Chester Food and Drink Festival

What are you doing for Easter?  We are off to Chester Racecourse to take part in the Chester Food and Drink Festival opening on Saturday, 5 April and running through to Easter Monday.

CamperFest runs alongside the festival and they are organising a cooking competition on Sunday at Midday.  I don't have the rules for the competition, but we do have plenty of recipes that will work inside the very small kitchens provided in the campervans.

 Just look for these symbols next to the recipes.  In sequence the top symbol indicates that the recipe is suitable for cooking on the BBQ, the middle one usually needs two rings, but could include a grill, and the last one is a one pot meal.

Can't be easier - there are some really good ideas for Sunday lunch too.  Try BBQ lamb joint to really impress, or one of the many stir fry meals.  Whatever your taste, meat, fish or vegetarian you should find something to please the judges - don't forget the dessert and drinks.

Good luck to everyone taking part.  If you would like to add your favourite recipe, please do so.

Look out for our caravan at the Festival.  You can't miss it.  Seen here at a Leicestershire Centre Rally.

Food and Drink Expo - NEC Birmingham

What a fantastic show!!  For the last three days we have been explaining the purpose of mealsinfields.co.uk to the food and drink trade.  The response has been over-whelming.  Our picture already features on www.nfuonline.com, as their editor on site thought it so important that their members know about our work to give the small business a loud voice.

So if you are passionate about good food, sourced locally and prepared specially for you, sign up for our monthly newsletter, and make sure your local farmshop and high street retailers know all about our website.  We cannot do this alone - we need everyone to shout about the difference in taste and quality when you buy from the specialists.

We had many farm shops, deli's and cafes commit at the show to joining the website and you will soon find their details on the where to pages.  It can be quite daunting to write 300 words, but it is less than an A4 sheet and does allow for plenty of information to be given to customers.

Beer seems to be the new wine

This article will really cheer Dave http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/food/2012/03/how-to-pair-food-and-beer---pa-2.shtml he drinks beer with any meal, and this confirms that he should do so.

So to keep up the beer theme for the rest of the day, I think it will be beef in ale for tonight's meal.  If I get the slow cooker going in the next few minutes, we can eat anytime after six.  Click here for my recipe.

Ready for the first exhibition of the season

The Food and Drink Expo at the NEC draws ever closer - scarily closer if I am honest.  Just today and tomorrow in the office before it is time to pack the bits and pieces and drive down the M42 to the NEC.

It will be the official launch of our Where to Stop, Shop and Dine section, so we hope to meet plenty of business owners who agree with our campaign to keep the high street alive.  See http://prlog.org/11828993

If you run a food shop, restaurant, farm shop or catering business, anyone who has a food outlet on a campsite, why not come along on Sunday, Monday or Tuesday.  You can download a ticket here.  Just remember it is a trade show and no-one under sixteen will be admitted.  Doors open at 10:00 am.

I hope to meet everyone who has already decided to advertise with us, and plenty more who will join us at the show.  Have a safe journey to Birmingham.  You will find us in Hall 6 on Stand A113 - right near the bar.

 

Are we agreed?

Following the discussions - should that be disputes - on Radio 2 this week, I think we can safely say

A cake is baked and served cold.

A pie is made with pastry and can have a sweet or savoury filling, served hot or cold.

Anything else is pudding!!

So the question now is should we or should we not include pies and cakes on the recipe sections of this website?  Is it sensible to think that folk away for a break will want to spend a longer time in the kitchen baking pies and pastries - or do we prefer to be out and about.

Let me know what you think?

Cakes in Caravans

I have been reminded by some very clever ladies that the Caravan Club have a baking competition at the National Rally each year, and somewhere in one of the classes is a cake.  All sorts of cakes have been involved in the contest, including a Victoria Sandwich.

The problem is always going to be getting the right temperature in the oven, consistently. I own a 2010 Bailey Olympus 504 which has a reasonable oven with a regulo type setting.  However, it does seem that the temperature at, for example mark 6, is not always the same and is affected by the wind conditions outside the 'van.  As a result cooking times can vary quite dramatically.  I have to admit that I have never tried to cook a cake in the caravan - but would love to hear from anyone who knows how to do this successfully.

Next questions - should we include recipes for cakes on the website and if so how complex should they be?

Pies or Cakes

Thanks to Chris Evans on this morning's breakfast show, its time to think about making pies and cakes in tents and caravans, ready for his CarFest - even if we don't get to go along.

So what is a pie?  Does a cake have to be baked?  What can you do in a tent to create an oven?  So let's take one topic at a time - or more properly, one per day.

What is a Pie?


Most people will think of a pie as having at least a pastry base, or, more properly, a pastry base and a pastry lid.  If you are in a fairly new caravan, you will almost certainly have an oven with a regulo, and after using it a few times will know how it behaves and might be confident enough to chance making pastry.

I think this might be a good time to cheat and buy ready to roll pastry - but that is because I always make a mess rubbing in, whether I use fingers or a food mixer.  Oh, don't forget that at this CarFest there won't be any hook-ups, so it will be back to basics.

So - does a pie have to be a traditional pastry pie to qualify for the name?  Listening to the show, it seems that Chris will accept almost any type of pudding, citing Bannoffee Pie, which traditionally has a biscuit base, so I guess that lets in cheesecake.  As both have a biscuit base why is one a pie and one a cake?  If you are in a tent the best bet might be to bend the rules and look for no-cook cakes and pies.

To make a start have a look at what we've got so far under desserts, then please send me your ideas to make our very own pie section.

How do you help a friend?

A friend of mine has recently started his own mobile caravan repair company.  It is very cleverly named NAVARAC.  It fooled me - I was trying to make something from his name, Nick Rosen but take a closer look, its CARAVAN backwards.  Nice one, Nick.

He has had to spend a small fortune on training courses and tools for the job - not to mention the vehicle to work from.  He is meticulous in everything he does, and always makes sure that he has full details of the caravan before agreeing when and where to do the job.  The reason for this?  Despite all the training, he is not allowed to work on any caravan which is still subject to a manufacturer's warranty, and they can now last for ten years on certain parts of the construction.

The problem then, take a look at the majority of the caravans on a rally site - how many are actually out of warranty?  The sadness is that the vast majority of his friends who would really like to help him make a success of his new venture have our hands tied.

So, if you live within reasonable travelling distance of Leicester, have a caravan which is no longer in warranty, please give Nick a call - he is a great guy and an excellent technician.