The Fantastic Taste of the Teign Food Festival - 19-25 Sept 2016

We had the really enjoyable opening do for the Taste of the Teign Festival yesterday evening in Teignmouth at the Fish Quay.  The BBC Spotlight team were there and many members of Teignbridge Council, Teignmouth Council as well as the organisers, photographers and members of the public.  The atmosphere was really good and the Newquay Pub joined in wholeheartedly.  It was a good way to spend the late afternoon.  Friends, visitors, and foodies alike all had a good experience.

The 'Girl Rhona' boat landed many tons of sprats at 430 and the whole crowd watched them being unloaded.  I'm sure the men weren't used to such an audience! Most of the sprats get exported - what a shame that we don't use them more in the UK.

We all enjoyed a tasty and seriously fresh sprat barbeque with fresh lemon wedges and various
Shute Fruit pickles and hot dogs from Westaways and the East Cliff Cafe.   The sprats I had were totally delicious.

 There were also tasters provided of crazy milkshakes, summer fruit and ice cream from our lovely local ice cream parlour, Cherry on the Top, 

and there were tasters of much-needed and refreshing elderflower cordial from Shute Fruit.

There are many other tasty events being held this week with Taste of the Teign.

Personally, I'm going to watch the classic film Guess Who's Coming to Dinner today at 2:30 at Teignmouth Pavillions; then I'm going to see the Kitchen Cart Cookery Demo, Thurs at 10am in Teignmouth triangle, then I'm going to enjoy the Fry Up Friday at 10am at Westaways, Newton Abbot on Friday, I'm going to take my children along to Shakes, Flakes and Double Takes at Cherry on the Top, Teignmouth on Fri at 5, and then I'm going to visit the extended Farmer's Market, the craft market and see the blessing of the boats on Saturday.  All these events are free of charge (apart from the film!).

Whooh, I'm going to have a foodie overload - but I'm looking forward to it!

Nourish Festival at Bovey Tracey September 2016

I think this Nourish Food and Art fair, Bovey Tracey was popular for a couple of reasons - the main one being that the craft fair held in the town in June is really high quality, and this is hosted by the same organisers.  So it was a good indicator of a high standard, plus the event would be well organised and fun to attend.

It was really busy - the main street had all the food and drink stalls and the art/craft was in the methodist hall.

Considering the weather was showery and looked a bit damp and grey, there were as many members of the public there as I would have expected on a sunny day.  It was actually quite difficult to get at many of the stalls as there were so many people looking (and hopefully buying) the attractive wares on offer.

I bought my Vietnamese Pho lunch from the lovely people at The Teign Canteen:

 I ate it quickly when I got home - it was delicious - nice and umami with a fresh lime wedge.  Plenty of chicken, noodles and broth - all served in an eco-friendly recyclable pot.

 I also bought a lemon-scented geranium - a Pelargonium Cy's Sunburst (pictured above - the yellowy one on the far left.) from the nice man from Laurel Farm Herbs (Whiddon Down).  This has yellow, crinkly, variegated leaves and can be used in salads.  Sounds good.

 Outside the Methodist Hall, where the crafts were, Hay Mambo coffee stall seemed to be getting in a few orders!

 I spent over an hour at the festival (at least 40 minutes admiring the food, 20 minutes at the Methodist Hall looking at the crafts).  Plus a quick 20 minute visit to Devon Guild to see their latest exhibition. I would have spent longer at the festival if the sun was shining.  A band was playing which added to the atmosphere, but I didn't linger.