Yesterday my friend Sarah and I joyfully ventured forth to the Soil Association’s Organic Food Festival in Bristol. This yearly event is the highlight of my foodie calendar, and with good reason…

The festival takes over almost all of the Harbourside area in the centre of the city–unbelievably it was even bigger than last year–and is jam-packed with just about every food you could imagine from both local and national producers. Samples flow generously, so even if you don’t visit the Food Plaza, you can still leave with a full belly.

With such a wide range of producers, it can be hard to know where to start. Sarah and I just followed out noses and the crowds which worked out really well.

Our first stop was The Parmesan Cheese Co. which imports Parmigiano Reggiano from Emilia Romagna. This is the real deal, people! It’s worlds away from the premium Parmesan sold in supermarkets–Taste the Difference  and Finest, etc–and light years away from that horrible dry grated stuff sold in little cans when we were kids. (Someone is bound to tell me that they still sell it, aren’t they? Please don’t. I’ll cry.) It’s… indescribably good and worth every penny. I look forward to the extra joy that this will bring to our autumn risottos.

We wandered past some amazing food. Some reasonably priced, others completely overpriced. I can’t imagine anyone paying £10 for a quiche–would you? I always love visiting the Boerenkaas stand; it reminds me, happily, of my year working in Amsterdam and the great cheeses I feasted upon there. As we have loads of cheese in the fridge already, I didn’t buy any, but I did snack on some. Delicious.

Lunch was a fantastic burger from The Well Hung Meat Company. Yes, really! In a world of burgers stuffed full of fillers it felt like a real treat to eat something that was 100% meaty goodness. The only let-down was the onions which weren’t fully caramelised, but it was still lush. We followed up a while later with an ice-cream from September Organic Dairy. Honey and stem ginger for me, and mango sorbet for Sarah. Definitely get to the ice-cream stands early–they’d sold out of the flavours we wanted by the time we were ready for pud. Still, you can’t go wrong with honey and ginger.

Seasonal fruit and vegetables were in abundance at the festival. Farrington’s had a fantastic display as usual and I was delighted to spot some fresh borlotti beans, which I didn’t know they grew. I’ve never had fresh borlottis and the prettiness of the pods just strengthens my determination to grow some of my own. I have a recipe in mind for these beauties, but I’ll have to wait and see how much they actually weigh once podded. Farringtons, in case you aren’t familiar with it, is a fantastic farm shop near Bristol, and I give it full credit for enthusing me about cooking again. How anyone can look at their produce and not want to dash into the kitchen, I simply don’t know!

Down in the gardening area–new for 2008–I spotted this amazing display of heritage apple varieties. I love the tiny little John Downie apples, which are surely crab apples, judging from the size. The treestock that the company (Walcot Organic Nursery) were selling seemed to be a real bargain and I was sorely tempted to buy one, just to keep my little tree company.
Maybe it was the season, or maybe the proximity to Halloween, but pumpkins and squash seemed to be everywhere this year. Maybe my senses weren’t properly tuned to the glorious gourds last year, but I just don’t remember such an abundance. As a squash enthusiast–well, I’ve grown a few… very enthusiastically–I was in my own brand of heaven. We saw some huge yellow parry-pan squash, twice the size of any I’ve ever eaten, some Crown Prince, gem/cricket-ball squash, that fab one that looks like a turban (Turk’s Turban?), acorn and onion squash. The lovely people at Flights Orchard Organics were doing an amazing deal on vegetables–fill your bag (any size) for a fiver. Unbeatable. There was no way that I could use a whole bag of vegetables before they went off–I had brought a huge bag with me–so I opted to buy a gorgeous onion squash and a nice juicy bulb of fennel. All for the princely sum of £1.50. Seriously, these people had the best prices at the festival and were hugely knowledgeable about their produce. They’re looking to start delivering boxes in the Bristol area soon-ish, so I shall keep an eye out for them. (They had a very cool graffiti aubergine–it really did look like someone had come along and done an all-white tagging session on it. I love vegetables!)

Despite the name, the festival isn’t all about food. While we were there, Julia Hopson, from Cornish Organic Wool, was knitting with 50 strands of organic wool in an attempt to set a Guinness World Record. Just look at the size of those needles! She had her husband running round after each row to set her up for the next. She might as well have been knitting with ships’ masts. The yarn was beautiful, though. So soft, and it didn’t seem to be at all prone to tangling. If it was me, I’d have been thoroughly knotted within minutes, but Julia was just knitting serenely. Hope she got her record!

Back down in the gardening section I was really hoping to get some Isle of Wight garlic, but alas, I didn’t see a single bulb anywhere. (I’m cheap and don’t want to fork out on postage.) We did come across a company who sold “instant” kitchen gardens. Basically, you get a delivery of young plants in funky containers at the end of May, then sit back and watch everything flourish. It’s a nice idea, especially if you’re stuck for gift ideas, but… very, very expensive. They had some nice-looking rhubarb crowns, and I would have gone back for one, but my shopping bag was weighing me down by this point.

What else was there? Oh yes! The dedicated Kids Area was awesome. I especially loved the Cooking Bus which had an amazing cookery classroom set up inside. I hope they’ll still be there in a few years when Lucas is old enough to take part! There was also a fun pingball table in the shape of a sink–you had to stop the bubbles from going down the plughole–which seemed a real hit. Nintendo had a huge tent where there were live demos, as well as the opportunity to play with their new cooking guide on the DS Lite. Admittedly I saw more adults than kids in there, though.

And of course there was chocolate! Cocoa Loco had some fantastic truffles. I managed to resist succumbing for most of the day, but caved in towards the end of things and bought some of their white chocolate for Dave. The Chocolate Alchemist’s stand is instantly recognisable thanks to their fabulous coloured jars full of chocolate buttons. They source 90% of their beans from the Dominican Republic, and have just started getting some beans from Madagascar, too. We sampled some of the Madagascar chocolate which was really fruity–banana and vanilla hints to it–and also had a real hit of spice. I had to pick up a bar of their dark chocolate with nutmeg when I saw it. I’m such a sucker for nutmeg! The Organic Chocolate Cake Company (formerly Top Hat Cakes) were also there and after patiently queueing for a taste, I realised that the British lose all their prim and proper behaviour as soon as chocolate cake enters the equation. Elbows flew as crowds of women surged forward for their tastes! You can hardly blame them, though. TOCCC makes the best cakes in Bristol. They made our wedding cake and we, and all our guests, still have incredibly fond memories of it. Dark chocolate cake–made with lashings of 70% dark chocolate–soaked in port, sandwiched with buttercream and plum jam, covered in thick white chocolate ganache, and adorned with white chocolate scrolls, fresh strawberries, silver leaf and sugared rose petals. I’ll have to dig out a photo of it….

Just before we were about to go, I spotted some gorgeous bunches of dried lavender. Result! I’ve been trying to get my hands on some culinary lavender for ages–I do plan on growing it, but I still haven’t been able to dig the beds yet–so I’m thrilled to have some at last. The festival was my last hope and it really came through for me. Now I just have to decide what to make first!

We had a fabulous day out, especially as it didn’t rain upon us. (I pity the folk who went on Saturday as it pissed down all day!) As entry is free for under-16s it makes a great (and cheap) family day out. Just remember to bring your reusable shopping bags, plenty of cash, and an empty tummy!