BBC Good Food Show | Winter 2019
My boyfriend and I absolutely love the BBC Good Food Show. Especially when the likes of Mary Berry and Ainsley Harriott are involved in its running. At last year's show, we got to meet Mary Berry and get one of her books signed - which I also blogged and that you can read here. We also got to watch this chef at work, something which was absolutely amazing, as I bloomin' LOVE Mary Berry, and watch all of her cookery shows, especially the Christmas ones.
We also went again the summer of 2019 - which I didn't blog about - which was not only the BBC Good Food Show, but the BBC Flower Show, too! I must say, the summer show was a little underwhelming in comparison, but great if you love planting flowers, for example.
However, if you're there for the food, then you may want to wait until the winter show, as the whole event revolves around the eating of delicious sausage rolls, burgers, hot dogs and sweet treats. You'll even have the chance to sample beautifully smooth wines, refreshing gins and delectable liqueurs. If you like them, you'll be given ample opportunity to stock up your cupboards in time for Christmas, particularly if you enjoy a tipple around this time of year.
The same definitely went for this year's winter show, so we certainly weren't left disappointed. We started our day by racing across the Resorts World car park and through the entirety of the NEC to get there for 11am, as this is when the cookery show with Ainsley Harriott...yes, Ainsley Harriott, was scheduled to start, and we were running a little late due to poor signage (directing us to where the show was being held) in general. But alas, we got there with a good 10 minutes to spare, so we finally got to relax while we waited for the Ready Steady Cook legend to appear from the wings.
As soon as the host came on and introduced Harriott to the audience, Ainsley wasted no time in making himself known to us, walking on with a little shimmy and a wiggle of the hips, all in true Ainsley fashion. If you aren't old enough to remember Ready Steady Cook, watch an episode or two on YouTube, you won't be disappointed! I was always a red tomato gal, regardless of whether or not I liked the dish the team cooked...looking back, I think I just preferred the colour red over the colour green...oh well!
Back to the show! Ainsley was absolutely brilliant, he was whipping out innuendos left, right and centre, all without giving a hoot. Everyone was loving it, he was incredibly entertaining, as well as being a fantastic chef, cooking up a prawn dish and a 'death by chocolate' martini - which I must try and make this season!
At one point, he showed us a VT from his trip to the Carribean, complete with a school friend of his and the band they'd put together. The music was so uplifting with steel pans being prevalent throughout. Regardless of the fact Ainsley recorded the song to accompany the music for the original VT, he proceeded to sing the lyrics through the mic, as well as dancing along while mixing a bowl of food and merrily skipping (almost) around the stage. Everyone was in fits of laughter, making for one of the most highly entertaining cookery shows I've ever seen at one of these BBC Good Food shows.
Despite being the highlight of the day, once the cookery show with Ainsley had ended, it was time to focus our attention on taking in all the sights, smells, tastes and sounds of the food show. If you've never been before, this basically involves several stalls selling different types of food and drink across four days. Usually starting on a Thursday (this year being the 28th November), the festivities usually end the following Sunday (1st December this year), so there's plenty of time for you to go and check out all they have to offer.
Most stalls will allow you to try samples before making a full purchase, if they on't have any samples out already, ask them if you can give their product a try, especially if it's a more expensive item, such as wine, whiskey or gin (some of the most common, popular beverages at the event). They'll take the time to let you have a small nibble or tipple, especially if they see a potential sale.
There's something there for everyone, whether you drink alcohol or not, whether you like to eat game (pheasants, rabbit, partridge etc) or not, whether you like spicy food or not, whether you like tea or not, there will be a stall out there which caters for your every need and requirement, regardless of what they are. It's also a great opportunity to buy Christmas presents for people, either a main gift or to accompany one you already have. It also makes for a wonderful day out, as it's something you wouldn't ordinarily do, but you'd look forward to every single year.
We also went again the summer of 2019 - which I didn't blog about - which was not only the BBC Good Food Show, but the BBC Flower Show, too! I must say, the summer show was a little underwhelming in comparison, but great if you love planting flowers, for example.
However, if you're there for the food, then you may want to wait until the winter show, as the whole event revolves around the eating of delicious sausage rolls, burgers, hot dogs and sweet treats. You'll even have the chance to sample beautifully smooth wines, refreshing gins and delectable liqueurs. If you like them, you'll be given ample opportunity to stock up your cupboards in time for Christmas, particularly if you enjoy a tipple around this time of year.
The same definitely went for this year's winter show, so we certainly weren't left disappointed. We started our day by racing across the Resorts World car park and through the entirety of the NEC to get there for 11am, as this is when the cookery show with Ainsley Harriott...yes, Ainsley Harriott, was scheduled to start, and we were running a little late due to poor signage (directing us to where the show was being held) in general. But alas, we got there with a good 10 minutes to spare, so we finally got to relax while we waited for the Ready Steady Cook legend to appear from the wings.
As soon as the host came on and introduced Harriott to the audience, Ainsley wasted no time in making himself known to us, walking on with a little shimmy and a wiggle of the hips, all in true Ainsley fashion. If you aren't old enough to remember Ready Steady Cook, watch an episode or two on YouTube, you won't be disappointed! I was always a red tomato gal, regardless of whether or not I liked the dish the team cooked...looking back, I think I just preferred the colour red over the colour green...oh well!
Back to the show! Ainsley was absolutely brilliant, he was whipping out innuendos left, right and centre, all without giving a hoot. Everyone was loving it, he was incredibly entertaining, as well as being a fantastic chef, cooking up a prawn dish and a 'death by chocolate' martini - which I must try and make this season!
At one point, he showed us a VT from his trip to the Carribean, complete with a school friend of his and the band they'd put together. The music was so uplifting with steel pans being prevalent throughout. Regardless of the fact Ainsley recorded the song to accompany the music for the original VT, he proceeded to sing the lyrics through the mic, as well as dancing along while mixing a bowl of food and merrily skipping (almost) around the stage. Everyone was in fits of laughter, making for one of the most highly entertaining cookery shows I've ever seen at one of these BBC Good Food shows.
Despite being the highlight of the day, once the cookery show with Ainsley had ended, it was time to focus our attention on taking in all the sights, smells, tastes and sounds of the food show. If you've never been before, this basically involves several stalls selling different types of food and drink across four days. Usually starting on a Thursday (this year being the 28th November), the festivities usually end the following Sunday (1st December this year), so there's plenty of time for you to go and check out all they have to offer.
Most stalls will allow you to try samples before making a full purchase, if they on't have any samples out already, ask them if you can give their product a try, especially if it's a more expensive item, such as wine, whiskey or gin (some of the most common, popular beverages at the event). They'll take the time to let you have a small nibble or tipple, especially if they see a potential sale.
There's something there for everyone, whether you drink alcohol or not, whether you like to eat game (pheasants, rabbit, partridge etc) or not, whether you like spicy food or not, whether you like tea or not, there will be a stall out there which caters for your every need and requirement, regardless of what they are. It's also a great opportunity to buy Christmas presents for people, either a main gift or to accompany one you already have. It also makes for a wonderful day out, as it's something you wouldn't ordinarily do, but you'd look forward to every single year.
Ainsley Harriott Cookery Show
***
***
Tickets are on sale right now for the summer BBC Good Food Show, on from the 18th-21st June 2020. The big names in cookery still prevail, with the likes of Mary Berry, James Martin, Nadiya Hussain, Tom Kerridge, Michel Roux Jr and Barney Desmazery. If you've never been before, take a trip to Birmingham NEC and nosy around the food and flower show - you won't be disappointed!
***
WHERE TO FIND ME
PREVIOUS BLOG POST
COPYRIGHT INFORMATION
Comments
Post a Comment