Review – Bistro 95, Cannock

Posted on June 18, 2012 by Louise - Comida Y Vida

Another month, another meal out …. I could get used to this! After a week away from home with work, it was nice to come home and go out for a family meal. We went with my in-laws and the extended family to a new local restaurant in Cannock, Staffordshire. Bistro 95 is the lastest offering from Jo and John Ashmore of Wine & Dine. They have a gastro pub right here in my home town of Rugeley, the Yorkshireman, which just happens to be our “local”, and a bistro in Lichfield called 1709. The new addition Bistro 95 is to be ran very similar to 1709, offering brasserie style food for a great price – 2 course dinner for £10.90 and 3 courses for £12.90.

Now, I’ll be up front and tell you right away that my Brother-in-law, Lyndon Sims, just happens to be Head Chef at Bistro 95, but I assure you that will not influence my review in the slightest, in fact I’m probably more likely to be a bit harsher, just in case!!

It was the first weekend of Bistro 95 when 7 adults and 2 children decided to descend and put chef Lyndon through his paces. The bistro has been revamped and the restaurant opened up into a far more useable space from it’s previous life as 95 High Green. The restaurant is still based over two floors and we were shown to a table on the ground floor, with ample room to fit us, the high chairs and everything else dining out with little ones entails. A peruse of the menu and wine list, before we ordered and toasted to the Chef upstairs.

For my starter I had opted for the English asparagus and Goats Cheese tart with pickled red cabbage, one of the 3 vegetarian offerings.

The tart was a light quiche style offering which was delicatley flavoured with Goat’s cheese, which worked perfectly with the strong iron of the asparagus. It was served with lovely dressed salad leaves and a pot of pickled cabbage, which I liked but thought unneccesary.

For main’s I opted for the Salmon and rocket encroute with new potatoes, steamed broccoli and dill cream sauce. The salmon was cooked perfectly, as was the pastry surrounding it. The sauce was full of flavour and worked well with the fish and potatoes. Simple flavours, cooked well.

I wasn’t sure I could squeeze a pudding in but in the name of a complete and fair review I ordered the Vanilla Creme Brulee with shortbread biscuit and Rhubarb and Ginger compote.

The creme brulee was lovely, set perfectly and with the required crunch on top. Though not a typical shortbread, the biscuit was lovely and added a different texture, and the rhubarb was nicely stewed but I wouldn’t say the ginger was a noticable flavour, not that this mattered as it was lovely nonetheless.

With a bottle of wine and a couple of beers, not to mention the sides ordered for Little Miss Chief the bill came to a modest £50. This was great considering the size of the portions and the quality of the food and service.

I will definitely going back and that’s not just so I can get Brother in Law to cook for me (it only happens at his workplace!) but it really is another great eatery from the Ashmores.

Review – Aalto Restaurant at Hotel La-Tour

Posted on May 21, 2012 by Louise - Comida Y Vida

Whilst many moan about the reluctance of spring and summer to arrive as the last few weeks have been cold and wet, I personally cannot believe how quick 2012 is flying by. Life is full on at the moment with my new sales role at work by day and my Stampin’ Up business by night so when I was recently invited to go out for dinner I couldn’t resist – perfect chance to have a night off to relax and spend some quality time with hubs.

The venue for my night off was to be the newest addition to the Birmingham hotel scene, Hotel La-Tour, situated right in the heart of the city centre near to the Bullring shopping centre. On arrival it was clear to see the hotel has been designed with the utmost style and sophistication. It was modern but very classic too. After making our way up a very stylish staircase we arrived at the bar where we were greeted warmly by the restaurant manager, Daniel. Whilst we perused the menu for the Aalto Restaurant and the wine list helpfully categorised on an Ipad, we were served with one of their signature cocktails – the 1889, named after the year Birmingham was granted city status.

It was a fruity,light and refreshing drink made with gin, apple, elderflower, ginger and lime and was a perfect start to the evening by not only getting your taste buds going but also leaving your palate cleansed. We also had a pre dinner nibble of lemon and chilli infused popcorn that was strangely addictive.

The menu exemplifies the modern twist on classics that is the ethos of the hotel. It was inspired by michelin star chef Marcus Wareing who has worked closely with the team at Hotel La Tour and head chef Alex Penhaligon to develop the dishes using many local ingredients. There were also a couple of specials to choose from too, so making a decision did take a while as it was all so so tempting.

Once we ordered we were taken through to the restaurant to our table, where we were positioned right behind the chef’s table with views into the open kitchen, allowing us to see our dishes being created by the kitchen.

After choosing our dishes, the lovely Daniel, came over to discuss wine choices. Daniel’s knowledge of the wines was impressive so we asked him to choose one for each of us that would complement the foods we had chosen. I was served with the Bodega Castro Martin Albarino which was a lovely surprise. I love this type of wine which I discovered on my many work trips to Galicia and it is not one you get in many establishments. Mr CYV was served the Frappato Nerello Mascalese, which was also a great choice as we don’t often choose Italian wines. Daniel explained how he had chosen wines that would work with both of the starters and mains we had chosen and what they would deliver to complement the food.

I opted for the Harrogate Loaf, terrine of veal, bacon, parsely and caper salad which was a beautifully dense meatloaf, studded with pistachio for added crunch and texture. The terrine was wrapped in bacon which gave a great salty edge to the loaf. Some croutons on the side The parsley and caper salad it was served with was a perfect accompaniment with the fresh flavours cutting through the meatiness.

Mr CYV opted for the Mulligatawny, haddock, curry spice, lentils which was a velvety smooth soup which was packed with beautifully cooked haddock and the lentils gave their usual bite to give some texture to the dish. It was perfectly spiced with such depth of flavour and enough spicy heat to give a warmth to the dish.

For mains I chose the Cornish sea bass, creamed leek, mussels, grain mustard. The fish was cooked to perfection with a crispy skin which I love and the sauce was rich and unctuous. I would never have dared to pair mustard with fish but this worked brilliantly.

Mr CYV opted for one of the specials Lamb Belly, green beans and peas, breaded sweetbread and red wine jus which was also cooked perfectly. the slow cooked belly melted in the mouth whilst the sweetbread was little nugget of delight and the jus brought the whole dish together.

We were amazed not only with the quality of the food but also how the chosen wines matched both courses perfectly.

When it came to dessert I was spoilt for choice but in the end decided on Jaffa cake pudding, warm chocolate, orange cake crumb, cream, which was something devised by Marcus Wareing. Now I expected a chocolate orange pudding but was so suprised to find it actually it tasted like those little biscuits you can buy. It was delicious, the sponge pudding was light whilst the chocolate sauce was rich and smooth.

Mr CYV opted for the savoury choice of British cheese selection, walnut crisps, pickle and was very happy with the selection of cheeses – a goats cheese from Oxford, stilton blue and an apple smoked cheese.

With our desserts Daniel yet again came to our aid and selected suitable wine to go with them. For my chocolate dessert the Nectar Jerez Pedro Jimenez sherry was perfect and hubs was given the Rivesaltes Ambre dessert wine to complement the cheese selection. Yet again they matched perfectly.

As we retired back to the bar with a coffee we couldn’t help but plan a return visit. I think we will definitely come back to try out the hotel itself too. The food was some of the best I have eaten and certainly deserves a spot in the top restaurants in Birmingham.

You can sign up to the newsletter here for all the latest offers and find Hotel La Tour on twitter and facebook.

I received the food and drink courtesy of the Hotel la Tour I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

Two Greedy Italians and one Hungry Viewer

Posted on April 1, 2012 by Louise - Comida Y Vida

As a lover of Spanish food it stands to reason I am a fan of Italian cuisine too. The two countries share a love of fantastic seafood, beautiful cured hams and some meditteranean sunshine. We probably cook Italian food far more than Spanish, sometimes up to 3 times a week, and with it’s entry into the UK diet so pervasive, I think this is the same in most households. In fact I think Italian food is probably the most widespread of all cuisines with people the world over indulging in pasta and pizza.

Two of the godfathers of Italian cookery have shared their love of their home country in the BBC TV series Two Greedy Italians, namely Antonio Carluccio and Gennaro Contaldo, mentors of the celebrity chef Jamie Oliver. The series sees the two chefs return to Italy, after 50 years away, to cook and explore. More of a travel documentary than just a cookery programme I enjoyed the introduction to various regions of Italy, with an insight into the history and family cooking that enlightened me to a whole world of Italian cuisine far beyond pizza and pasta that regularly features in our weekly menu.

There is the brotherly, almost husband and wife nagging style of relationship between these two friends which is on the whole quite entertaining. I don’t normally enjoy watching either of these two chefs on tv, but as a duo something just seems right. Not sure my eyes will ever recover from seeing Gennaro pull an octopus from his speedo’s and launch it Antonio though!

The series was originally aired on BBC during last summer but if you missed it now’s your chance to see it with the release of the DVD on 2nd April 2012. The Two Greedy Italians DVD features 4 great one hour long episodes, each of a different region in Italy, over 2 discs. The set also includes 4 recipe cards so you can cook along at home.

The recipes from the cards are taken from the accompanying book Two Greedy Italians, another thing to add to the wishlist!

You can pre-order your copy of the DVD here.

Thanks to Pete at PPR Publicity for the review copy. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I may earn from any purchases bought from my Amazon store.

Seabass at the Swan

Posted on March 29, 2012 by Louise - Comida Y Vida

With the return to work after maternity leave and the arrival of childcare costs, not to mention a general increased cost of living, finding money to eat out can be tough. Before Baby G arrived we used to eat out on a fairly regular basis – it was our way of keeping “date night” going after the honeymoon period of being newlyweds. Nowadays dining out is a rare treat so we try to make sure we go somewhere which serves freshly cooked good quality food which doesn’t hurt the finances too much.

When I heard about Sea Bass and Creme Brulee night at The Swan in Stafford it seemed like the perfect solution. I’ve dined a few times at The Swan and have never been disappointed, in fact you can read a review from an earlier visit here. The promise of two of my favourite foods for a bargainous price of £12.95 per person was ticking all the boxes.

So with date night set for this weekly event at The Swan, grandma booked for babysitting duty, all I had to do was decide what to wear. And then it happened …. hubby stood me up! He had forgotten that he had put himself down for the pub quiz and couldn’t make it. Not wanting to miss out I asked the next best man in my life to go with me … my dad.

After arriving and being shown to the table, we were greeted with a menu offering a choice of 4 ways to have our Sea Bass. Decisions made, wine picked and then it was time for some father and daughter quality time.

In addition to the expected two courses there was also a starter of Tomato, Basil and Mozzarella bruschetta.

This was a tasty little appetiser and a great way to begin. I know it’s not exactly a unique dish or one you couldn’t create at home, but when creating a starter for all to eat – well who wouldn’t like this tasty combination?

For my seabass dish I opted for the Pan seared seabass and roasted fennel topped with tapenade and sauce vierge.

The fish was filleted correctly, cooked beautifully and even the skin was crispy. I liked the salty tapenade as a contrast against the sauce vierge and the roasted fennel was a nice addition.

My dad chose the Grilled sesame crusted sea bass, vegetable and noodle salad with chilli and soy dressing, and whilst I managed to snap a quick photo before he dived in, I didn’t have a taste myself, so can’t describe how it was. What I can say though is that dad devoured the lot and seemed to enjoy it.

To accompany the mains we both had a dish of perfectly cooked vegetables including red cabbage, carrots and broccoli.

The third course of the evening was a classic crème brûlée served with shortbread biscuit and cream. Now I love a good crème brûlée and this one did not disapppoint, in fact even my dad who doesn’t really like them, enjoyed this.

We rounded the night off with a coffee which was served with a lovely square of fudgey, gooey chocolate.

The food was good, the service was good and for £12.95 a person I don’t think you can ask much more. I shall definitely be returning – dining out may be easier to do more regularly with offers like this, and who knows maybe hubby will join me next time?

I received the food courtesy of the Lewis Partnership – The Swan. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. Thanks also to James Day of Leisure Marketing (Midlands) Ltd and Eat the Midlands

Review – Urban Coffee Connoisseurs

Posted on March 11, 2012 by Louise - Comida Y Vida

A wee while back I was asked to review the latest addition to Urban Coffee Company‘s offering – Urban Coffee Connoisseurs – a monthly coffee tasting club. I couldn’t resist as I do love my coffee and can’t function in the morning till I’ve had my first cuppa and also Urban Coffee Company is my favourite place to grab a hot beverage whenever I’m in Birmingham.

Urban Coffee Company is a locally based company with an ethos to admire – improve the quality of high street coffee available outside of London and offer an alternative to the uniquitous Starbucks and Costa. As an independent coffee place it aims to offer a unique experience for it’s customers and from my handful of visits at both of it’s current stores it certainly does. It offers not only great coffee but a community meeting place for all sorts, including knitters and bookreaders.

For those of us not able to pop into store on the way to and from work or for a Saturday afternoon shopping trip pit stop, there is now the Urban Coffee Connoisseurs. Each month members receive 2 different bags of 125g of freshly ground coffee or beans if you prefer to grind your own, tasting notes, instructions on how best to prepare your coffee and access to the online Connoisseur Academy.

The two coffees I received were Laurocaf Reserva Terruno Nayarita from Mexico and SHG – La Luz from Nicaragua. The notes included detailed descriptions of the origin of these coffees – did you know coffee is one of Mexico’s most lucrative exports with over a half a million small farmers relying on the crop for their survival? You also get Rich’s (the head barista’s) tasting notes to assist you in developing your connoisseurship!

The Mexican coffee was the first one I tried and as Rich helped to point out, it did have vanilla tones, though my palate struggled to identify the “sweet with sour Apple acidity”. My favourite was the Nicaraguan coffee with it’s chocolate and cinnamon spice flavours.

I prepared them in my coffee machine but would definitely recommend using a cafetiere to get the best out of the coffee.

I think a subscription to the Urban Coffee Connoisseurs is a great gift for coffee loving friends or to enable you to develop your and you can choose a sign up period from 3 months to 1 year. The cost works out to around £4.25 to £5.00 a bag, which is slightly expensive, but with the added delight of waiting for your package to turn up each month and the chance to try lots of different styles of coffee and knowing exactly where they come from, I think it is a great idea. Sadly not one my budget will stretch to at the moment, but I live in hope I might manage to join at some point.

I think the ability to interact with other members would be a great addition and bring the tasting club idea to life.

I received the coffee free from Urban Coffee Company. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

Roasted Sea Bass in Hot, Sweet and Sour Sauce

Posted on January 18, 2012 by Louise - Comida Y Vida

After the excesses of the festive season often we crave something simple, healthy and light. Yet with the cold and blustery weather we yearn for comfort too. In the Comida y Vida household this means we often head east for some asian spice.

The most used and “abused” cookbook from my Bookshelf that features recipes for this region is Rick Stein’s Far Eastern Odyssey. This book was published back in 2009 to accompany one of this chef’s many tv series’. I purchased the book some time ago but have never written about it here on CYV, but it’s going to be the first post in my series of posts called My Cookbook Collection where I will share a few recipes and reviews of the cookbooks from my collection.

I love food from the east and where time and access to ingredients permit will happily spend hours toasting and grinding spices, pounding garlic and ginger into a paste and all the other detailed preparation that many asian recipes require. The time invested into making your own curry pastes is something I definitely consider to be worth it when you taste the final dish – such depth of flavour. That’s not to say that ready prepared pastes don’t feature in my store cupboard for when time is limited – we all need a little convenience in our lives.

That is kind of how this book feels too, if you have time to leisurely prepare the dishes and access to the wealth of ingredients needed you will be rewarded with some fabulous food. For me, whilst it is possible to stock up on the dried spices and condiments from trips into Birmingham to Wing Yip, getting hold of the fresh ingredients like galangal, kaffir lime leaves and pea aubergines in local supermarkets is nigh on impossible, so creating dishes from this book takes a bit more planning.

The recipes give you the ability to reproduce the true taste of dishes from this region and travel through SE Asia from the comfort of your kitchen. There are 7 chapters, each one devoted to a different country: Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Bali, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. Every dish cooked so far has not disappointed, the Beef Kofta Curry is simply delicious and very moreish, the Babi Kecap is devine to name a couple of my favourites. Now I share with you the latest recipe I’ve tried.

Roasted Sea Bass with Hot, Sour and Sweet Sauce

2 seabass – gutted, scaled and trimmed
37ml of fish sauce
25g shallots, finely sliced
15g garlic, thinly sliced
1 bird’s eye chilli, thinly sliced
25g palm sugar
15g tamarind pulp

Preheat the oven to 220C. Make 3 slashes on each side of the fish and place in a shallow dish. Pour over the fish sauce and rub into the slashes.. Pour the excess into a small pan – should be about 25ml.

Heat 1cm oil in a frying pan and once hot, fry the sliced onions/shallots until crisp and golden. Lift out with slotted spoon and leave to drain. Add the garlic to the oil and repeat the same process. Finely do the same with the chilli.

Add the sugar, tamarind and 2 tablespoons of water to the pan of fish sauce. Bring to the boil and simmer for 1 minute till thickened.

Place the fish in a roasting dish and cook in the oven for 12 minutes until it is done – when the flesh flakes away. Reheat the sauce and stir in the fried shallots, garlic and chilli. Place the fish onto the plate, spoon over the sauce and scatter over the fried elements. Serve with rice and bok choi.

I used onions due to not having shallots, only 30ml of fish sauce and tamarind paste which I find a useful time-saver ingredient. If using tamarind pulp you will need to sieve the sauce before serving.

The delicate fish against the flavoursome sauce is just sublime. The sauce delivers all the usual hits to the tastebuds from this corner of the world – sweet, salty, sour and hot. It was the perfect dish to feel healthy and yet comforting too.

If you want a cookbook to give you a a true taste of SE Asia then I think this is the one. I’d advise it is not for a novice though and you would definitely need to invest into a few key store cupboard ingredients.

Hasta la proxima / until next time

Hello 2012!

Posted on January 2, 2012 by Louise - Comida Y Vida

So how was your Christmas and New Year celebrations? Here at Comida y Vida it has all been about some family time – both spending time with the parents and close family members and some quality “just us” chilling out time for me, Baby G and Mr CYV.

We have enjoyed some lovely food and New Years eve was spent feasting on a tapas selection of homemade delights including smoked salmon, duck prosciutto,(blog posts to follow as soon as we have perfected the curing and smoking), whisky onion marmalade and bread together with a great cheeseboard and some chorizo in red wine!

New Years inevitably evokes a desire to review the past year and plan for the next. At the beginning of 2011 I set a list of things I wanted to achieve and well to be honest …. it’s been a bit hit and miss.

I started out well with a few Spanish inspired posts and even did a week long tapas feast. Of late my spanish cooking has focused on these same dishes and so no new ones to blog – something to remedy for 2012!

The visit to Purnells is still on the list to do and as soon as finances allow I’ll be there!

I did attend the bread course at Loaf Online and you can see how I got on here.

I have done some new dishes from my cookbooks and have some waiting in the wings ready to blog when I get chance.

The garden has been sadly neglected but as soon as the weather shows a sign of spring I’ll be in the garden and getting it sorted. I want Baby G to learn how food is grown and that’s the best way.

So whilst my failings in 2011 leave me with a ready-made list of plans for this coming year I thought I’d add a couple more (not one not to challenge myself!) :

Improve my food photography with tips learnt at Bite ‘N’ Write by Frasershot

Do more seasonal cooking

Reduce my food bill by using up leftovers, reducing my food waste and cooking more frugally with cheaper cuts of meat etc.

I may have been less active than I’d like blogging here at CYV but I have been busy in the blogosphere! You can see what I’ve been up to in the crafty world at Stampin’ Delight and of course I’ve been busy single-handedly looking after Midlands Food Bloggers community blog whilst Jo has been on maternity leave.

So that’s me and just left to say thank you to all my readers, especially those who take time to comment – I love to hear your thoughts.

What do you have planned for the coming days, weeks, months and year?

Broccoli and Stilton Soup

Posted on December 22, 2011 by Louise - Comida Y Vida

Broccoli has never featured very highly in our cooking at CYV as hubs has a strong dislike to the “green trees”. Occasionally they might make a small guest appearance in a stir fry disguised by lots of spices, or I would add them to my Sunday roast, whilst hubs would scowl at them from afar.That has been the way of the broccoli here since we moved into together.

However, times change and when discussing weaning Baby G we both agreed to try more of the foods we dislike so that she would not miss out on trying any important flavours. We had bought some broccoli to steam for Baby G (which incidentally, didn’t go down well – like father, like daughter it would seem!) and after the success of hubs eating some of it in our Indian feast, I thought I’d make a soup with the leftovers. We also had some stilton to use up so I went for the classic combination of Broccoli and stilton.

Broccoli and Stilton Soup

300g broccoli florets, roughly chopped
1 large potato, peeled and cubed
1 large onion, roughly chopped
1 ltr vegetable stock
80g stilton
knob of butter
olive oil

Gently saute the onion off in the butter and a drop of oil until soft and translucent. Add the potato and stock and simmer for 10 minutes, until the potato is tender.

Add the broccoli and cook for a further 4-5 minutes until tender but it has still retained it’s colour. Add half the cheese and then process in a blender till smooth. Season with salt and pepper. Serve with a sprinkling of the remainder of the cheese on top.

I loved the iron rich broccoli with the creamy blue cheese and was quite happy to eat the lot. Turns out hubs doesn’t mind broccoli in this form either and was quite happy to devour a bowl.

The soup was made to make the most out of leftovers so it is perfect for Fuss Free Flavours new event.

Click on the image for further details of this fabulous challenge and do join in.

Me in a Magazine!!

Posted on December 21, 2011 by Louise - Comida Y Vida

Whilst becoming a published food writer may be but a pipe dream, I am so pleased to have been featured in the BBC Good Food magazine as a recipe tester.

A couple of months ago I got a call asking if I wanted to be part of the reader taste panel for an upcoming issue. Er …. yes, yes, yes I replied! It was only when they said I had just a few days to test several recipes as part of an Indian feast for 10 people that made me have second thoughts.

Never one to turn down a challenge though I accepted and was sent a pack with all my recipes and ingredients. Heres what was involved and my initial thoughts:

Tamarind chicken curry – sounded lovely and recipe looked straightforward.
Pumpkin biryani – would take time but sounded great.
Spicy paneer skewers – where can I buy paneer in Staffordshire?
Stir-fried broccoli with coconut – getting hubby to eat broccoli would be a challenge.
Roasted chilli-garlic sauce – might help hubby eat the broccoli?
Cardamom meringue nests – never done meringue so looking forward to it.

So after heading out to get all the ingredients (Waitrose is the only place in my area where I can get paneer by the way!) we made a start on the recipes. We cooked the dishes over 2 weekday nights, but I could definitely see how easy it would be to prepare all dishes for a dinner party at the weekend.

I thoroughly enjoyed cooking these recipes and the majority of the dishes will be cooked again. I loved the flavour of the curry, but then I am a fan of Indian sweet and sour dishes like pathias, and was amazed at the depth of flavour from just a few spices. The verdict from the other tasters was good too – using chicken thighs and cooking them in this way, leaves the meat full of flavour and moisture. The Pumpkin Biryani, would definitely wow guests with it’s presentation, but for me it was a little too sweet in flavour. I was also a little put off by the texture of the pumpkin once it had been cooked. If I cooked it again I would add a touch of cumin and chilli to give some earthy undertones.

The paneer skewers were a bit of a revelation in the CYV household as we had never eaten it before, but it was a surefire hit. We loved the texture of the cheese against the crunchy vegetables and how the paneer absorbs the flavours. What was especially appreciated is that is light and not greasy due to being grilled, which makes a difference from many Indian starters we cook.

The broccoli was a great side dish, even hubby enjoyed it and we liked how the addition of the chilli sauce meant for those who like their spice, could increase the chilli kick of any of the dishes by adding this sauce. It’s definitely not one for the faint hearted though ….hot, hot, hot!

To finish off the Indian feast with these meringues is a genius idea. Light and sweet, chewy with a lovely hint of cardamom. We made the chestnut and chocolate filling which was lovely.

If you fancy having a go at any of these recipes or seeing me in my published glory, then pop along to the newsagents for your copy of the January issue of BBC Good Food.

Thanks to BBC Good Food magazine for selecting me as a recipe tester.

BBC Good Food Show 2011

Posted on December 13, 2011 by Louise - Comida Y Vida

It’s a day of enjoying lots of tastings, a day of wishing I had more money to spend on kitchen gadgets and appliances and a day of spotting a few celebrity chefs … it’s one of my favourite days of the year.

For the last 4 years I have made a visit to the BBC Winter Good Food Show and this year was no exception. I had booked my ticket at last years show so after 365 days of waiting my mum, Baby G and I all headed off to the NEC.

I went to enjoy it as a family day out and not as a “food blogger”. But then when Belling invited me along to their stand to get a front row seat to watch a few cookery demonstrations well I couldn’t resist. As the official appliance sponsor of the show they had a fab stand full of lots of their fab ovens including this one which I am hankering after.

On the day we visited (Friday) Brian Turner, renowned for his appearances on Ready Steady Cook, was the celebrity chef cooking on the stand. Other days saw top inidian chef Cyrus Todiwala and Ruth Clemens of Great British Bake off fame demonstrating and sharing some top tips.

In the first cookery demonstration Brian demonstrated a gourmet BLT which looked fab and set off our taste buds, so afterwards we wondered off to grab a few tastings from the wealth of producers at the show.

After lunch we popped back to the stand to watch Brian attempt a Get, Set, Cook challenge with a bag of mystery ingredients sourced from the show’s exhibitors. In 20 minutes Brian produced no less than 4 dishes.

He also did a demonstration (which we sadly missed) using recipes from a cookery book that Belling produced containing recipes sourced from the public on twitter with just 140 characters. All proceeds of this book are being donated to FoodCycle, a social enterprise which is tackling food waste and poverty in communities across the UK and you can get your hands on a copy here for £4.99.

Sorry for the lack of pictures and information about everything else at the show, as I say it was a non-blogger day. I did enjoy the day and couldn’t miss picking up some of my favourite brownies from Gower Cottage, or some eggs from the Handmade Scotch Egg co (though I wasn’t convinced that adding chocolate to a scotch egg was a good choice – I’ll stick to the favourites of beer and black pudding in future!) . New favourite find for the day was the pate at Findlaters – sublime!

I also bumped into a few other Midlands foodies including Jo of Jo’s Kitchen, Louise and J of Good Food, Great Fun and Gluten Free, Jules from Butcher, Baker and James from Eat the Midlands who was with the lovely Suree from the King and Thai, which made the day even better.

There was also a bit of celeb chef spotting – Paul Hollywood, Galton Blackstock, and the Masterchef duo to name a few. The best bit was getting an autograph from my favourite yummy brummie after watching him in the Supertheatre.

It was a great day out and I can’t wait till next years.

Thanks to Belling for the invite to their stand and a copy of Tweet Pie.