Friday 21 September 2012

The Abergavenny Food Festival...









One of the highlights of the ‘foodie year’ both in Wales and the rest of the UK, is the amazing Food Festival held each year in the sleepy market town of Abergavenny, here in South Wales. This year the visiting chefs included the fabulous Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi.

Originally started about 11 years ago, the Food Festival was an attempt to counteract the devastation caused to local farmers and food producers from the fall out after the BSE crisis which dramatically hit the UK farmers at the time. Nowadays the festival has achieved the big-time by wowing about 30,000 visitors each day of the two day Festival!


Abergavenny is very much an old rural market town set in the picturesque green and lush Welsh countryside at the base of the Sugar Loaf Mountain and close to the adjoining majestic heights of the Brecon Beacons.


The Festival attracts some of the top food chefs and famous names and this year was no exception with not only Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi, but also the fabulous Claudia Rodin and the august Pierre Koffmann amongst others.

 

 Not only can you go and see each of them giving a talk or cookery demonstration but they will also be walking around sampling the delights of the festival and generally happy to talk to people. Such as Pierre Koffmann spied at a cookbook stand as we walked by!

 

 

A few years ago I was picking out some heritage apples from a stall when someone next to me beat me to a particularly fine specimen. The gentleman apologized and offered it to me and to my surprise it was Rick Stein! I’ve since met him a couple of times and he is a lovely chap and hugely passionate about local food. 

 

 I’ve also had the pleasure of chatting to Clarissa Dickson Wright-what a truly fascinating lady-and have met the charismatic eastern European chef Silvena Rowe.

 Apart from all these  ‘celebrities’ you also get the chance to meet local food producers and the majority of the food stalls are giving away free samples of their wares to tempt you. 

 

Even the decorations made by volunteers and hung from the ceilings of the old Victorian Market Hall, symbolise food with this year’s theme being wild food...

 

 

Abergavenny closes its main streets for the two main days of the festival so you can freely wander around. The old Auctioneer’s Hall is the centre of the numerous cheese stalls with tutored tastings. One of the churches and an Old Tithe Barn is the focus of the fish and seafood stall holders section and the Castle itself focuses on the more children centred food activities and has street entertainers and strolling musicians. 

The whole town becomes food obsessed with even the local wool shop having knitted bagels in its shop window... 

Another kitchen utensil shop had a very artistic display-all of which was made of cake!


The downside and it is a very big downside, is that it’s very popularity nowadays means the crowds are enormous...This small market town becomes host to about 30,000 visitors each day of the main two day festival. The mornings are not too bad and we have learnt over the years of visiting, to arrive early in order to be able to park near to the centre and then have a leisurely cappuccino before it officially open at 10 o’clock and then to hit the stalls then. By the afternoon the main areas are unbelievably busy and the crowds can make it all rather uncomfortable.

 In addition to the general ticket entry which is a very reasonable £6-£8 for each day-children are free- there are the Masterclasses and Tutored Tastings where you pay an additional fee. As these are hosted by some of the food ‘celebrities’, tickets for these can sell out very quickly. Mind you, even at £7 or so they are very good value as you get to meet the chef or speaker, and hear them give a talk or see them cook and at some get a glass of wine and some nibbles too. 

So for this Post I will concentrate on the first day-the Saturday- when we had a talk on some sublime British unpasteurised cheddars from Somerset led by Rudolf Hodgeson and Jamie Montgomery of Montgomery Cheddar Cheese. And in the afternoon we were privileged to attend a Master Class and Demonstration by Israeli chef Yotam Ottolenghi and his business partner, Palestinian, Sami Tamimi who celebrated their flair and creativity with a fusion of West Bank Cuisine.

 

First to the cheese...

 

I do have to admit that cheese is a very definite weakness of mine...and as such I did have to volunteer us for a tutored cheese tasting of Artisan Somerset Cheddars...

The class was led jointly by the now revered head of the revival of cheese making in the UK, Randolf Hodgson.

 

 

Randolf started Neal’s Yard Dairy in London over 30 years ago. Passionate about British artisan cheese, he drove the length and breadth of the UK to meet the cheese makers and persuade them to allow him to sell their cheese.

 

 In those days he told us, most cheese was only sold locally because only a little was made. 

 

He had to prove to the cheese makers that he could be trusted with their precious cheese to look after it properly and sell it when it was in peak condition.

 

 He wanted to bring to a wider public some of these great cheeses and because he had personally visited the cheese makers and even met the cows! - he could therefore communicate the skill which went into each cheese.

 

Even to this day, although the staff in his shops has dramatically grown, each one will experience the whole process of the cheese so they can bring this knowledge to the customers.

 

Huge care will be taken to ensure the cheese in the shop is at its peak to the extent that staff have to wear wellington boots to traverse the shop floor, as the shop is kept at the required humidity for the benefit of the cheese!

 

www.nealsyarddairy.co.uk

 

Our other speaker was Jamie Montgomery of Montgomery Cheddar in Somerset.

 

 

I have met Jamie several times over the years and he is understandably exceedingly passionate about Cheddar Cheese as his family have been making it for generations...

 

 We had a plate of about 6-7 cheese samples and he and Randolph talked us through each one. 

 

We sampled some 12 month cheddars made by the Keens family, one from Westcombe and, of course, one of his own. Very nice they were too with perhaps the Keen’s being my favourite with a nice ‘bite’ to it. 

 

Then, however, we went on to some that had matured for 18 months and the ‘long finish’ was delicious with the 18month Montgomery then taking top place! 

 

Jamie and Randolf talked at length at how important the maturing process was for Cheddar. 

 

For them the whole rounds of cheese should be cloth-bound to allow the air to circulate in and around the cheese. 

 

Unfortunately modern supermarkets are demanding cheddar that is stored in plastic which ‘kills’ any long finish to their flavour. For the supermarkets it is all about uniformity whilst anybody that is lucky enough to eat artisan cheese appreciates that its taste and even the colour will change over the year depending on the season and what the cows have fed on.

 

 Another very worrying trend is that the supermarkets now want cheddar which tastes ‘sweeter’ as this appeals to the masses. Rather than to go back to the cheese makers and ask them to look at working at the ‘recipe’ to see if a more natural way can be found to make a ‘sweeter’ cheddar i.e. incorporating some of the Helvetia style which makes a sweeter cheese into the cheddar making, the supermarkets are simply going for the quicker cheaper option of adding sugar...

 

Artisan cheese is all about celebrating taste and appreciating all that goes on to making a good farm cheese. This year, with its appalling bad weather has resulted in a knock on effect to our British cheese makers. Rain sodden fields results in the protein levels of the grass being down. The farmers have had to supplement but the cows have been lethargic and understandably prefer to stand close to any shelter from hedges and trees rather than wander and graze and this has affected the overall quality and milk yield. Cheddar depends for its fantastic long flavour on the proteins in the milk being able to ‘wrap themselves’ around the fat globules. Good artisan cheese makers are very, very picky about the cheese they store as this reflects their skill as cheese makers. So far this year, Somerset Cheddar, by all the artisan producers is down by a huge 20%. And you have to remember their overall production is not very big at all compared to the mass produced for the supermarkets...

 

So I for one, will be making a big effort to buy some lovely artisan cheddar from Somerset on a regular basis-as if I need any encouragement!! 

 

And finally,

 

After hours wandering through the myriad of food stalls across the town, we really appreciated the chance to sit down at the beautiful old Victorian theatre and watch the cookery demonstration by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi. The place had been sold out months ago when the tickets were first available as Yotam seems to be the ‘chief of the moment’! Luckily we managed to get seats right at the front and Yotam and Sammi were wandering around the stage setting up and prepping the food and rather hilariously taking photos of us the audience!

 

Unfortunately just before the actual demonstration we were told that no photos were allowed during the demonstration...so of course I put my camera down...

 

 

I do have to say the demonstration was fab!! However, I can’t for the life of me remember the names of what they actually cooked!!

 

Sami, with his gentle sense of humour, talked us through cooking a typical Palestinian dessert with layers of filo pastry and goat’s cheese which was then anointed with a caramel syrup-it looked divine! 

 

Yotem cooked a dish with meat although he said it could be made without for vegetarians, which then had eggs carefully broken into them to cook in the simmering mixture and served with a beautiful dish of roasted and glazed sweet potatoes and figs.

 

I have just received my library copy of their book ‘Plenty’ so will be avidly reading it and if I find the names and recipes will let you know!

 

I was very, very impressed with their cookery demonstration. They happily admitted that they are perfectionists and the quality and source of their ingredients is paramount. At the same time, they want cooking to be about sharing and giving and having the utmost pleasure both in cooking and eating.

 

 To be able to share West Bank Cuisine with its mixture of both Jewish and Arab cultures for them is very obviously a huge, huge pleasure. They both talked about how each culture would cook with seasonally available ingredients but would have different names. Even each family would cook a traditional dish just slightly differently. If you would go out and buy food there would be certain places in Jerusalem where you would buy just the one dish and both agreed on the best place to buy hummus in Jerusalem for instance.

 

At the end of their cooking they took an extensive question and answer session from the audience including where they would recommend getting spices www.spicesofindia.co.uk questions about their stores and restaurants in London and what they are be happy to sell online www.ottolenghi.co.uk plus lots of basic questions from the audience about problems they had cooking and what the duo would recommend. I do have to say they were extremely patient with all the questions thrown at them and did their best to answer them fully.

 

They were available after to sign books but I’m sorry to say we anticipated the crowds would be huge and by then we were well and truly shattered so slunk off home to rest and recuperate for the next day.

 

Next time, if people are willing, I will go on and describe Day Two...

 

Until then, eat well and heartily...

 

 






30 comments:

  1. Wow, a real Celebrity-fest for you! I love that "vegetable" cake - so clever. Ottolenghi's book Plenty has given us lots of inspiration. my favourite recipe is the one for soft polenta with mushrooms and herbs (page 264).

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    1. Hi Mark,

      Thought you would appreciate the chilli decorations on the top of the cake!
      Have just started to look through ‘Plenty’-lots of delicious looking recipes and now I wish I had of braved the crowds and got a personally signed copy! That soft polenta with mushrooms and herbs looks divine-must give that a go...

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  2. We don`t get short measures on yours posts nice read as usual

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  3. What a super write up. I had no idea that the Abargavenny Food Fest was such a big thing and that top London chefs make the trek up there. Montgomery cheddar is probably my favourite - but then I haven't tried that many artisan cheddars. This year has been so bad for UK produce, including our own plot - just hoping we get a better year in 2013. The crowds don't sound like much fun, but seems like you had a good time despite them.

    I'd love to hear about Day 2

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    1. Hi Choclette,
      Thank you so much for your kind comments! Yes we are lucky that so many of the London chefs come to the show but then we have quite a few in this small area who have left London and have their own little restaurants here i.e. Matt Tebutt, James Sommerin, Stephen Terry and Shaun Hill amongst others. This also has the knock on effect of encouraging other young chefs in the area and the Festival is a good excuse for them to all meet up and have a good evening out together. I do remember one year a certain very well known London chef was spied in Boots The Chemist early one morning looking for a ‘hangover cure’ as he and the lads had been out the night before and he was due to do a cookery demonstration in a couple of hours time...he certainly looked rather different to how I remembered him from the television that morning...

      I'll get writing on a Day Two...

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  4. what a great writeup! I'm starting to feel pretty jealous of all your wonderful food excursions! thanks for sharing all these with us (:

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    1. Hi Shu Han,

      Thanks for stopping by! I do try and have fun going to these events!

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  5. Fascinating about how much the weather affects cheese production - i know we have issues in droughts but hadn't thought through the implications of wet before. I love Plenty - I really enjoyed the beans with sorrel.

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    1. Hi Liz,

      Yes I hadn’t thought much about how the weather even effects cheese production.
      Really loving Ottolenghi’s Plenty recipe book...I’ll look out for the beans with sorrel as I’m about to harvest another abundant crop of sorrel from the garden.

      So impressed with his recipes that I’m hoping to visit one of his restaurants for lunch when I have to go down to London this week. It’s a tough life sometimes...

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  6. What a great day you had, I would love to attend this food festival. You have a lovely way with words and I always learn so much from your wonderful desciption, like I was right there with you, thanks. Waiting for day 2.

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    1. Hi Norma,
      Many thanks indeed for your kind comments-it was so nice of you to say so and glad you enjoyed the post-I’ll get going on Day 2!

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  7. That's quite a post, almost felt like I was strolling amongst the crowds! I've had a Neals Yard blue that was almost as orange as a cheddar. It was proabably the best cheese I've ever had. Wonderful Post....

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    1. Hi David,

      I wonder what the name of that cheese was-do you remember by any chance? I shall be down in London next week for a meeting which is conveniently close to the Neal’s Yard Cheese shop-so might just pop in!!

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  8. I just can't believe all the wonderful food events that you attend. This sounds like a great time even if you did have to contend with crowds.

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    1. Hi Karen,

      I do enjoy these events though it always surprises me how many local people either don’t know or who aren’t interested in going-one of my friend has never been to the festival despite actually living in Abergavenny itself-she told me once that she buys ready-made meals from the supermarket as food and cooking simply doesn’t interest her...

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  9. You certainly do go to a lot of events. I would love to go to this food festival although the crowds for a small town seem overwhelming. I can't believe supermarkets are insisting on sweeter cheese and that this push is leading to sugar being added. What a disgrace. Should be a law against it or a law should be passed not allowing supermarkets to sell cheese - even better! xx

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    1. Hi Charlie,

      I suppose we should have seen the trend coming with more and more cheese in the supermarkets in the UK with added fruit. Now you can get both Stilton and cheddar with added apricots and even strawberries. Have to say I’m not a fan...

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  10. Fascinating post! I wish we had such food festivals here too. The cheese bit is really disgusting. I only hope that by Helvetia they don't mean "Swiss" because here in Switzerland even the basic supermarket gruyère cheese is made of raw milk and is high quality (I think that the first step that ruins ripening cheese is making it with pasteurised cheese, so loved by supermarkets... because so cheap to produce; I know that they and mass producers that supply them are the ones to blame for scaring the public about the raw milk; my French family has been eating raw milk for generations and I have never heard about any intoxications, but there were some serious illness cases with pasteurised milk cheese sold in supermarkets: apparently pasteurisation kills also the good bacteria which fight off some dangerous ones too). Anyway, I wish I could find good quality, raw-milk British cheese here. I love especially Stilton, but have never had the good quality one I suppose.

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    1. Hi Sissi,

      Many thank for your comments and insights into cheese in Switzerland. You are absolutely right-in my opinion raw/unpasteurised milk results in a more mature taste with a longer finish rather than the ‘quick fix’ of some supermarket mass produced cheese. Jamie Montgomery has produced a Helvetia style cheese which of course is entirely natural, uses raw milk and has a natural slightly sweeter taste than his other cheddars in a bid to try to appeal to people who are currently going for the artificially sweeter mass produced cheddars available in the large supermarkets. And finally, yes the research is now suggesting that cheese made from raw milk is better for you as pasteurisation kills off good bacteria too and thus leaves your gut flora more vulnerable...

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  11. Holy cow - that second photo of the hills... it's amazing! I love it :) But then, I love Wales. The countryside is incredibly beautiful! Sounds like you had a great time GD - my mother's going to have lunch with Yotam Ottolenghi soon. Her friend won some competition or something for her and a friend to have lunch with him, so she's taking my mother. What fun! :)

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    1. Hi Charles,

      Lovely to hear from you and many congrats again to you both on the birth of your handsome son-hope you are managing to get some sleep! And your lucky mum having lunch with Yotam Ottolenghi! I had lunch at his Islington place last week-absolutely delicious and imaginative food-she is in for a treat!!

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  12. This post seems to have slipped through the net - sorry for not commenting sooner. The festival sounds wonderful - only wish I lived a bit nearer. You were obviously in your element and the food demo sounded great. Cheese is my downfall - I used to make it myself when I kept goats.

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    1. Hi Elaine,

      With you totally on the cheese-I’m even sitting here replying to you whilst nibbling on some cheddar! I’m about to try my hand at cheese making although I don’t have a herd of goats to hand...

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  13. I have been away so missed this post, 30,000 visitors a day is going some, glad you had a good time, your post was full of goodies as usual

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    1. Hi David,

      Yes the crowds were rather a pain and there was a distinct lack of places to sit down-something we complain about every year when we send in the evaluation forms...perhaps one day there will be more places to sit down and enjoy all that lovely food on offer...

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  14. Many thanks for sharing your day — what tremendous fun! — and for slogging through the crowds so we don't have to. It appears that Ottolenghi and Tamimi are having fun, which must have made the master class a delight. If not in "Plenty", I'm wondering if the recipes they demonstrated could be found in their new cookbook, "Jerusalem". I'm awaiting my copy to come from overseas since US publishers seem to always mess up converting recipe amounts... Looking forward to your report on Day 2, as well as vicariously dining at one of Ottolenghi's restaurants when you make it!

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    1. It was a fun demo by the pair and I’m really enjoying their recipes in ‘Plenty’. Haven’t found the ones they did so I’m thinking you are right and they are in their new book. Have now had the pleasure of lunch in their London restaurant and managed to pop into one of their delis on another occasion to buy some delicious food for a takeaway lunch-I’ll write more in a future post!

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  15. Sorry for this much-delayed comment ...
    What a fantastic event to attend! And you do attend some really good ones. This one seems to have a little something for everyone to enjoy, though I wish a few of everyone would have stayed home. 30,000 attendees per day is quite a few to handle in a large metropolis. Crowds that large could overwhelm a small town. Thank goodness we foodies aren't a rowdy bunch. :)

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    1. Hi John,

      It is a lot of people and I must say it does significantly affect the pleasure of the event now for us. Abergavenny also has a Christmas Food Festival which is much, much smaller but very enjoyable in its own way and you can chat more to the stall holders and producers who are not quite as harried as they are at this huge event!

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