Sunday 2 December 2007

A Day At The Good Food Show



Well, my Sunday was not quite as adventurous. However, there was still an early start and lots'n'lots of walking around the halls of the Good Food Show.

The day started off with picking up my parents, my nephew and my sister at 8:00am and then driving the 70 miles to the NEC in Birmingham, England. The motorway (freeway) wasn't to busy except for the torrential downpour of rain that followed us all the way.

We finally arrived at the NEC, parked the car and walked into the Arena. It was gigantic. As far as the eye could see there were stands promoting and selling everything imaginable related to the kitchen. Lots and lots of food and drink to taste, along with countless kitchen utensils and gadgets.

Along the way, there were celebrity chefs presenting their showcases and entertaining the crowds. Some of the chefs that I bumped into were:

Gordon Ramsey from TV's Hell's Kitchen




(For those of you who may not recognise Gordon Ramsey, here is a clip from his USA version of Hell's Kitchen)



I also met Jimmy Doherty from Jimmy's Farm. He kindly autographed a copy of his book "A Taste Of The Country" for me. I'll be sure to post my attempt at one of his "English Country" recipes here in the next few weeks.



I sampled a fine dish cooked by the Hairy Bikers



As well as trying Leroy Root's famous Reggae Reggae Sauce




After walking, what felt like a hundred miles, and sampling what must have been a million calories of food and drink, it was 5:00pm and time to leave the show to drive home. I must confess that I had to loosen my belt and adjust my seat slightly before getting in the car. At this point I can't imagine eating another thing for several months (well, perhaps several hours).

So here ends my latest Sunday adventure.

Until next time......

Cheerio for now

Graham xx

21 comments:

Sue said...

I heart Gordon Ramsay! We get BBCA here, and I've been addicted to the show "Kitchen Nightmares". It's a side of Mr. Ramsay I quite enjoy watching. He's human after all.

Michelle said...

sounds like you had fun. Great job

AZZITIZZ said...

Hey, you were up t'North near me!
I didn't even know that show was on?

Last time I was at the Birmingham NEC it was to see......
........wait for it....
.........The Tweenies!!
Bet you all had a fantastic day.

I spent my day (if you pardon the expression!) playing about with my widgets.

;)

no more said...

the hairy bikers needed a pontytail or SOMETHING! lol Looks like it was fun, food sampling always is although I could never have done that. I can't eat and walk, at least not eat a lot and walk around or i get miserable. Was chef ramsey dropping the F bomb or does he only do that for prime time? ;-)

Graham Ettridge said...

Hey Sue. Yes he is human after all! LOL! Kitchen Nightmares is such a cool programme too. I love watching it.

Kasper, thanks! I had a great but exhausting time.

Azzitizz, Yes I was up t'North...lol! OMG "The Tweenies!"...LOL! I'm sure they were equally as fun ;) I hope you are having fun with your widgets :)

Muse, I think were were all ready to drop by the end of it. It was a fun day nevertheless! And the food and drink were wonderful :). I am sure Gordon dropped an 'F' word or two...lol!

no more said...

How was that reggea sauce? Curious how they had people tasting it...as a dip?

I had a food experiment this evening (see my blog). Obviously no inventive cooking idea but it turned out pretty good. Thank god, sometimes my cooking experiments go horribly awry

meleah rebeccah said...

I am IN LOVE with Gordon.

The hairy bikers...not so much!

Elise said...

Damn I knew I should have gone to the NEC! The Hary Bikers look like they know good tasty food. I would have loved to have tried some of their food.

Ahh Leroy has come so far after being on Dragon's Den. I bought his Reggae Reggae Sauce from a supermarket a while ago... I'm loving it!

Daszzle said...

That sounds awesome! Goat and Carebear LOVE food samples... just LOVE 'EM. I always feel like such a piggy, but they can be delicious ;). I'm glad you had sucha good time. What a great and creative way to spend a weekend day. Ooh by the way, I have an award awaiting you on my site. Definitely let me know if you have any trouble picking it up (it's self-designed and therefore prone to technical problems haha).

Max Coutinho said...

Hey Graham,

It seemed quite adventurous to me lol! Oh my God, I can imagine all that food...I would, literally, be nauseous for a whole week *nodding*!

Now, I am convinced that you are indeed a food lover :)!

Cheers

Anonymous said...

I love Gordon Ramsay! His new show, Kitchen Nightmares, is hilarious. And his vocabulary... lots of beeps, trust me! :D

Must have been fun to sample all the dishes. I'm hungry now!

Basically, you're the perfect guy, right? You have a nice house, you cook, you're interested in cuisine... girls, make your bid! ;)

Cocaine Princess said...

Hello my sweet English Friend,

Sounds like you had a fun filled day. I've seen Gordon on TV a few times and OMG he's a hot-head! Anyways I hope you are well and do keep in touch.
XOXOXOXO,
Cocaine Princess

Anonymous said...

What an interesting Sunday afternoon. And, how was the food?

Graham Ettridge said...

Hey Muse :) The Reggea Reggea sauce was scrummy :). I'm going to get some from the supermarket. Your food experiment is ingenious! I'm definitely going to give it a go! Can't wait for your challenge recipe too.

Meleah Rebeccah, Gordon Ramsey is a great guy and almost as good a cook as me ;) The hairy bikers may look a little scruffy but they are fabulous cooks. I tasted ha dthe opportunity of tasting the food that they were cooking when I took the photo... YUMMY!!!!

Graham Ettridge said...

Elise, you should have gone. It was crazy busy but nevertheless a fantastic day. The show is returning to the NEC in June - you absolutely must go then :)

Daszzle, I love food shows too. Any excuse to stuff my face and see some celebs!!!!

Max, a few days later and I'm still not hungry...lol! I ate far too much when I was there, but enjoyed every mouthful!

Graham Ettridge said...

Zhu, the best thing about English TV, they don't bleep out the swearing - fun to watch lol!

With regards to being a "perfect guy", I wish I was...

Graham Ettridge said...

Hey Cocaine Princess ~ Thanks for your comments. I wish you well too ;)

Kris, the food was wonderful. So much variety and so many interesting people. The best thing about the show was how many local farmers were there to promote their vegetables and meats. It is nice to see that the big name stores hhaven't destroyed them all yet.

Haylzc5 said...

I have been tagged today by Elise to do an interesting challenge, see my blog for details!

Hayley x

meleah rebeccah said...

Ill take your word for it!

linda said...

I have only read about Gordon Ramsay but he is going to be on tv here over the Christmas break so I shall allow myself to be amused.

I went to the most fabulous antique fair at that NEC thing in 1994. I always regret not buying the set of four speckled bakelite egg cups in their original box. I was indecisive.

However I made up for it at the Newark antique fair which gobbled up all my money.

You must have been so full at the end of the day.

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