Children and Food Festivals

The month of September is always a favorite in my home, not just because it is my birthday or the fact that for the last few years the weather has been some of the best of the year, last weekend was spent swimming in the sea off Llangrannog this weekend The Abergavenny Food Festival probably my favorite weekend of the year.

Tickets were bought online the day the site went live, a firm favorite of Ffions is the food academy there was an added bonus this year in the fact that one of the guest chefs was Richard Bertinet, the classes are a first come first served basis so at around 1.15 on Saturday afternoon we placed ourselves in some chairs near the tent. 

Ffion the cook

The classes are coordinated by Catherine Fookes who does a fantastic job.  This was Ffion’s third time having previously made Welsh sausage ragu and last year canapes.  On this occasion the children were making smoked fish chowder.

Big cook little cook

A simple recipe but a classic, potato, mushroom, onion, smoked haddock, bacon and milk.  As you can see the little cook needed a sous chef to help with prep, this is a common trend with her, I think one day she will make a good head chef as she is very good at giving the orders.

Richard was fantastic with the children and helped out with the prep as well.

Two big cooks one little cook

It is going to take a bit more practice on knife skills for the filleting.

Filleting Fish

If you get the chance for your children to attend one of the kitchen academy classes I would highly recommend it for the grown ups Richard runs classes in Bath one of which will be my next course. 

Ffion enjoyed it so much that tonight she is making it for me again using bacon from Trealy Farm and smoked haddock from Black Mountain Smokery I will do separate post of this shortly.   Of course with a good chowder a good bread is needed and Ffion mad a lot of people jealous when after watching Richard do his rant at the Rude Health rants that she was the very proud recipient of one very large sourdough.  One of the best loaves of bread I have ever tasted.

Ffion and her sourdough

This years food festival was as usual fantastic and the organisers should give themselves a big pat on the back.