27/5/2006 - Downpours and delicious demonstrations at the Derbyshire Food and Drink Festival

Left: Bouverie Lodge Bison providing their hot burgers to rain soaked visitors.

Right: La Zouch show off their range of international wins and spirits

With a hint of Glastonbury-style mud and generous supplies of rain, the Derbyshire Food and Drink fair 'wetted' our appetites last weekend with the cream of this county's local food products! 

Many of the Foodclose Favourites were exhibiting and offering a wealth of samples of their latest ranges. If you are looking for a way to try a collection of our recommendations under one roof - this food fair, and others like it in the area are an excellent opportunity. This year a continental market nearby and a craft fair at Bolsover Castle filled a full day - and there was no shortage of places to pick up a drink or snack to keep you going. The Park and Ride to the Castle was very well organised and saved us a real drenching on the way.  

Top of the bill were celebrity chefs James Tanner and Rachel Green. Throughout their demonstrations they featured ingredients available from around the fair including cream from the Peak District Dairy and Lamberellis Fresh Pasta sauces. James was showing his flair for cooking under pressure with a live audience  - obviously his appearances on Ready Steady Cook have prepared him well. One particularly clever trick he demonstrated with pastry in his apple dessert made the audience gasp - we were an excitable bunch! Rachel Green showed mains such as Lamb and Couscous with quick and easy puds including her own version of Eton Mess. Due to current regulations the audience members were not permitted to sample the results - this was a shame given the delicious aromas drifting around the demo tent.

Left: Foodclose owner Vicky Sadler with the creator of her favourite spice mixes, Spice-N-Tice's Ketan Varu.

Right: Vicky meets the creator of her favourite Salsa, Mr Bob Pitchfork 

In the two indoor marquees, we were treated to over 80 exhibitors. In amongst the foostuffs were stands promoting hygene, composting and even a cricket club. It was great to see Yabba's stall. Their caribbean inspired preserves include ingredients such as Sweet Potato and carry a handy Heat Factor marking to help you match your mood to the spice levels. Spice-N-Tice showed that they had really expanded in the last few years. Their packaging is much improved and the range now includes lentil and salmon dishes. These mixes feel as easy to use as jar sauces but give you a chance to experience cooking with real spices. Mr Pitchfork has introduced a new Salad dressing using carrot and coriander which allows you to enjoy a warm spicy taste which is a great alternative to the vinegary flavours of many other dressings.

Currently in the Foodclose office and ready for sampling are our other hot picks from the day:

• Spice-N-Tice Spicy Chick Pea
• Derbyshire Smokery Hot Smoked Salmon
• Curry Slim Masala Sauce
• High Peak Lamb's Diced Mutton

Many of the products sampled by Foodclose will appear later in this blog - there were simply too many to report in one entry.