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| Sarah McMillan's decidedly scrumptious Gluten-free Blueberry Gateau |
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Banbury’s
town centre from Cornhill to outside Marks and Spencer was bustling and busy
with stalls, striped awnings and the hungry and curious. Couples with small babes in arms, families
with children, the young and the young at heart, all determined on looking,
sampling, buying and eating. By the time
we arrived, proceedings were well underway with intoxicating food aromas
wafting everywhere.
The dear SO
was looking for large cauldrons of food to savour while I was aiming my lens
into the milling crowd. Two photos later
my battery gave up on me and, reaching gladly for my iPhone, inwardly groaned
when I noticed that this was also running out, having counted steps from early
morning to now, walking with the family dog.
Well, that was that, so He had to take my photos for me!
Folk were
queueing up for all types of hot food and very patiently too and, despite the
seemingly high prices being charged, were obviously happy waiting to be fed with the weather so kind to everyone.
A cookery
demonstration was entertaining an attentive audience, people were meeting and
greeting friends and neighbours and Banbury’s Food Fair was giving everyone a
great summer’s day outing.
We visited Linda
Colclough’s Tiny Seeds stall and sampled her Blueberry Pickle – for contact: info@tinyseeds.co.uk - then met up with
Jo Roberts at her Not Just Jams stall of chutney, jelly, onion marmalade and
relish all of which looked really good. Jo introduced us to her very special
item, her Military Pickle, made to an ancient family recipe; it was a stunning
preserve…well done Jo. For email contact – notjustjams@talktalk.net Next to Anila’s handmade Indian sauce and pickle
stall and their delicious Mango Lassi drink which went down extremely well on
this bright sunny day – contact via – www.anilassauces.com
– Anila’s Authentic Sauces Ltd.
Then we met
up with Deddington Farmers’ Market friends, Paddocks Product Farm Shop, and
bought a game pie for supper which went down a treat with salad and homemade
chutney – contact via - www.paddocksproductsfarmshop.co.uk
Next to Gourmet Vinegars to sample their
aged Balsamic Vinegar - contact via – gourmetvinegars@yahoo.co.uk - to Maison
Rustique to admire their range of very colourful bowls and dishes – contact at –
www.maisonrustique.net - and then we met up with a friend from last
year, Cookie Crumbles – “Wholesome Baking Mixes” – beautifully boxed up in new
wrappings now that they are doing so well in a variety of retail outlets. I would have liked to buy their “Awesome
Gluten-free Brownie Mix” but I was too late so instead chose their “Blueberry
& Vanilla Muffin Mix”. Email contact
to: info@cookiecrumbles.co.uk
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| Cookie Crumbles - Wholesome Baking Mixes at home with our Food Fair basket We also simply had to buy a large slice of a scrumptious-looking gluten-free blueberry gateau from Sarah McMillan who makes and bakes for all those intolerant of gluten, soya, nut, dairy and lactose. Her gateau was extremely good and the slice so large we both enjoyed a good feast. Contact Sarah McMillan on 07951 546405 or via – info@whenitssconeitsgone.com I also stopped to look at boxes of new season’s plums on the Styan Family Produce stall who kindly invited me to sample their wares, which I did and, they were very good indeed. I often buy Styan Family Produce veggies from them at Deddington Farmers’ Market. We also stopped to view the products – balsamic vinegar, cold pressed oil and sea salt – on Taste Gourmet Spice Company stall – for contact – www.tastespice.co.uk |
We visited
the produce tent filled by local food and flower-growing gardeners and cake-baking
enthusiasts and oohed and aahed our way around the tent, with everyone else,
all determined to get as close to the exhibits as we possibly could. The monster cabbage caught everyone’s
attention for it was, truly, enormous and in very rude health. There was also a great variety of vegetable
items to inspect like potatoes, kohlrabi, carrots, courgettes and beans plus
cakes and pies, preserves and flowers.
We had
coffee and then departed for home.
Banbury’s Food Fair was still in full-swing, people were still happily
milling about and buying and the weather continued to be kind to all in Banbury’s
town centre.
Happy summer
eventing folks..
Daisy xxx
PS blueberries
feature largely in my 2015 summer and I’m hoping to grow them for myself next
year – I just love them for my bowl of breakfast muesli!!!
