The BBC Good Food Show

No recipe today I'm afraid. I thought I'd tell you about my great day out on Saturday instead. The lovely people from Forever Better invited me to join them for the BBC Summer Good Food Show last week. Of course that was an offer which I just couldn't refuse and so I got up at 6.00am last Saturday to get on a train to the NEC arena in Birmingham.

I arrived in good time to meet up with the Forever Better staff and fellow food bloggers, Anne, Celine, Jan, Jules, Naomi, Nic and Sunita. We began the day with watching Simon Rimmer give a cooking demonstration in the summer theatre, after which we had a drink in the VIP cafe (where some of us took the opportunity to take a few snaps of Simon Rimmer, Gino D'Acampo and the Hairy Bikers as you can see on the other blogs) followed by lunch in one of the NEC cafes.























With our bellies full we then had quite a bit of time to explore the stalls and see what wares the various exhibitors had on offer. There was everything from cheese to bread, deli food, cereals, specialist oils, tea and coffee, sweets, cakes, vegetables, cold meats, wine, whiskey and vodka to cookware, cookbooks and magazines. Of course most of the stalls had free taste samples of which we made the most.

We all met back up as a group for an introduction to a range of fantastic Miele appliances, which left me wanting a new fridge, a new cooker and a steam oven. Shame I live in a rented flat with a landlord-special type kitchen, which has got neither enough room nore the flair to do any of them justice. I'll just have to continue to dream and want for now, I guess.























The main event for us was the Miele Cookery Experience, where we got to participate (think Ready, Steady, Cook or Can't Cook, Won't Cook, even though of course all of us can and will cook) in a cooking demonstration by Sophie Michell. That was a bit nerve wracking I have to admit, as it was in front of an audience which I hadn't really considered. Once we started though it was good fun, especially as Sophie and her helpers took us through cooking Thai inspired Steamed Lemon Sole stuffed with Crab Meat on a bed of Green Mango Salad, accompanied by Steamed Scallops. I'm usually not that great cooking seafood, but was really impressed with the result, which of course we got to eat afterwards. That made me want a Miele Steam Oven even more.























And this is what happens when you eat with food bloggers. Everyone has to take a picture of the finished plate before they dig in.