Flavours of the West

Flavours of the West at Milsom Place in Bath promises a weekend of foodie treats with chef demonstrations, tastings and tutorials and a celebration of some of the best artisan food in the West Country. The two day food and drink festival on Saturday 30th June and Sunday 1st July 2012 is a great foodie event for Bath residents and visitors alike.

Top Bath chefs will stage a programme of free cookery demonstrations in The Octagon, formally a Georgian chapel. Michelin-starred Executive Chef from five star Lucknam Park Hotel Hywel Jones, who competed in the BBC’s Great British Menu last year will offer expert tips as he guides you through delicious recipes.

Other highlights include the Producers Market with the new Cake and Bake Zone starring Bath’s own WI; and exhibition by the Bath Beekeepers Association; a children’s foodie fun area and a talk on edible gardens by gardening super star John Wheatley. John Wheatley is one of the UK’s most successful garden designers who is the brains behind the extraordinary RHS edible gardens at the Hampton Court Flower Show always one of the highlights. He has designed and built five Chelsea Flower Show gold medal-winning stands and eight gold medal-winning stands at Tatton Park, in Hampton Court and the NEC. Closer to home he owns a nursery and garden design business based at Chew Valley.

Rachel Demuth, whose restaurant won the Bath Good Food Award for Best Vegetarian Restaurant, and the People's Choice Award in 2011, will be showing food fanatics how to create some of the tastiest vegetarian dishes. Rachel runs the Vegetarian Cookery School in Bath and will demonstrate delicious and uncomplicated recipes that can be enjoyed by everyone, from beginner to accomplished cook.

Duncan Glendinning is the founder of Bath's award-winning Thoughtful Bread Company who supply Bath's best foodie destinations and have their shop in Green Park Station in Bath. He appeared on BBC 2's Big Bread Experiment, has recently published “Bread Revolution” with his co-author Patrick Ryan. He will unveil the secrets of bread baking through a special demonstration showcasing the very best local and seasonal produce.

Charlie Dingley has attracted rave reviews from national newspapers for his very special brand of pub cooking. More gourmet than gastro, he uses locally sourced produce and creates the most delicious combinations of flavours with his two Bath restaurants at the King William, a traditional freehouse renowned for its real ales, and the Garrick’s Head next to the Theatre Royal.

Discovering the best food is sometimes about surprise and that is what Menu Gordon Jones has brought to his intimate restaurant on the Bear Flat which has people exploding with their fulsome praise on Trip Advisor. The tasting menu changes daily to incorporate the season’s produce cooked with great flair and imagination. Thirty year old Gordon Jones will be sharing some of his trade secrets gained through cooking in Michelin starred establishments at Flavours of the West using locally sourced produce to create the most delicious food.

Those with a sweet tooth should head for the Bake & Cake Zone. By special invitation, The Women’s Institute will be cooking up delicious cake and biscuits. The Bath WI has departed from “jam and Jerusalem” and follow the spirit of the contemporary version of the organisation of “Live, Learn and Laugh”. Other delights come courtesy of Cinnamon Toast with speciality macaroons and fondant cakes. Take home some tea to go with the cakes, perfectly blended by tea experts, the Sherston Tea Company. Frome based Yumble Crumble tells us that “a really good crumble is a wonderful thing”. They have perfected the classic crumble and also created some with a twist like “The King and I “; a classic apple crumble a hint of lemon grass in the apple plus coconut and lime zest in the crumble topping to add some sunshine.

The most famous West Country produce has to be cheese so cheddar will be leading the savory exhibits from Batch Farm near Glastonbury. Forty years of experience and herd of 260 Fresian cows make for a pretty powerful pedigree. If you like your “Ploughmans” with a punch add some chutney from the Wiltshire Chilli Farm in neary Melksham. They grow their own chillies and create tasty chilli jams and chutneys.

After cheese think cider and Ashridge Sparkling Vintage Cider from Devon is now the fashionable toast as a substitute for champagne. Jason Mitchell will be conducting a cider tasting and talk putting forward his controversial theory that the “methode champenoise” was discovered not in France but in the Forest of Deamn making sparkling perry and cider. Quoins Organic Vineyard near Bradford-on-Avon has been bottling up fine English wines since summer 2006. Local brews to watch out for come from the Box Steam Brewery and Bath Ales. Thirteen years ago Friary Liqueurs started up creating exciting new liqueur. Their experimental approach has been given due recognition with two stars for their spiced mead and one for Blackcurrant Rum and Abbott's Choice at the 2011 Great taste awards.

Sustaining the nation’s bee population is supported by organizations like the Bath Beekeepers Association. Their members will be one hand with displays of bees and homemade honey, beeswax candles and polish, honey cookies and fudge.
Often called ‘the larder of England’, the West Country has an abundance of the finest produce and a tradition of spawning innovative foodie businesses. Flavours of the West is the ideal opportunity to meet artisan food and drink makers, taste and experiment with new flavours and take some home to share with friends.