry for those who had no alternate but to stand and wait. Surely, it is not beyond the wisdom of the rail companies to add extra services, knowing that they would be needed, after all this is a regular event.
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