It's about that time of day - time for a tea break...

Time for tea...The best lifestyle, culture, beauty, fashion, food and drink in London, the UK and beyond - all in your tea break!

Monday 14 May 2012

A Grand Day Out at Foodies Festival - more cheese Gromit?

Food, drink and lots of fun at Foodies Festival - and of course tea!

What a grand day out at the Foodies Festival at Hampton Court Green last Sunday! Despite the cold, we enjoyed great artisan and organis food, local produce, fine wines, cocktails, and of course, tea and cake!

Starting with a brief visit to the gorgeous Duckpond Market in Richmond to look at the lovely antiques, homewares and artisan foods (and lots of Jubilee kitch ideas - will definitely be back for some bunting!), we set off from St Helena Pier in Richmond for a leisurely cruise down the Thames on one of the Turks Launches fabulous steam boats.  Unfortunately the sun didn't want to come out to play, but it didn't rain very much, so we braved the chilly breeze and breathed in the fresh air!  

To warm up when we first arrived, I headed straight to the Tea Terrace - a quintessentially English tea room serving proper afternoon teas and a vast array of yummy cakes, pastries and treats!  I swiftly downed a lovely cup of Tregothnan English-grown tea and a huge slab of my old favourite - handmade Lemon Drizzle Cake! We then queued up for the Portuguese Hog Roast from Roast Hog, which was well worth the wait!  
Then it was time for some organic fruit cider to wash it down, and more warming up with some sizzlingly tasty sausages from the Great British Sausage Company.  

After a peek at the amazing Hendrick's Gin Curiositorium and their bath full of Gin (here I am next to it with my organic cherry cider!) and a delightfully bubbly organic Kir Royal, we went to taste some cheeses at the award-wining Cheshire Cheese Company.  Being a Cheshire girl, I particularly enjoyed sampling their massive range of cheeses - especially the award-winning four-year aged Vintage Gold extra mature cheddar!  We are now official members, and once the copious supplies of cheese we bought have run out, we will definitely be buying more online!  Like Wallace and Gromit always say, you can't beat a bit of cheese!

We then wandered over to the chef's theatre to see the lovely Beverley Glock compering (in a beautiful Fifities' style dress - she must have been freezing!), and watched wonderful local chef Greg Malouf of Petersham Nurseries show us just how it's done.  


Then we strolled down the Street Food Avenue, sniffing and tasting so many great foods from around the world, and sampled a few wines at the wine village. A real favourite for me was the aged Parmesan, and I bought an enormous chunk to take home!

All aboard for PIMMS O'Clock - CHEERS!
Whole Foods Market had a nice big stall, with some great (and bargainous) organic Prosecco, fruit and sauces.  We bought the red pesto, which is absolutely delicious on pretty much anything!

We brought back so much lovely cheese, bread, olive oil and artisan treats - they should keep us going for a long time (or at least until the next Foodies Festival)!

I am definitely going to try to get to more of these fantastic festivals, both in the North and down South - my friends and family love these sort of food events and we like to try different shows in different places!

The next Foodies Festival is at Brighton Hove Lawns next weekend (May 25,26,27), with festivals taking place up and down the country throughout the summer.  

Other Foodies Festival Dates from July onwards are:
Tatton Park Cheshire July 6/7/8
Bristol Harbourside July 13/14/15
Edinburgh Aug 10/11/12
London Battersea Park Aug 17/18/19Oxford South Parks Aug 25/26/27

Perhaps I will see some of you there for a tea break - how about a glass of Rose Tea Fizz or a cheeky Prosecco?  

Until next time, enjoy your tea break - and cheese!
CHEERS!  

Rachael X



Friday 4 May 2012

Looking forward to the Foodies Festival at Hampton Court!


City Beach at Hampton Court Foodies Festival!
Food, Glorious Food!
Really looking forward to the Foodies Festival at Hampton Court Palace Green on Sunday!  Haven't been to Hampton court for ages and looking forward to taking in some of the sights as well as tasting lots of food, glorious food!

Running from Saturday 5 May - Monday 7 May, this appropriately Royal setting will play host to a festival of food, feasting and general yumminess!  
I'm excited to see that TV chefs and personalities will be appearing on stage and sharing their foodie tips, including 
Levi Roots, Martin Blunos and Ed Baines, and actors Emma Forbes and Fay Ripley.  Michelin Starred and celebrity chefs will be cooking up their favourites on the live stage, sharing their gourmet tips and expertise - can't wait to see what they make!  Also hoping to learn some of the tricks of the trade myself at the masterclasses and food and drink theatre tents...

I'm really looking forward to sampling and buying yummy goodies - there will be delicacies galore in the restaurant tents, lots of interesting food and drink exhibitors, and World-themed pagodas and street food - delicious!  Also particularly enthused by the idea of the Bus Bar - a bar in an old Routemaster bus! (Check out the photo, courtesy of FoodiesFestival - how fabulous?!)


I always love trying and buying the artisan foods and local produce at food events - they should be of a particularly high standard here too, with loads of local producers and farmers gathered in the dedicated Producers' Market. 


And no food festival would be complete without some good wine to wash all the tasty food down with!  Hoping to try a few good wines at the Wine Village...  

Will be taking my fold-up shopping bags to bring back lots of scrumptious treats!

The whole day should be entertaining, with live music and entertainment going on, a City Beach (look at the gorgeous photo - please don't rain!) and g
etting there is going to be fun too - we're travelling from Richmond to Hampton Court by boat - hope the rain holds off!  Turks Cruises are doing a deal with the Foodies Festival to offer return boat travel from Richmond/Kingston to Hampton Court and a day ticket for the festival for the bargain price of £18!

Taking a boat trip - Turks Cruises' Yarmouth Belle 
The Foodies Festival is running up and down the country over the summer - I'm hoping to make some of the other venues as well, such as Brighton and Cheshire.

You can find out more on the Foodies Festival website, and by following the lovely team on Twitter -
@foodiesfestival
All this talk of good food and wine is making me hungry - I'm off for a cup of tea and some dinner!  Bring on Sunday!

Until next time, when I'll tell you all about it, enjoy your tea break!

Rachael X

(Thank you to Foodies Festival and Turks Cruises for the lovely photos - can't wait!)