Lisa Higginson
Lovers of food gathered together amid the autumnal hue of Tatton Parkâs trees for a culinary celebration of the region. The North West Food Lovers Festival 2009 was a three-day extravaganza of producers, chefs and restaurants that reside in and around this fruitful area of England.
The beautiful surroundings of Cheshireâs famous park provided the perfect setting for a veritable feast of fine food producers, who were gathered inside an impressive marquee that kept out the blustery conditions of an October day. The ToM team visited the event on Sunday, the final day of the festival.
Nibbling our way around the marquee we stumbled upon a host of appetising offerings, such as sausages from Fordhall Farm Shop, in Shropshire (www.fordhallfarm.com), award-winning fishcakes from Chapmanâs in Grimsby (www.chapmansfishcakes.co.uk), stunning rose and lavender flavoured dark chocolates from the acclaimed Organic Seed and Bean Company in Derbyshire (www.organicseedandbean.co.uk) and a beautiful hard goats cheese from Delamere Dairy (www.delameredairy.co.uk).
We also made a few interesting foodie discoveries along the way. One of these was Bouverie Lodge of Leicestershire (www.bisons.org), who were serving up and selling bison meat. This lesser-spotted dinner table species has a sweeter and slightly richer flavour than beef and is lower in fat, so it certainly proved a hit on the day. I also got my hands on some delicious looking goat meat from Chestnut Meats of Tarporely, Cheshire, (www.chestnutmeats.co.uk), which I intend on slow cooking in a rich stew one cold autumn evening soon.
Olly Oils of Shropshire (www.ollyoils.com) also gave us food for thought with their array of oils that had been created from all different ingredients. The apricot kernel oil was fascinating; it tasted purely of almonds and was intensely rich and creamy. Its properties, I was told, made it a perfect substitute for butter in some baking recipes. We also tried Safflower oil and Macadamia Oil here.
A bustling food hall lay beside the producers marquee, where we enjoyed delicious tomato sauce-laden meatballs from the Spanish Kitchen and a warming spinach, chickpea and potato curry from Mango Rays. Beside the food hall, the chef demonstration area showcased some of the cream of the North West chef crop, with Simon Rimmer, Aiden Byrne and Ian Matfin all impressing the crowds.