Fab Foodie Weekend

We had a great first Fffood Swap on Saturday. A day showcasing and swapping the most amazing fresh produce, produced locally in the gardens of fab foodie’s around Gloucestershire!  Fffantastic! The yellow Courgettes were my favourite!

I met some really great people (some of you from Twitter came, thank you so much for coming by and saying hello!) and I really enjoyed showing people how to make some delicious food with my recipe demonstration!  Here’s some lovely pictures from the day if you missed it.

I also showcased some of my favourite Gluten Free products. In particular Perkier! Foods new porridge mixes,  B-Tempted foods delicious cakes and Honeybuns Bakery traybakes. We also included some in our giveaway hamper, the proceeds of which went to the Stroud Food Bank.

I picked up some apples and have my eye on making some of my Toffee Apple Pockets with some new Warburton’s new gluten free croissants!

If you’re interested in the recipes and recipe demonstrations that I did at the show, I'll be posting them up in the next few days so stay tuned!  

I also met the lovely lady, Naomi who's behind the Heavenly Pies and Puddings company - Great gluten free pies and pastry... Oh my goodness, heavenly, my Mum and I ate the roasted vegetable one and it was the best pastry I've tasted that's gluten free. Heavenly Pies sell at Stroud Farmers market so definitely worth hunting down!

I feely really lucky to live in an area where fresh and local produce is so readily available, and neighbours generously donate their produce to other's.  People here really appreciate where their food comes form here and continue to champion local producers and makers and to encourage people to buy local where it's possible. It makes such a difference.

 © Matt Bigwood Photography www.matthewbigwood.co.uk www.flickr.com/photos/mattbigwood/

And can you believe that not one penny exchanged hands in return for these goods - yes, swapping, it's the new shopping!  I'm telling you! :)

Big thanks to the Fffood Swap Team who worked magic behind the scenes to make this fantastic event come to fruition!  Well done everyone.

Also a big thank you to other food producers who donated to the Hamper including Tilda Rice and The Artisan Kitchen Preserves.  See you soon for more foodie fun!

Fffood Swap

Who likes food?  Put your hand up.

Ok, cool! I see you!  Now, who wants to swap some food?

Yes, 'swap', not buy - no small change necessary.  Intrigued?

Well, if you are, come on down and see what a fantastic local community foodie Fffood Swap is all about!  There'll also be lots more foodie fun and fodder for you, including a gluten free food demonstration from me where I'll be showing you how to make a delicious Lemon and Lavender Cake and some Summer Bircher Muesli with Perkier gluten free porridge mixes.

And if you have any produce from your garden, come and swap some for another person's carrots (or brocolli, or fruit and berries)  but even if you don't have your own home grown fruit and veggies, come on down anyway as we'll also be swapping old cookbooks, utensils and things you have in your kitchen that you don't use anymore.  Yes folks, this is modern recycling and reusing at it's best!  Just come along, it'll be heaps of fun.

All this is taking place on Saturday 31st August 2013 from 2pm - 4pm at the Subscription Rooms, Nailsworth, Gloucestershire.  I'd love to see you there!

They'll be tea and cake served by The Canteen of Nailsworth too! Yum!

So what's food swapping all about?

Throughout history food has been swapped and traded yet in our busy lifestyles sharing over the garden fence seems to have dwindled and reliance on fast and convenience foods has grown.

The aim of the swap is to bring like-minded people together, reduce waste and save people money. With the origin of our food being questioned in the press lately, people are more keen than ever to know where their food actually comes from, so, what better way than to meet with the growers and producers face to face over a cup of tea and a cake down at a village hall.

Domonic White, founder of ‘FFfood!’ says, “We wanted to hold the event at a time when there is real glut of food, people harvesting from their allotments and baking for their children during the summer holidays. We are hoping it will be a fun, social event that brings the community together, creates a buzz around home produce and that it becomes a regular event in everyone’s calendar”.

The swap encourages people to trade home-made, home-grown, and seasonal produce with each other. Swappers will have the option to put their wares out on a display table or simply mingle with other swappers as they walk around.

A few commercial stalls will showcase local food and drink suppliers who share the same ethos as FFfood! If you are interested in having stall, please contact jemma@suscito.co.uk immediately.

So come along to the  ‘FFfood! Swap’ on Saturday, it's FREE!  Or for further information on swapping you can contact me or the team on FFfoodSwap@suscito.co.uk  // www.FFfood.co.uk

You can also WIN a fantastic foodie hamper - see the Facebook page for more info www.facebook.com/FFfood  or follow on Twitter @fffood_