This is my third year attending the Bristol Foodies Festival and each year it gets better and better. I went on Sunday with my Family and this year the weather was on point. Everyone seemed to be having a great time. I love the live music unfortunately I didn't go on Saturday but I heard Scouting for girls were brilliant. Sunday headliner was Flash a great Queen tribute band and worth a watch. A cool edition after a little queue was the Just Eat wheel of fortune where everyone was a winner from 15% off up to £5 as well as a tote bag... I managed to snag myself 25% off my next takeaway.
I got to meet Adam the owner of Chipsy UK. These guys specialise in weddings, birthdays and functions serving up awesome triple cooked chips from the best quality potatoes grown on his own farm in Cyrpus. They have something for everyone with a wide selection of sauces/dips and over 50 toppings including halal, veggie and vegan options. I tried the Poutine loaded fries which went down an absolute storm. Plus I was also lucky enough to sample his new and already very popular Angus beef burger with his homemade burger sauce and a 3 cheese sauce!
I'd heard the incredibly popular BellyNBao owned and run by Declan was at FF this year... It really is so popular for good reason too, their perfect sticky slow cooked pork belly is absolutely phenomenal! they cook the stuff for 6hrs!... Stuff it into a soft bao bun with a fresh Kimchi salad and crunchy pork cracking on top its just a perfect overall combination. I also tried and unfortunately I shared with my mum, the chicken and prawn gyoza dumplings. These were lush and the prawn was my fave, but next time I wont share!
Showcasing this year at the festival was the Bristol based 'I Pour My Beer'. These guys actually let you pour your own beer and mixers using their seamless prepaid card system. They also pride themselves using quality beer such as a favourite local brewery of mine Arbor Ales.
I went to a bar in Prague on a lads holiday with a similar concept and we all absolutely loved it. I can't wait to see where these guys start rolling out in Bristol. Give them a follow and watch this space...
Amongst all the masterclasses over the weekend was Briony May live demo which i was looking forward to. The Cake & Bake theatre was heaving with fans coming to watch her live.
Another class I was really looking forward to was the Beer tasting tutorial with Melissa Cole an award winning beer writer (find her blog here). Iv been to several brewery tours and visitor centres and I must say I don't think I've seen anyone so vastly knowledgeable regarding beer as Melissa. We sampled the Maltsmiths 4.6% pilsner style lager, Lagunitas Daytime 4% IPA and their 6.2% India Pale Ale and finally the Wiper and True 5.6% milk stout milkshake. One this I took away from the tutorial was about how to get friends and family into beer by deconstructing the types of drinks they like and working to find something that hits those taste profiles. At the front Melissa had her book titled 'The Beer Kitchen' containing great brews, pairings and over 70 incredible recipes and will definitely be added to my Amazon wish list.
To break up all the food and beer my sister and I took a walk over to the Boston Shakers for a couple of cocktails. These looked as good as they tasted. I had a Bramble - consisting of Gin, lemon juice, sugar, Cassis blackcurrant liqueur and topped with a juicy blackberry... this was so refreshing and perfect palate cleanser for the day. My sister picked the Bubblegum Gin - Bubblegum syrup, Gin and fresh Lemonade topped with a slice of lemon and a handful of candyfloss.
After a fantastic day we collected a goody bag each. I my not sure what makes me so giddy about these, but I always really look forward to it. Probably stems from when you use to get a sweetie/goody bag at kids parties back in the day.
Benenox a blackcurrant flavoured sleep/energy supplement.
Carabao apple flavoured sugar free energy drink
Volvic organic water naturally flavoured with white tea.
Portlebay handmade popcorn sweet and lemon sherbet flavor.
TrueNopal 100% natural unsweetened Cactus water.
Pukka organic and caffeine free Turmeric active tea.