An Olympic Diet: Part Two

The first action of the London 2012 Olympic Games was the Woman’s Football, and the first game kicked off at 4pm yesterday at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. We were there for both matches: Team GB beating New Zealand 1-0 and Brazil beating Cameroon 5-0. The football played by the Brazilians was a joy to watch. There was a great atmosphere, and I could go on about all the positive things that happened. Unfortunately though, this is a Food Blog.

At the bar, the prominent taps were dispensing Olympic-sponsor beer products. So, looking for something to drink, we spotted some taps at the end labelled generically “ale” and “cider.” As non-sponsor products cannot be identified by name, lest it be deemed advertising, this seemed hopeful. We anticipated a pint of Brains, the beer that usually flows from these taps, produced by the brewery that is just a stones-throw from the Millennium Stadium. However, it was not to be. “Ale” is John Smiths (£4.10 pint) and “cider” is Strongbow (this will be the case at all Olympic venues). Alcoholic drinks could only be consumed in the bar area and not taken to the seats.

At the food outlet, things were dominated by Olympic-sponsor soft drink products. On the food menu where bacon baguette (£5.50), Steak pie, Cheese and onion pasty, noodles, soup, sandwiches, hot or cold wraps, crisps, sweets and Olympic-sponsor chocolates. Most of the food was in the £4 to £6 range.

There were big queues for the food between the two games. By the time we approached the food outlet at half-time of the second game, all the food had sold out. People were buying small tubs of official-sponsor crisps (£2) and sweets to keep them going.

So, it was a fantastic sporting event that was thoroughly enjoyed by all the family. The staff and stewards at the Millennium Stadium were very polite, helpful and efficient. However, the food and drink on offer was a little disappointing.

Meanwhile, local businesses in the vicinity of the Stadium who tried to benefit from any Olympic association were pulled up by Locog’s “Brand Police”, a continuation of the heavy-handed treatment of independent cafes and sandwich bars seen during the Torch Relay. Taste on the High Street, for instance, had to change the name of one of their sandwiches. Even Michael Payne, a former marketing director at the International Olympic Committee, has said over-zealous enforcement of brand protection risks damaging the Games image (see link below).

The tickets come with the written promise: “There’s a variety of healthy and tasty food for you inside the venue.” This covers all the venues and in particular the main London venues. Cardiff has whetted our appetite for our next Olympics experience, which will be in London. Will this prove more of a positive showcase for British food and drink products? We’ll see!

An Olympic Diet: Part One:

http://sfnottingham.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/olympic-diet-part-one.html

Independent article on Olympic brand-protection:

http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/olympics/news/father-of-olympic-branding-my-rules-are-being-abused-7962593.html

Taste, Cardiff:

http://sfnottingham.blogspot.co.uk/2012/01/taste-cardiff.html

Cardiff International Food Festival 2012

This year’s Cardiff International Food Festival (6-8 July) was one of the best yet. Around 100 exhibitors attended, with stalls in Roald Dahl Plaza, in front of the Pierhead Building, and along toward the Norwegian Church in Cardiff Bay. The food available ranged from Welsh venison burgers and Glamorgan Vale hog roast to French-style crepes and a Taste of Persia.

There was a strong programme of events in the John Lewis Food Theatre. Highlights included Chef Anand George, owner of Purple Poppadom, cooking up some nouvelle Indian dishes from the celebrated restaurant’s new menu; Norman Musa demonstrating Malaysian dishes; and Angela Gray showcasing the afternoon tea menu at Llanerch Vineyard.

Chef Richard Yearnshire demonstrated some items from the Tempus at Tides menu (St David’s Hotel): Baked cod fillet and sweet chilli crust, pea and mint risotto, followed by Tiramisu. Samples were snapped up smartly by the audience.

Three dishes from the Laguna Kitchen in Park Plaza Cardiff were demonstrated by Chef Justin Llewellyn. His Bruschetta included heritage tomatoes, chorizo sausage, mozzarella balls and sourdough bread. Justin extolled the virtues of Welsh rapeseed oil, which was used liberally instead of olive oil (it has half the saturated fat of olive oil and is rich in 3-omega). Tuna Niçoise was made with seared but practically raw sushi-grade tuna, Jersey Royal potatoes, quail eggs in breadcrumbs, anchovies, black olives, green beans, samphire and rocket cress. At Lugana, this dish is served on a slate with a wedge of lime.

There seemed to be a lack of coordination between the different chefs. On Saturday, for instance, three different versions of Eton Mess were made. My favourite was by Jane, the John Lewis chef, whose version was made using rhubarb.

Apart from Eton Mess, what’s in this year? Well, anything that’s gluten-free it seems. I have never before seen such a concentration of food businesses promoting gluten-free ranges.

I liked the central positioning of the music bandstand this year. Pick of the cats for me were Zervas and Pepper, excellent as always, and Funhouse, who had their audience dancing in the rain with their infectious ska music.

The Cardiff International Food & Drink Festival is part of the wider Cardiff Festival. Still to come is The Harbour Festival (31 Aug – 2 Sept) on the same site, which features The British Fishcraft Championships (which may partly explain the very few fish and seafood exhibitors at the Food Festival).

Considered on its own, The Cardiff International Food & Drink Festival is not a Premier League event, such as Abergavenny or Cowbridge, but it has firmly established itself as an essential date in the calendar and it gets a little bit better each year.

Cardiff Festival:

http://www.cardiff

Summer Country Fair and Food Festival, Fonmon Castle

The weekend (June 30/July 1) saw the first Summer Country Fair and Food Festival at Fonmon Castle, in the Vale of Glamorgan. We went along before the crowds to see what was on offer (admission £6).

Fonmon Castle is one of the few mediaeval castles still lived in as a home, according to their brochure. It’s a homely sort of place, with Georgian interiors and pretty gardens, and a popular location for weddings. The Library was the location for the chef demonstrations.

We went to see Mr G (aka George Ikamba), owner and one of the cooks at Mr G’s Soul Kitchen in Bute Street, cook his Jamaican Jerk Chicken. His restaurant specializes in Caribbean cuisine; Jerk Chicken is one of their most popular dishes. Mr G put on some Bob Marley and got down to business. His Jerk Chicken marinade contains spring onions, red onion, pimento berries (allspice), ginger, bay leaf, thyme, ground nutmeg, a red scotch bonnet chilli (with seeds), salt and pepper, juice squeezed from a lime, orange juice, dark soy sauce, vegetable oil and rum. (A recipe was given in a recent newspaper article - see link below). All the ingredients are blended, before pouring over chicken legs as a marinade. The secret here is to peel the skin back and make deep incisions into the meat, massage the marinade into the chicken, and fold the skin back into place. Mr G had some chicken that had marinaded for 24 hours, which he fried up for us. It was the spiciest and most succulent jerk chicken I’ve ever tasted. The jerk sauce can also be used on other meats, fish and vegetables.

In another chef demonstration, Mint and Mustard were showcasing one of their fish curries (we’ll catch up with Mint and Mustard in a future post). There were also wine tastings, and presentations on cider and tea.

Cream teas were being served at the castle; we had coffee with slices of cake. We also took a pleasant walk around the gardens, including the extensive kitchen garden.

There were two marquees devoted to food and drink in the large field (also the site of The Vale of Glamorgan Show later in the year), along with a range of stand-alone stalls and vans, a “Champagne marquee” with live music, and a craft fair marquee.

We bought cheese from three different stalls. From Caws Cenarth: Cennin Cenarth (made with leeks and white wine), Caws Cryf, and Golden Caws; the latter a semi-soft cheese that we will bake. Snowdonia Cheese had an interesting range of flavours, including mild cheddar with chocolate chips. The milk chocolate had a similar texture to the creamy cheese, but I remain to be convinced on this one. I bought one of my favourites from Snowdonia instead: Smoked Cheddar. Another stall was selling two very distinctive cheddars from nearby dairies in Somerset, both of which have been making cheddar for at least 100 years. Worthy Farm Mature Cheddar (Shepton Mallet) was rich and smooth, though we opted for the harder and stronger Green’s Organic Cheddar (from near Glastonbury).

Vegetarians were well served at this Food Festival. The Ethical Chef was cooking up halloumi, mushrooms and courgettes for burgers. Meanwhile, we stocked up for a couple of dinners at The Parsnipship: Thai Chickpea Cake; Glamorgan Crumble; Beetroot, Sesame Seed and Cumin Bombe; Brie, Pea, Lemon and Nettle Pasty Pie; and Roasted Butternut and Herb Polenta.

Next door to The Parsnipship was food of a very different complexion. Chipstix are a new catering van concept, whereby potatoes are cut into spirals in a special machine, spread along a stick and seasoned with one of a range of flavours from a jar, and then deep-fried. Hot, but cooling quickly, and somewhat gimmicky. The Gloucestershire-based company is looking to expand, with their Chinese-imported Caterpods™ expected to be at many festivals this summer. The company is looking for operators. They boast “huge gross profit potential,” not surprising as one medium-sized potato can be sold for up to £3 (£2.50 at this show).

There were three small breweries among the stallholders. A pint of draught Gold Beacons from Brecon Brewing slipped down nicely; a bitter for those who like their bitter bitter. Untapped and Vale of Glamorgan Brewery were also selling their bottled ales.

There was some fine-looking meat from Penlan Uchaf Gardens in Pembrokeshire, where Longhorn cattle graze. Eric Smith the butcher from Llantwit Major was selling home-made sausages in front of his distinctive grass-covered van (the grass is artificial, by the way, though the sausages are the real deal).

The full range of exhibitors can be found on the Welsh Country Fairs website. We bought some sourdough bread from Tortoise Bakery and went home to eat some bread-and-cheese.

The Food Festival calendar in South Wales is fairly crowded, but most events are in the late summer/autumn. Welsh Country Fair organizer Kim Dowdell has opted for an early summer gap in the market, while giving the non-food Country Fair elements (e.g., fashion, jewellery, wood and glass crafts, live music etc) equal billing. However, the food is definitely the main draw at this event. As we were leaving, the cars were queuing back across the bridge to get in. It looked like a big success for Fonmon Castle. With plenty of room to expand in the large field near the castle, I am sure this is an event that we’ll be seeing here again.

Selected links:

Welsh Country Fairs:

http://www.welshcountryfairs.co.uk

Fonmon Castle, Barry CF62 3ZN (01446 710206)

Mr G’s Soul Kitchen, 106 Bute Street, Cardiff Bay CF10 5AD (029 2132 8969):

http://www.mrgs-soulkitchen.co.uk

Mr G’s Jerk Chicken recipe:

http://www.walesonline.co.uk/showbiz-and-lifestyle/food-in-wales/eating-in/2012/04/28/recipes-from-mr-g-s-soul-kitchen-91466-30855925/

Caws Cenarth Cheese:

http://www.cawscenarth.co.uk/

Chipstix:

http://www.lovechipstix.com

Brecon Brewing:

http://www.breconbrewing.co.uk