What’s on your culinary doorstep?
Do you know, or have tried every restaurant, café, stall or shop in your area? Probably not. It’s fun trying though.
On Saturday 8th August, we ventured to the Kingston Food & Drink Festival and were in for a big surprise. We haven’t tried all the local places to eat yet, (am furiously crossing off the list though!), but because some of them were out with attending festival stalls, on a food trail, we eventually wandered round with a sheaf of new menus to take-away and digest (pun intended).
Having a mooch and a munch didn’t get much better than when glorious sunshine bathed the market-square all-day.
The carnival sounds of Brazil, custard tarts of Portugal and silky as a Hermes scarf Iberico ham stall were calling. In fact, at any given local food festival, you’d be hard pushed to come away feeling less than enthused about food and drink.
I tried a divine Bloody Mary from Blackdown spirits, and keeping with, ahem, the spirit of things, asked a LOT of questions. Needless to say, the thirst for knowledge and premium gin and vodka was quenched. It even came with a stick of pancetta.
Throughout the week though, there had been all kinds of tastings, pop-ups, and music and food nights going on locally. It’s not just your local O’Neill’s and a folk guitarist adding flavour to your area. Check out the listings for your local pubs and restaurants and brave the unknown. Music and food is a fantastic pairing that’s not to be missed.
It wasn’t all for the adults. There were ‘classes’ for children (‘classes’ in the summer holidays? whatever next), showing them how to get mucky in the kitchen with decorating cakes, etc. Free face-painting at the ever-reliable Wagamama’s (free tote bags? Yes please) and much more. There were also demonstrations for the grown-ups too.
Foodie festivals are popping up nationally, all the time now, so instead of splitting your shop between the BOGOF merchants and superstores, why not buy fresh produce from a market stall, or chat to a visiting vendor.
We’ve all got to eat, so it might as well be fun, and done with local pride.
Review by Gary Lewis
