Banbury Food Fair

Written by Kate Wilton on .


paul-da-costa-greavesBanbury Food Fair 2013
 
Chirpy Liverpudlian masterchef Paul Da Costa-Greaves will bring a light-hearted touch to some serious cooking when he appears at Banbury Food Fair on Sunday August 18.


He will be a top attraction at the popular event, organised by Banbury Town Council, which sees the town’s Market Place packed with food and drink stalls and other mouth-watering attractions.

Talented and inventive, Da Costa-Greaves combines a nutritional and functional approach to preparing meals.

He has been described as colourful, funny, and highly original in bringing the most everyday cooking experiences to life.

Born in Liverpool to an English mother and Jamaican father, Paul is a masterchef of Great Britain who has created, developed and launched a range of retail food products under the brand name Feeding Your Imagination – already a multi award-winning company.

Paul appears regularly on stage at BBC Good food shows and other consumer events, and he developed his show-biz talent as a redcoat at Butlin’s in Pwllheli. 

He will perform two ‘free-to-watch’ demonstrations at Banbury Food Fair – at 12.45pm and 2.45pm.

Da Costa-Greaves is just one of the attractions on the day. Other cooking demonstrations will be performed by Banbury cooking school Pudding Pie and by Malaysian Memories – local woman Yolanda Tapping who originates from Penang and who specialises in dishes from her homeland.

A popular feature from last year’s fair – the Ready Steady Cook-style contest – will again take place and six entrants will compete in three exciting cook-offs.

With 80 stalls selling and demonstrating the very best of a wide variety of local food and drink, the Fair will be an ideal place for an alfresco Sunday lunch for all the family.

Alternatively, visitors will be able to take high tea courtesy of Devour Catering, or relax in the Pimms area.

The annual Banbury Flower and Produce Show – at which local growers and producers enter their fruit, vegetables, flowers, jams, cakes etc into six categories and 93 classes – will run in conjunction with the Food Fair.

This year the Flower and Produce Show is sponsored by former mayor of Banbury Rosemarie Higham – a lifelong supporter of the town and its people.

Judging of the entries takes place between 9.15am and 11.15am, with the marquee open for public viewing from 11.30am. Trophy presentations are at 3.30pm.

Banbury mayor Cllr Nicholas Turner said: “Last year’s Food Fair attracted up to 12,000 visitors and this year, with more stalls, more demonstrations, and more to eat and drink, I think the event will be busier than ever before.

“It will give people from Banbury and the surrounding area the chance to sample a massive variety of good food and drink – and also enable them to pick up cooking tips from the experts who will be doing the demonstrations.

“It is another event organised by Banbury Town Council for the benefit of local residents, and like all the council’s events, there are no admission charges.”

Further details are available from the council’s website www.banburytowncouncil.gov.uk

 

Alfresco Dining

Written by Kate Wilton on .

Home made light lunchesPerfect for the picnic hamper

Medieval Hunting Feasts or picnics as we know it today were first introduced in the 14th Century and were mainly enjoyed by the wealthy. Today, alfresco dining is accessible to everyone and can be classed as a more economical way for the perfect meal out. Writes Georgie Smith of Devour in Banbury.

With the warmer weather hopefully approaching, we have some fantastic, affordable dishes or hampers which can be ordered from the shop or recipes and ideas if you want to impress your fellow diners yourself.

Our advice would be to plan your menus in advance and try and not buy convenience products for ease. Home cooked bakes, succulent cooked meats and fresh salads are the perfect spread for any picnic. It doesn’t have to be daunting and the most novice of chefs can create spectacular, cost effective dishes.

Why not try making your own scotch eggs? A really popular item which we make at the shop and our customers love them. Made in advance or even better fresh on the day they are the perfect snack to take on your adventure. It is a great recipe to get the children to help with too! Perhaps not the frying bit but the preparation of the eggs can be fun! Take a look at the recipe in July 2013 issue of the Four Shires for our very own Devour version of the recipe.

If it all seems like to much hard work for you or you haven't the time to make up a delicious hamper then come and see us at Devour in Calthorpe Street www.devourvc.co.uk


siideri - that's cider in Finnish!

Written by Jeremy Wilton on .

Hogans-Cider-expands-into-the-USAHogan’s Cider, the Warwickshire based craft cider maker, has added Finland to an ever increasing list of export destinations. The shipment, which left Haselor last week bound for Helsinki, included Hogan’s Dry and Medium bottled Ciders, Hogan’s Vintage Perry and Hogan’s still, traditional, cloudy “Picker’s Passion” cider. The Finns should be delighted with their selection, they are all award-winners!
  The cider and perry is being imported as part of a cider festival running in 22 outlets in and around Helsinki from the 20th of May to the 16th of June. The annual event now in its sixth year boasts numerous ciders from the UK, Ireland, France and Spain.
  The festival importer has been shipping cider and beer to Finland since 1995 and has seen a change in the Finnish cider drinking habits away from very sweet cider to a more authentic craft product, hence contacting Allen at Hogan’s Cider.
  Allen Hogan said: “We were delighted to be asked to be a part of this Finnish Cider Festival. In the past 12 months we have seen Hogan’s Cider travel to the US, Hawaii, Hong Kong and now Finland. Our investment in both Bag-in-Box and one-way kegs has opened up new markets for us and it is a pleasure to be able to share our cider with an increasingly global customer base.”
  For more information about importing Hogan’s award winning products or for more details on Hogan’s cider and perry please contact Allen Hogan on 01789 488433 or visit our website www.hoganscider.co.uk

Mumford and Sons sizzle in The Four Shires

Written by Jeremy Wilton on .

Lovers of the ligMumford and sons webhts (that's offal to you and me); our very own David Mumford and Sons mobile butchers of Culworth, near Banbury have been serving villages in the area since 1925!
 Famous for their tasty sausages, read more about the history behind the famous Mumford and Sons in the March issue of Four Shires magazine!

Warwickshire cider hits Hong Kong!

Written by Jeremy Wilton on .

bottlesWarwickshire-based cider maker Allen Hogan of Hogan’s Cider is bidding “neih hou” to new customers in Hong Kong after shipping a consignment of his award winning cider to the other side of the world.

The shipment left Haselor, Warwickshire, in early November and arrived in Hong Kong in time for customers to sample the seasonal delights of Hogan’s Mulled Cider.

The shipment included not only Mulled Cider, but also Hogan’s Medium and Dry bottled Ciders and bottled Vintage Perry.  Hogan’s Cider use only 100% fresh pressed English cider apples and perry pears from the counties of Herefordshire, Worcestershire, Gloucestershire and Warwickshire to create their ciders and perry. It is this authenticity which is being demanded by an export market increasingly interested in premium English cider with genuine heritage and provenance.

Allen Hogan commented: “It has been a busy year for Hogan’s Cider. We have launched three new traditional Ciders and a traditional Vintage Perry; we have also developed our Mulled Cider to give our customers a truly seasonal offering. We have won 12 awards this year, the highlight of which has to be a double first for our Medium and Dry Ciders at the Royal Bath and West Show out of around 400 ciders.”

On the latest export Allen said: “Hogan’s Cider can be enjoyed in many US states, including Hawaii and now in Hong Kong. Interest in our export business grew dramatically in 2012 and I think 2013 will see us shipping our carefully crafted products even further afield.” 

For more information about Hogan’s award winning products or for details on where you can enjoy Hogan’s cider and perry closer to home please contact Allen Hogan on 01789 488433 or visit our website www.hoganscider.co.uk.