Cooking the Books was held within the Lowdham Village Hall, the new event was put together in conjunction with the highly successful Lowdham Festivals. Designed to celebrate food in literature, Cooking the Books was a day of food-related activities; talks and presentations by food writers and local Foodie figures.
I paid a visit to the artisan food fair. It was small, possibly due to the fact it is new event but It was great to see that the independent producers were local.
I couldn’t resist purchasing something from the Tempted by Chocolate stall. Luxury handmade chocolates, truffles, cakes, gifts and novelty chocolates for all occasions. I was after something with salted caramel but sadly they didn’t have anything on the day, so I settled (bah!) for some delicious caramel and pecan nut discs.
For more information call: 07970 419494/ email carolyn@temptedbychocolate.co.uk/visit www.temptedbychocolate.co.uk
It was good to see Chilli Bob there too with his array of sauces. We enjoyed the chilli festival last year and look forward to the next one this summer at Orchard Farm – 11th-12th July, which promises street food, chilli market, demonstrations and artisan stalls along with entertainment. Tickets are available at www.EM-ChilliFest.co.uk
For more information call: 07901 820914/email chiilibob@chillibobs.co.uk or visit www.chillibobs.co.uk or they are in Twitter @ChilliBobs
Stripey Beetroot, another local favourite we’ve seen several times at the Park Market was present with a whole variety of their hummus. Stripey Beetroot also offer private and corporate catering, always with the emphasis on tasty, seasonal food using ingredients from local growers and producers.
For more information call: 07960 382907/email stripeybeetroot@virginmedia.com or visit www.stripeybeetroot@virginmedia.com
Sisters Cuisine had a delicious display of pies, pasties, sausages rolls etc all in lovely butter pastry. I couldn’t resist taking home a pasty, a sausage roll and cheese and onion roll to try (well you have to do your research) All absolutely delicious. For more information call: 01623 798444
Simply Cakes were there too with an impressive display of cupcakes and goodies for those with a sweet tooth. Simply Cakes make professional home made cakes for every occasion. Based in the East Midlands, they hand make and deliver a wide variety of individually designed cakes to weddings, parties and corporate events, priding themselves on high quality baked cakes using only free range eggs, butter and their own home made jams.
For more information call: 0115 9302451/07885 892238/ visit: www.simplycakesbycatherine.co.uk or emailcatherine@simplycakesbycatherine.co.uk
Gonalston Farm were on hand with a selection of cheeses to try. I really must get round to visiting their farm shop which sells a whole selection of goodies.
For more information call 0115 9665666/ email info@gonalstonfarmshop.co.uk or visit www.gonalstonfarmshop.co.uk
It was also good to see Flipside Brewery. I’ve spent many hours in their pub ‘The Old Volunteer’ in Carlton. I was lucky enough too to have a tour of their brewery back in December, though I’ve never been so cold in my life, I eventually thawed out late January. I should get round to telling you about both. Each named after coins, the brewery offers a host of beers. For more information call: 0115 9877500/ visit: www.flipsidebrewery.co.uk/email: info@flipsidebrewery.co.uk
Of course being named Cooking The Books, the fair wouldn’t have been complete without a stall selling cook books. I managed to refrain adding to my already huge and growing collection despite the temptation..
Talks were given throughout the day by The Gonalston Farm Shop, Hattiesburg Ellis gave a talk on Bees and honey, Diana Birch, Chair of WI Enterprise talked about the WI Cookbook, Julie Pirie and Jackie Skinner, known as Cook & Book were also on hand with ‘Cook’ whipping up a couple of seasonal recipes, with ‘Book’ accompanying them with some springtime readings.
The event culminated in a meeting of The Pudding Club, an event which I’ve attended previously and covered for NottinghamLive – you can catch our review here:
http://www.nottinghamlive.co.uk/live/food-jollygoodfellows-pudding-club-nottingham/
Combining talks from food writers alongside the food fair supporting local producers is a fabulous idea, it would be great to see Cooking the Books become a regular event in the foodie diary.
By Tanya Raybould
