Easter Monday: Newbury Food Festival

Today I popped down to the Newbury Food Festival with Mr. B and his family - I was really pleasantly surprised at the size and success of the event. Blogging has encouraged me to support more local businesses, so I was pleased to see so many UK farms and independent retailers/suppliers getting involved.

I was also more than happy to do my bit and part with some of my hard earned cash for a few tasty treats - after all there is no point visiting a food festival if you aren't going to try anything! Here's what me and Mr. B bought:

• Pulled pork roll from the Shredded Meat Co
• Shredded beef roll from the Shredded Meat Co
• Vanilla Bean ice cream from Purbeck
• Serious Chocolate ice cream from Purbeck
• Beer from Appleford Brewery
• Poppy seed bread loaf
• Chicken and chorizo pie from Plenty

The weather was kind to us this morning, and the sun made a welcome appearance for a fair few hours. This means only one thing: ice cream. Whilst there were some funky flavours on offer including honeycomb, mint, and rum and raisin, we chose two traditional flavours as it makes it a lot easier to compare it to other ice creams on the market. There were no icy bits which is a bit of a pet peeve of mine; the consistency was smooth, rich and lovely. I would definitely that recommend you try Purbeck ice cream if you have the chance to!

My recommendations also stretch to the Shredded Meat Co which I was fortunate to stumble upon during our meander up Northbrook Street. Out of all of the vendors selling BBQ items, the smell from this stall was impossible to ignore, so obviously I had to buy one of their pulled pork rolls. Soft, flavoursome pork and a deliciously crunchy coleslaw wrapped in a bread roll - this is a combination that shouldn't be missed! If you want to treat your tastebuds, make sure to see the Shredded Meat Co at their next event.

I was also enticed into buying a few other bits to bring home, including a rustic looking poppy seed loaf, and a bottle of beer featuring the notorious Didcot power station (you either love it or hate it!). As an Oxfordshire resident myself, it would've been rude to ignore the stall operated by Appleford Brewery. I'm looking forward to tasting this beer and was also impressed by the helpful advice given to me by the vendor about how best to enjoy it.

Overall, a brilliant event! I'll definitely be heading back to Newbury for further foodie events during 2015 - here is to hoping they maintain such an excellent standard going forward.