BBC Good Food Spring Show 2015 Review

Its spring which means that the BBC Good Food show comes to Harrogate with its accompanying celeb chefs, its baffling guide dog and save cats stalls. The inevitable whisky cheeses and rapeseed oil stands too...they are so 2009, 

With so much exciting stuff going on with street foods its odd that nobody has translated this into home cooking as the genre, and I hate that word, is so under represented.

This year it seems note has been made of a regular complaint from previous years, the show has expanded and aisles are wider. We visited on Friday 10/4 as the doors opened so it was quiet.

Todays main celeb draw are the Hairy Bikers and unfortunately we missed our slot to see them cook as were deep discussing curries or gin or something. We did catch up with them for a chat but that has been offered elsewhere as an exclusive currently.

The show was quiet, we expect higher degrees of madness tomorrow (saturday) and also sunday as Mary Berry, Paul Hollywood, James Martin and John Torode take to the stages.

So for now we would like to introduce you to some of our favourite people we met today..


Punjaban Curry Bases 
http://www.punjaban.co.uk/ Twitter: @punjabancurry

Their philosophy is simple; No compromises on authenticity. It was these principals that were at the heart of the company when Charanjit Sapal (also know as Charlie) started the business in 2010. She still runs the company with her two children Gurjeet and Ria, and its was Gurjeet we had the pelasure of meeting today.

When he went to university he missed her home cooked food so much that Charlie sent her sauce up for him to use. This become a regular occurrence and she began to cook a batch every day! Little did she know that Gurjeet had enormous demand for the delicious sauce from his friends and he had started selling it around the campus for beer money. Sounds like a belting plan.

When the truth finally revealed itself the family knew there was a demand for something more traditional and that is how Punjaban was born.

We tried several varieties and were very impressed, the tastes and textures reminded us of currys had on our travels across Kerala in South West India. A real authentic flavour in your home, none of this synthetic curry english currys, and we will be sure to order more!

Urban Herbs 
http://www.urban-herbs.co.uk/ Twitter @urban_herbs

Urban Herbs is a small family run business set up in 2012 to grow and produce a wide variety of culinary and unusual herbs and spices.  They dont grow in bulk but pride ourselves on a constantly changing product and availability range.  

Whilst their polytunnels produce classic culinary herbs such as Basil, Thyme and Tarragon – what really interests us is the unusual and exciting varieties such as Chocolate Mint, Pineapple Sage and Vietnamese Coriander that are on offer.  Particular faves amongst the good wife and I were the hot n spicy oregano, the orange thyme and the regular Rocket which seemed to be especially peppery to us.

Unfortunately they cannot offer mail order and are in the West Midlands, well that's unfortunate for us as we are in West Yorkshire and forgot to call back to pick up a tray full of stuff. Anyhow, see their website for forthcoming appearances at shows and markets. And if you happen to be visiting this weekend let us know as we want some stuff!!

Portobello Road Gin
http://www.portobelloroadgin.com/ Twitter @portobello_gin

This year there were probably more Gin botherers than last and having heavily backed Yorkshire very own Masons gin last time out, we were on the look out for something different. Hmm..these guys dont use lime or lemon but actually use grapefruit...okay, lets look further.. 

I wont go all gin snobby on you so this is how they describe it...it has a generous slug of juniper and a sustained fresh citrus charachter, developing with the use of nutmeg into a warm peppery finish. Have spent the intervening hours between returning home and writing this engaging in said gin with endless twists of grapefruit al fresco we can say we love it and its warm peppery finish.

Suffice to say our plans for a lads London pale ale tour this August are under review with a visit to the ginstitute distinctly in the offing.



BBC Good Food Spring Show continues this weekend 11/12 April 2015, tickets and more details here