Real Food Festival

A good few days have passed, and I'm still reeling from the experience.
Described by its promoters as being Britain's biggest producer's market all under one roof, the Real Food Festival at Earls Court proved to be a very good show.

Making sure we arrive early – before the doors open, in fact – we manage to get round fairly easily before the major crowds begin to swell.

On entering, we are greeted by two adorable little pigs in a pen, which are there to remind us that 'pigs are worth it' and we should support our British pig farmer.
Supporting your 'local' producer is very much the theme of this show. It's not just about eating amazing food, but it dutifully urges us to appreciate the small people out there, who have a lot of pride and care in what they do.
This is certainly evident, as everyone we meet and speak to, are enthusiastic and passionate about their produce.

Sampling is definitely the order of the day and it's getting difficult to refuse all those little morsels. We are being offered everything from cheese to chocolate, bread to sausage, pickles… chutneys… jam… coffee and tea… beer… wine… spirits… It's all very good, but our palates start to feel a little tired, and there's only so much you can nibble on before you start to feel queasy!

Plus, it makes us feel guilty, when there is no way we can buy everything, but as many of the producers have online shops it is worth taking note for a later date.

We sit to digest and deliberate over coffee, as to what will be best to buy and go on a tour again to make our purchases. These I will go into in more detail, in later posts, when we've tested them more thoroughly.
After five enjoyable hours, we go home with bags stuffed full of goodies waiting to be tried and leaflets to be read.

Just one thing – what was with all that sawdust on the floor? Yes, it played the part of rustic shops and markets very well, but made our shoes exceedingly dusty. Not a good look on the train on the way home!