Universal Cookery & Food Festival heads north this year
The Craft Guild of Chefs, which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, has announced that the Universal Cookery & Food Festival will be taking place on 23 September at "the foodie gateway to Hadrian's Wall", Vallum Farm in Northumberland.
This is the first time that the festival, which is designed by chefs for chefs, has been held in the north of England. Once again, Craft Guild of Chefs representatives John Feeney, Lee Maycock and Ian Nottage are the driving forces behind this unique event, which aims to give chefs up and down the country the opportunity to get outside in a relaxed environment, meet and talk directly with gamekeepers, farmers, growers and food producers as well as get close to industry-respected chefs and operators.
Events during the packed programme include a farmers' market where chefs can familiarise themselves with a wide range of national and local food, drink and equipment suppliers, and take the opportunity to gather some inspiration to take back to their own kitchens.
There will be a wealth of on-trend topics and demos taking place over the course of the day with the festival line-up including Kenny Atkinson from Catey 2015 Newcomer House of Tides, Catey 2015 Chef Award winner and the recipient of the Craft Guild's Special Award last month, Sat Bains, chef-patron of Restaurant Sat Bains in Nottingham, as well as Aaron Mulliss and Nick Beardshaw, Tom Kerridge's right-hand men at the Hand & Flowers and the Coach, both in Marlow, respectively.
Visitors will be challenged to see if they can eat away the fear as entomophagy appears on the schedule, fulfilling the brief to showcase current trends.
"It's not something from the local area but it's a trend emerging from places such as Bristol and London that we can take up with us and we like to do something that is a bit left of centre," says Maycock. Demonstrations on this subject will come from Seb Holmes and Thom Lawson of the Smoking Goat, Soho, who will be cooking dishes and making cocktails from their new insect cookbook EatGrub.
The festival will also give a nod to legendary chefs who will share their pearls of wisdom with the audience in a reverse take on last year's "rising stars" which showcased the up and coming talent of the industry. Speakers include Terry Laybourne from 21 Hospitality Group and John Williams, executive chef of London's Ritz.
A brand new Innovation Zone headed up by Infusions4Chefs' Jeremy Medley will showcase food innovation and learning as he teams up with the festival's headline sponsors to showcase the latest in culinary innovations.
Tickets for the Universal Cookery & Food Festival 2015 are priced at £99 + VAT per person. The ticket price includes coach transfers to and from Newcastle train station, access to the full event, refreshments and evening event.
To book your place or to express interest in featuring your company at the event please visit www.cookeryandfoodfestival.co.uk or call 01293 854 403.
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