Local Treats at the Abingdon Food & Drink Festival

This weekend has been all about good food - the highlight being today at the Abingdon Food and Drink Festival. Organised by the Abingdon Rotary Club, the event was held at the Miele Experience Centre - both inside the building and in the grounds. For an entry price of £2, there was no way that I was going to miss out on a local event that has 'food' in the title.

Mr B and I headed over at about noon, hoping to find something to eat for lunch. We weren't disappointed when we stumbled upon The Wandering Kitchen, a pop up restaurant that covers the Oxfordshire and Berkshire area.

We ordered one burger and one ribeye steak roll - they were the perfect choice for a surprisingly warm and sunny day! In fact, the pop up restaurant was performing so well that they actually ran out of rolls; luckily we arrived in time and definitely enjoyed the flavoursome meat and juicy relish.

However it was getting pretty hot sat out in the sunshine, so we polished off our meals and headed to a couple of the beer and cider stalls. Tutts Clump Cider was the first stall on the list, and Tim offered us a sample of the sweet cider - I thought it was delicious and refreshing so I bought a bottle to bring home with me.

Mr B is more into beer than cider, so we popped over to see the guys at the bar, which was selling a range of Loose Cannon beers. We are already pretty familiar with Abingdon Bridge, so we chose Ock St Ale (a monthly beer) which was a drink to savour, and not to chug! It had a flavour similar to Abingdon Bridge but a little less strong - very nice if you take the time to enjoy it.

We also paid a visit to the Blue Beer Company, a stall selling Chateau Neubourg pilsner from Gulpener (a family brewery in the Netherlands). This is definitely my kind of drink; really easy to drink and so satisfying when it is served cold. The beer is not pasteurised, which means that the taste and flavour is prominent in every sip.

It would have been a waste to go to the food festival without making the most of what was on offer, so we also bought tickets to one of the chef demonstrations. For £3, we had a front row seat watching Andrew Scott cook two amazing meals.

Andrew Scott is currently working at Restaurant 56 (at the Sudbury House Hotel in Faringdon) - prior to that he worked at Curlew in East Sussex where he won a Michelin star. That's why I was keen to watch a great chef up close, which is so much more interactive than watching a programme on the TV.

Andrew Scott first cooked Whelford Wood Pigeon and Foie Gras, Turnip, Chicory Jam, Pickled Walnut and Orange. The presentation of the dish was amazing; I really need to learn some of these techniques for myself... After the first meal, he whipped together New Caledonia Prawn Tartare, Avocado, Preserved Lemon and Sesame, and Sorrel Cream. Again, the dish looked brilliant and I would love to head to the restaurant soon to taste a couple of the dishes.

We polished off the food festival experience with a whippy ice cream from the van. Just because it was sunny!

Now I'm looking forward to tasting the beer and cider again in the comfort of my home, and I'm also hoping that the food festival returns next year even bigger and better. However the Rotary Club can be pleased with their efforts as the proceeds from the event will be shared between SeeSaw and other local charities.