Eat Dorset Food Fair – Just as good as France
Held in the grounds of Parnham House near Beaminster, we enjoyed a great day at the Eat Dorset Food Fair.
I was only able to go on the Saturday, but I am sure Sunday was just as good with a few changes to the Cookery Theatre line-up.
Getting back to the UK and in my case Dorset it is easy to think we just don't have the quality and variety of food here. But this simply is not true and furthermore I think we have more variety and diversity than in France which is reflective of this country’s maintenance of its traditional foods, while encouraging and incorporating influences from all over the world. Although this is changing in France there is often an sameness about French food in spite of regional differences.
Just to balance things a little, the food in France is fantastic and the fact that you can go to most markets in most towns and find produce that we only seem to have in specialist markets is a testament to that country’s appreciation of food. It is still very hard to get a decent baguette or a croissant on the English high street and decent peaches, nectarines and melons are also a specialist item here.
As much as I like food fairs you sometimes start to feel it is the same collection of stall holders you saw a few weeks ago and although that is no reflection on the quality of food they supply it can all start to seem a bit similar.
Well I can report that I was very pleasantly surprised by the variety of food and events available on the day. As expected fantastic suppliers, with lots of lovely samples, a great cafe and demonstrations in the Cookery Theatre. On entering the main tent you were greeted with this fantastic display of organic veg, with the other stalls flowing left, right and down the middle.
The list of suppliers at the event can be found on the Eat Dorset website.
A particular highlight for me was meeting Matt Follas (Masterchef Winner 2008) and now running the Wild Garlic restaurant in Beaminster.
He is very easy going and happy to chat about any aspects of cooking and his own experiences in Masterchef and now his new restaurant.
He gave a demo of cooking a sole served with a beurre noisette. His presentation style was funny and relaxed, but there were some great tips about cooking fish and creating a good sauce.
There was an opportunity to taste the fish at the end and to ask further questions.
Sounds like the Wild Garlic has been very successful and I hope to have a chance to experience it my self.
A second and unexpected surprise were the best oysters I’ve eaten in a long time – maybe ever!
They were massive and served with either Tabasco or a vinegar dressing.
Like all great oysters they were plump and creamy with the wonderful freshness of the sea.
At 5 for £6 an absolute bargain and expertly shucked by chef Matthew Cook who runs a company called Fishface catering company.
Other notables included the Chococo stand, with some excellent freebies. Even better after their demo were small slabs of chocolate encrusted with nuts and raisins, very yummy. I can highly recommend their dark Venezuelan chocolate buttons.
Meaty goodies included some fantastic buffalo and cranberry sausages. We immediately bought a pack after sampling.
These are produced by the West Country Water Buffalo.
There was also a deal on buying several packs of Denhay bacon, which is widely available from most supermarkets. Lots of supermarkets claim to have an authentic dry cured bacon, but in my opinion Denhay is better.
They were also launching their Spoilt Pig range and having tried there smoked back bacon we bought some. I normally find smoked bacon a bit overpowering but the smoke in this case was quite subtle and delicious. It is also an RSPCA Freedom Food, which can only be a good thing.
We also received a free canvas bag in the process modelled below. Is it just me or is anyone else starting to build up as many canvas bags as we had plastic. I suppose they are biodegradable so that’s ok?
There really was a great variety and lots of demos and samples throughout the day. Clipper had a history of tea and served free cuppas with delicious cakes (above). The tea was very welcome as the various free pie, cheese and other samples had left me a little thirsty to say nothing of the cider that had been quaffed through the day.
There were talks on chillies and a cafe serving a variety of tasty food. We had a wild boar kebab.
As you can see from the photos there was a huge variety more than can be mentioned here. A really well organised day. It cost £5 to get in but there was parking and access to the really lovely grounds in Parnham House. I believe some of the funds went to charity. I will be there next year a really excellent day.
