SECC Glasgow 17 -19 October 2014

The BBC Good Food Show returns to Scotland this Friday and once again the show promises to be a spectacular event for food lovers. Doors open at 10am and Great British Bake off Fans will be delighted to see the very popular Paul Holywood and the lovely Mary Berry declare the show open.

Throughout the weekend several renowned chefs including,  James Martin, Scotland’s Tom Kitchin, Masterchef’s JohnTorode, Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood will entertain visitors in the 900 seat Supertheatre, which, this year has been sponsored by Kenwood. New to the Scottish show is the Bakes and Cakes Village and with the the country’s interest in baking at an all time high, it’s sure to be a favourite with visitors.

There’s also a brand new Eat Well Pavillion, dedicated to wholefoods, superfoods, wheat free, dairy free, gluten free and natural ingredients. Nutritional experts will be on hand with advice and there will be opportunities to learn healthy cooking techniques and to sample a selection of delicious and nutritious food and drink.

The ever popular producers village has over 100 food and drink producers, showcasing a range of speciality food and artisan produce. Whether you’re looking for new ingredients to inspire you in the kitchen or a foodie gift for a friend, you’ll find everything you need here. Within the village you’ll find area’s dedicated to Scottish regional producers including this year’s outstanding BBC Good Food Show Bursary Award Winners.

To enable visitors to relax and enjoy a hands free visit to the show there’s a fast and convenient designated  Shop and Drop area supported by Guide Dogs. There’s also opportunities to meet the dogs and navigate your way through their sensory tunnel.

With so much to see at this year’s show and with so many good food products available it’s worthwhile planning your visit in advance.  I’m part of the official BBC Good Food Show Blogging team and between now and Friday I’ll be telling you about my favourite  must have products and who’s who at this years show.

There are four very impressive  BBC Good Food Show Bursary Award Winners and each will be bringing a very different range of great products and services to the show. All four companies were successful in the show teams search to find the most outstanding artisan food and drink producers and will be proudly showcasing their businesses for the first time at the show. They include

 Scotia Spice with their True Guide to Punjabi Cooking.

Helen’s Herbs with a beautiful range of herbs to fragrance the garden or enhance your cooking.

Plan Bee, the fastest, most natural way to make a positive local impact & support social responsibility through adoption of a beehive.

The Hebridean Food Co, bringing wildly delicious seafood, lamb, beef, game and other delights direct to your door.

My first favourite and a must if you’re looking for an unusual food gift is Bursary Winner Scotia Spice . I predict their True Guide to Punjabi Cooking will be extremely popular with visitors to the show. The beautifully designed box contains all the spices and recipes needed to make 6 dishes, along with  ‘Yasmin’s Guide to Tasting Spices’ and ‘Your Guide to True Punjabi Cooking’.

The ideal food lovers gift. Your Guide toTrue Punjabi Cooking

This is a great alternative to a cookery book and ideal for someone learning or starting to experiment with spicy food as the only additional ingredients required as the the meat and vegetables.

Scotia Spice owner,Yasmin McDonagh commented   “The True Guide to Punjabi Cooking offers enthusiastic cooks the chance to learn the art of authentic Punjabi cooking. With know-how that’s been passed down the generations, we help people discover how to get the most out of exotic spices and delicious ingredients. One taste of a curry cooked from scratch and you’ll never want a takeaway again”.  

One taste of a curry cooked from scratch and you’ll never want a takeaway again

There are three boxes to chose from, lamb, chicken and vegetarian. Normally priced at £20, but as a special BBC Good Food Show offer you can buy two for £36. Visit Scotia Spice on stand PB1

I’ll be following up this post with my top picks among the food producers and you can keep up to date with show news by following my twitter feeds, @RachelGillon and @WeePinchofSugar.

Last week saw the launch of the annual Scottish Food and Drink Fortnight, Scotland’s largest annual celebration of fresh, local and seasonal produce. The event provides opportunities for Scottish food and drink producers to showcase their products and tell not only the country, but the world about the quality and provenance of  Scotland’s natural larder.

For me, it’s been time to find out more about Scottish salmon farming, and as part of my ‘Fortnight Food Adventure’,  I got the chance to visit Marine Harvest,  one of the country’s and the industry’s  leading producers.  The company is one of the largest seafood companies in the world and the largest producer of Atlantic salmon.

My visit was organised by Scottish Salmon Producers Organisation the body representing the country’s salmon farming industry, and took me to one of Marine Harvest’s freshwater sites and processing plants on the West coast of Scotland.  Having very little knowledge of salmon farming, it was chance for me to find out first hand about the industry producing sustainable top quality salmon and Scotland’s  number one export.

The day started in Fort William where Steve Bracken from Marine Harvest outlined the company’s history, followed by a fascinating session on how salmon is farmed at the various locations in Scotland’s freshwater and sea lochs. Later, a visit to a freshwater site allowed me to see the farming process at close hand and to gain a fuller understanding of the different stages in the life of a farmed salmon

Interestingly, my fellow guests on the trip were a party of French Fishmongers, also keen to learn about our salmon farming as Scottish Salmon was the first ‘non French’ product to be awarded the prestigious Label Rouge for superior quality and taste.

In addition to this, Scottish farmed salmon has been awarded European PGI, (protected geographical indication) placing it alongside Scotch Beef and Arbroath Smokies as products of distinct, regional characteristics.

At the state of the art processing plan in Fort William, I watched a slick and impressive operation as the freshly harvested salmon arrived for processing.

Arriving in large tankers, the salmon were immediately on the move. The various processes ensuring that suppliers were guaranteed the freshest quality Scottish farmed salmon, and confidence for consumers that the salmon on their plates was the freshest available. Two hours later the salmon I saw arriving was packed and ready to head out to customers in the UK and across the world.

“As provenance, sustainability and quality are becoming ever more valued by customers, it is heartening to know that Scottish salmon ticks all the boxes”  Scott Landsburgh, Chief Executive of Scottish Salmon Producers Organisation

For great recipes for cooking salmon and find out more about salmon farming by downloading the Marine Harvest App–  itunes.apple.com/us/app/marine-…

You can follow my salmon journey in the next post as I cook some of this fantastic fish on the Scottish Salmon Producers stand at Eat Drink Discover Scotland.

My thanks to Scottish Salmon Producers and marine Harvest for hosting me on this trip.

Tomorrow see’s the kick off for a weekend of spectacular food and drink at Inverleith Park Edinburgh. Foodie’s Festival, the UK’s largest food festival returns home to the city for it’s biggest festival yet. It is a something for everyone festival with over 200 artisan producers, pop up restaurants, international street food and the Chef’s Theatre where some of Scotland’s top chefs will cook their favourite summer recipes for home cooks to recreate.

Something for everyone at this years Edinburgh Foodies Festival

The sessions in the Chef’s Theatre are always a favourite with visitors and among those taking part for the first time will be the popular Three Sisters Bake, Gillian, Nichola and Linsey Reith. The girls who run a Bistro Cafe in the picturesque village of Bridge of Weir, Renfrewshire, shot to fame last year following the launch of their Cookbook, ‘Three Sisters Bake, Delectable Recipes for Everyday’.

Three Sister’s Bake, Delectable Recipes for Everyday

Since then they have found themselves in the limelight with appearances on TV, radio, and features in several well known magazines and newspapers. The Three Sisters are now truly following their culinary dream. Visitors to the festival will find them cooking up fresh vibrant food that has influences from their time when all three of them ate and cooked their way around the world.  Gillian says their approach to food is simple, “Delighting the senses, cooking delicious things that look as good as they taste to enjoy with friends and family”.

Three Sisters Bake,Gillian, Linsay and Nichola.

You’ll find the Three Sisters Bake on stage in the Chef’s Theatre on Sunday 10th August at 4pm and they also have sessions in the Chocolate, Cake, Bake and Preserves Theatre on Friday, Sat and Sunday.

Also returning to this year’s festival and Chef’s Theatre is veteran and real favourite  Chef Jacqueline O’Donnell. Jacqueline will be on stage over the three days and will be cooking up some of her favourite dishes, as always using the best of Scottish produce.

Chef Jacqueline O’Donnell will be cooking up some of her favourite dishes.

For the last 17 years, Jacqueline has been running the extremely popular Glasgow restaurant ‘The Sisters  and is well known for her style of cooking simple dishes that allow the produce to speak for itself. She’s also a regular guest on TVand radio and more recently represented Scotland in the BBC series, The Great British Menu. Jacqueline will be on stage in the Chef’s Theatre at 5pm each day and is sure to be a winner with visitors.

On Saturday another Scottish favourite on stage in the Chef’s Theatre will be Edinburgh’s Chef Neil Forbes. Neil runs Cafe St Honore where focus is on serving good honest ingredients cooked simply. Seasonal ingredients, fresh meat, fish and game all locally sourced  feature in Neil’s demonstrations and he is sure to wow the crowds this weekend with his passion for food. Neil describes cooking as an ’emotional experience that uses all the senses’.

Chef Neil Forbes will be cooking up his dishes using the best of local, seasonal and sustainable ingredients.

Neil is ‘Catering in Scotland’s ‘Chef of the Year’ 2014 and was Scottish Restaurant Awards ‘Chef of the Year’ in 2011. He’s also  a member of Slow Food Uk Chef Alliance and holds the Sustainable Restaurant Association 3-star champion status.

He’s a regular presenter on BBC’s Kitchen Cafe programme and also shares his love of cooking and skills with a programme of ‘Slow Food Masterclasses at Cafe St Honore throughout the year.  He’s a very entertaining chef and his theatre sessions are sure to be popular with visitors to the festival. You’ll find Chef Forbes on stage at 11am on Saturday 10th August.

The full schedule for all the demonstrations in the Chefs Theatre can be found on the Foodies Festival website

As well as the Chef’s Theatre there’s a whole host of great food demonstrations to enjoy at this years festival. If your kids are interested in cooking, there’s also a Children’s Cookery Theatre running over the three days. Hosted by The Edinburgh School of Food and Wine, it will give kids the opportunity to learn to cook Summer recipes.

The brand new Chocolate, Cake, Bake and Preserves Theatre is hosting classes and demonstrations every hour over the three days and if you’re a chocolate lover it  includes a chocolate tasting masterclass and other delicious chocolate making sessions. If dinks and coffee are more your thing, then the ever popular Drinks Theatre has an exciting array of demonstrations for cocktails and food matching on offer.

Whatever your interest in food there’s definitely something for you at Foodies Festival this weekend. Check the Foodies website for full details ticket availability and the full selection of classes and demonstrations.

The soft fruit season is well underway and as well as feasting on some great quality and flavoured fruit, it’s also time for jam making. Strawberries, raspberries and blackcurrants are at their very best and with the fantastic Summer weather,  growers have been enjoying bumper crops of fruit. Pick your own farms have been extremely busy and many pickers do so with one thing in mind, making jam. Craigie’s Farm Deli and Cafe, just outside Edinburgh is one of the PYO enjoying a great year and they’re also running jam making classes for adults and children.

Go along and learn from the experts. Craigie’s have their own jam kitchen and make over 40 varieties of jams and chutneys. 

The team at the World Jampionships are gearing up for another successful competition and the search is on for this year’s world champion jam makers. The Jam Team is looking for the best homemade jam and jellies, made using traditional methods. With eight different category’s and whether  an artisan jam maker or an absolute beginner, there’s one for you.  There’s still plenty of time to get involved and full details of the different sections and details of where to drop off your jam can be found on the Jampionship website. The winners will be announced on September 6th at this years Dundee Flower and Food Festival.

Details of how to enter the 2014 World Jampionships can be found on the Jampionship website

I’ve made jam a few times and even though I can produce a reasonably decent pot of jam, I still class myself as very much a novice. But then,  my very good friends, Iain and Kate at Perthshire Preserves are award winning jam and chutney makers, and recently I met up with them to have a behind the scenes look at their jam kitchen. They’ve both been making jam since childhood so in my book that makes them experts.

Kate and Iain haven’t decided what to enter at this year’s World Jampionships , but last year their blackcurrant jam and a favourite of mine,  hot banana chutney both won gold medals. The day I visited Kate was making blackcurrant jam with Deanston Malt and she took me through the process of how she makes her award winning jams. Whatever jams they enter will be in the ‘Artisan’ category as all Perthshire Preserve jams and chutneys are made using small batch and traditional methods. In an average week, they  make around 600 – 700 jars.  No large scale commercial methods, as much local and Scottish produce as they can lay their hands on, no additives or preservatives and made with passion in their own kitchen.

All Perthshire Preserves are made using small batch and traditional methods. 

There’s no fancy complicated machinery, the jars are filled and sealed by hand.

Kate and Iain hand make 600-700 jars of their award winning products every week. Their range includes, jams, preserves, marmalades, chutneys and seasonal products like pesto.

What surprised me watching Kate and Iain was that they make jam in exactly the same way you would do at home. Jam pan and equipment just like my own, but in their case, a much less frazzled operation. After years of experience, they’re quite intuitive about the process, while still using traditional methods. Checking  for temperature, the saucer in the freezer to check if the jam has set and the jars sterilised in the oven. It was all very relaxed and they just made it look very easy.

So how did it all start for Kate and Iain. At the age of 8, Kate learned her jam making skills from her mum and Iain is self taught. With impressive backgrounds in the hospitality industry, and a lifetime of making jam, they established Perthshire Preserves in 2010. Since then the business has steadily grown and there’s now over 30 varieties of jams, marmalades and chutneys in the range.  I asked who was the best jam maker and no modesty was shown as both claimed the title. Having seen them both in action and tasted most of their products I’ll stick with saying that they make a great jam making team.

The end product. The blackcurrant preserve with Deanston Malt is made exclusively for the local distillery.

I had a great day at Perthshire Preserves and Iain and Kate did inspire me to think about entering the 2014 World Jampionships. The closing date for entries is 15th August and with so much wonderful soft fruit available, you might also consider entering some of your own jammy creations.

Earlier this year, I wrote about my visit to Ayrshire’s award winning, Barwheys  Dairy and my Cheesemaking day with owner, Tricia Bey and her team. It was a fantastic experience and really broadened my knowledge on a subject I knew very little about.

Success for the team and the award winning cheddar has continued with another gold award at this years Royal Highland Show. Barwheys cheddar is a delicious cheese  and if you haven’t tasted it then I recommend you check the website for a local stockist.

Another gold for Barwheys Cheddar. Pic: Claire Jessiman at Foodiequine

Here’s a reminder of my visit to the dairy and my Cheesemaking experience.

As a cheese lover, I was delighted to be invited to Barwheys Dairy in Ayrshire to learn how the award winning Barwheys cheddar is made. Each week, owner and cheese maker, Tricia Bey along with her small team make no more than 45 truckles of the hard Ayrshire cheese, using milk from the Dairy’s own special herd of pedigree Ayrshire cows. Occasionally,a smoked version (smoked at a local smokery) is available, and in 2012 the first truckles of delightfully named ‘Barwheys Beastie’ a 24 month old matured cheddar, were released for sale.

Tricia with her award winning Barwheys Cheddar

Tricia’s skills in cheesemaking were quickly recognised and within two years of production starting Barwheys Cheddar was an award winning cheese with Golds at the 2012 at the Royal Highland Show and the Prestigious British Cheese Awards. Success continued in 2013 with another Gold and the award for Best Speciality Cheese Made in Scotland at the Royal Highland Show.

Unlike many commercial brands of cheddar, Barwheys Cheddar is truly a handmade cheese and it was a fascinating experience to be a part of the cheese making process at every stage. Cheese making is a craft with many factors affecting the the process and throughout the day I was enthralled watching Tricia work. It was clear that despite the scientific elements involved, such as temperatures and acidity, Tricia’s experienced hands and intuition played an enormous part in bringing the milk to the stage that would go on to make this high quality cheese.

Like all cheese making the process starts with milk and at Barwheys, the milk is delivered directly into the dairy from Tricia’s herd of Ayrshire cows. Milk from the Ayrshire cattle breed is known for it’s superior creamy rich quality, making it ideal for cheese making, resulting in the long complex flavour and creamy texture of Barwheys cheddar. Of course, there are natural fluctuations in the volume of milk available from the herd and Summer milk differs in quality to Winter milk. During the Summer months the cows graze outside on the lush grass in the countryside around the dairy and in Winter that changes as they are housed and fed indoors.

From the Barwheys herd, straight to the dairy

Barwheys Cheddar is an unpasteurised cheese and with the milk delivered, Tricia got straight to work, heating the milk and adding the starter culture, to start the production of lactic acid in the milk. The acid is needed to create the conditions required for the addition of the rennet enzyme at the next stage. Although I had a very basic understanding of cheesemaking I had little idea of how important the acidity would prove to be in final cheese.

Rewinding from the start of the cheesmaking process, my first task of the day was to help bandage the cheese that had been made two days earlier. These had been in the cheese press and it was time for the next stage, bandaging in traditional cotton cheesecloth. After a quick but informative lesson from No 2 Cheesemaker Alison, and under her watchful eye,I managed to successfully bandaged a few of the large truckles. From there, the cheeses are transferred to the store where they are looked after by colleague Angus during the ripening process. The truckles mature on wooden shelves for between 12 and 18 months, before being sent out to hotels, restaurants , specialist cheese shops and delicatessens throughout the country.

Cheery Glasgow Cheesemonger, George Mewes, helps bandage the cheese.

Cheery Glasgow Cheesemonger, George Mewes, helps bandage the cheese.
With the starter process well underway, Tricia moved onto the next stage of adding the rennet to the warm milk. Even with my basic knowledge of cheese making, this is a fascinating stage of the process to watch as the rennet acts on the milk to form the curds. As well as being responsible for the coagulation of the curds during the early stages, the enzyme in the rennet also has a direct effect on the changes in the texture of the curd and the flavour, both during the manufacture and storage of the cheese. The change from milk to curds starts to happen quite quickly and it was during that stage of watching and listening to Tricia that her intuitive skills as a Cheesemaker were so apparent.

Despite the use of a thermometer and an acidity meter, I could instinctively see that I was watching a true craftswoman at work. Yes, the science was important but so was the experience of the Cheesemaker, hands on, the touching and watching the milk and curds during the process. The rate and action of the rennet is controlled by rate of the acidity and the temperatures achieved during these early stages. Acidity will also contribute to the flavour of the finished cheese. I could see that this was not a definitive process. The recipe was the same, the milk was from the same herd, Tricia was making cheese in the way she always did, but the acidity levels were developing slowly that day.

There could have been numerous explanations for this, possibly even the presence of a stranger in the room. I knew from my own breadmaking experience different environmental factors, even the weather, can have an influence on the alchemy of proving and making bread. Cheese making was proving that it could be just as tricky.

Regardless of how fast or slow the curds progress, the processes involved in making the cheese follows a set order. Once the curd had set, it was onto the next stage of ‘Cutting’. The cutting at Barwheys Dairy is really the only mechanical part of the process and two very sharp cheese blades make short work of the task. The cutting separates the whey from the curds and this is followed by ‘Scalding and Stirring’. Every stage is important to the process and temperature and acidity levels are continually monitored as this will determine the final moisture content of the cheese. Scalding involves gently heating the curds and whey until the final temperature is reached and while this can affect the acid level, with the finished cheese in mind, it also allows the Cheesemaker to control the acid development.

No 2 cheesemaker Alison and colleague Angus prepare the milled curds for the next stage

Discussions between Tricia and Alison about the acidity levels, relentless checking of the curds, and their highly skilled experience of previous cheese making sessions, led to the next stage, ‘Whey Off’, separating the curds and whey. The nutritious whey is not wasted. It goes full circle and is returned to the farm as feed for the cows.

The next stage, is known as ‘ Cheddaring’, the curd is piled into blocks on each side of the vat and cut into blocks. For the next few hours the the curd is turned and piled and this really was hands on and quite a strenuous task, but it made the term ‘handmade’ all the more real. It was interesting watching the changes in the curd texture as it changed to become more homogenous. This was alchemy at it’s very best, but I was in no doubt that Tricia’s expert hands had ensured the curds safe progression to this point.

The continual turning and piling of the curds continued and as the texture changed and the correct acidity level was finally achieved. The large mats of curd had reached a rubbery consistency, almost like dough and the next stage was in sight. I should add, that at that point, I pledged to never eat a piece of Barwheys Cheddar without saluting the incredible skill and effort of Tricia and her team as they produce this fantastic handmade cheese.

With the texture and the acidity level correct, the next stage of ‘Milling and Salting’ the cheddared curds began. The mats of curd were milled to the required size, salt was added and mixed through, again a task that is done by hand. The final stage had arrived and the salted curd was packed into large lined moulds to be pressed and shaped.

Cheddaring and salting the milled curds before moulding and pressing

We were back at where we started, although the compressed curds would remain in the press for a day or so to form the cheese. Once removed, like the start of my day, the bandaging would take place and batch 129/13 will spend the next 12 months in the store maturing. The batch will be ready to go out for sale next Christmas, and I’m hoping it will be in a nearby cheesemongers. Please watch out for it and if you’re fortunate enough to taste my batch, please let me know what you think. Meanwhile, if you’re planning a cheeseboard, then I recommend a nice piece of mature Barwheys Cheddar.

For further information and details on stockists of Barwheys Cheddar see www.Barwheysdairy.co.uk

Mention Scotland’s abundant food larder and salmon is usually first up when it comes to fish. Quite rightly so, the King of fish enjoys the success of being  one of the jewels in Scotland’s food crown. However, another jewel,  recognised by judges at  this years BBC  Food and Farming Awards is Gigha Halibut 

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