Sunday morning at the Ludlow Food Festival started with an amusing joint cooking demonstration by Reuben Crouch (of CSons in Shrewsbury) and Mark Harris (Pheasant Inn, Neenton). They are now a well established double act at the Ludlow Food Festival. Their theme centred on potatoes and eggs and Mark Harris produced some very fine aligot as a grand finale.
Urvashi Roe gave a useful talk on Gujarati food but lunch was rapidly approaching.
And so it was that the true highlight of the festival this year was a new event - Sunday lunch served in the medieval banqueting hall in a similar fashion to the Saturday evening Fire Feast. Chef Andy Stubbs of Andy Lo’ and Slo’ was the curator of the meal and it certainly proved to be memorable and thoroughly enjoyable..
The gloriously colourful heritage tomato starter served sadly to illustrate no matter how pretty British tomatoes may have been this year, their flavour has been very disappointing. But what really mattered was the great slab of beef waiting to be carved.
The beef was excellent. Such pleasures may only be appreciated by the English but a great Sunday roast is a national treasure despite what trendy naysayers may opine. The accompanying vegetables were a sideshow - the beef was all - and just as well as no Yorkshire pudding was anywhere in sight but frankly, none was needed. Such stuff are dreams made on.
A pleasurable Basque cheesecake with macerated strawberries and autumn blackberries rounded it all off and left me wanting to live for ever so that I could return to Ludlow eternally for this fine Sunday event
After lunch, I watched Chef Suki Pantal give a charming and useful demonstration of Indian vegetarian cooking and then it was time to head back to Fishmore Hall, where Lucy the Labrador was waiting to se what tidbits I had brought back for her. The skies were darkening, rain was threatening, and the Festival had ended for another year.
And so, once more farewell to Ludlow and Fishmore Hall. A very. acceptable full English to see me off on the Monday morning.
No comments:
Post a Comment