The Good Food Show: Foodie Heaven
PI LIFESTYLE’S CHARLOTTE DAY AND MEGAN FROST TAKE A TRIP INTO FOODIE WONDERLAND.
“Eating well is everything”. This was the slogan plastered all over the walls and merchandise at the BBC Good Food Show, and within seconds of entering Olympia, it was obvious why. We were greeted by an array of food, drink and kitchenware stalls, ranging from sausages, to vegan chocolates, and even multi-functional peelers. Immediately we began to work our way through the maze of different food companies, which covered two floors of the building.
One of the perks of the Good Food Show was the endless number of tasters on offer. In fact, this is what we spent the majority of our day doing! Nearly every stall we walked past had some kind of bite sized treat for us to try. Some of our favourites included the dark chocolate fudge (we went back three times!), the quinoa health bars, and the shot of homemade flavoured vodka – even if we were ID’d (sad face). Not so great were the healthy “Nutella” alternative, and the goat’s milk yogurt. This tasted a bit too much like cheese for our liking, but it was all part of the ‘foodie’ experience.
Another highlight of the day was watching Paul Hollywood’s demonstration… from the front row! Right in front of us he made an apricot couronne (you know, from the dreaded technical challenge) which, although we didn’t get to sample, looked delicious. And for all of you die-hard Bake Off Fans, Paul gave us some insider knowledge: The Christmas Bake Off Special will feature some of the show’s past contestants and, unsurprisingly, Channel 4 are struggling to find anyone suitable to replace Mary Berry. I mean, she is the queen of cake!
A great aspect of the show was that there was no obligation to buy anything. So even though we both may have eaten our own body weight in samples, we only actually came away with one purchase each: a multi-functional peeler. This might sound odd but if you had witnessed the enthusiasm of the woman demonstrating the utensil, you too would have ended up buying one! A peeler, a spiralizer and a julienne all in one. What more could a foodie ask for?!
As two self-confessed food lovers, The BBC Good Food Show was a fun day out and so worth the ticket price. Especially in the run up to Christmas, the massive range of culinary delights on offer would make the perfect gifts for a loved one. So be sure to look out for tickets for the next show – both of us will definitely be going!