Incredibly fortunately for me Cornwall has a food festival on today. Not a “run-of-the-mill” one but the GREAT Cornwall Food Festival. And great it was.
Part of this trip for me to capture and talk to people about the currency of food.
Later this year I am presenting at a famous festival and want to have enough of a handle on it to bring to words and imagery that I can convince people to what I already believe.
It’s not just foods nutrient value that makes us healthy, it is the intent, the story, what the sun was doing and more.
Food has its own currency!
So I am filming, talking, writing.
It will no doubt, form the basis of a book to be written in the next 2 years.
I was privilege to chat with so many passionate foodies and all with wonderful philosophies and produce.
A few local farmers understanding that people don’t like to travel to food anymore (hence why supermarkets have been cleaning up the food supply) so are offering home deliveries. Good move people!
Emma helps her family run their vineyard down on the peninsula called Polgoon. Pol meaning pond and goon meaning down the hill. She said their are lots of little ponds dotted along their hilly property.
They make a couple of fruity ciders, the Grumpy Apple being delicious and the others all good too. But I am most intrigued with their wines. Because the climate isn’t a fantastic wine growing region they have to use a few blends to stable the wines. Grape blends I have never heard of such as Rondo and Seyval. I enjoyed them all but settled on the Rose. A beautiful drop and I am looking forward to visiting the vineyard and orchard next trip. Check out their website here.
Hunting used to be a popular sport in Europe but I gather it has received mixed complaints, as now you need an exemption license to hunt and shot.
I am not sure exactly but I do know that Chris from @venisonandgame has it sorted. He shoots all sorts of animals and creates amazing food with them.
Today he was making a few dishes at the festival but the one that caught my eye was the venison tartifilette. Local potatoes, venison, shallots, onions and camberbet cheese. Absolutely delicious!
There were other boutique foods such as Cornish flavoured salts (all sorts of yummy flavours – porcini mushrooms, pepper and pomergranate to name a few), edible insects, ice creams, cheeses, honeys, chutneys and MORE!
I had a long chat with Keith who has his own mead distellery. Mead is wine made from honey and is sweet but delicious. He had a few varieties on offer and of course sampling them all is essential.
Bees are so important around the world and each making their own honey is a process I admire.
The hipster lads at 32south distillery are all over the modern day marketing with a huge insta account and great gins to match.
And my favourite was talking to Hilary who , with many of her keen friends, want to demonstrate to children that food is everywhere and doesn’t come from packets.
EXACTLY! I think as i listen to her tell me about the hedgeways (which reap all sorts of fruit and even hazelnuts), the paddocks and crops. This is what I love about food. And I also believe it is OUR responsibility as nutritionists, parents and custodians of future generations to show kids, to excite kids, where it all comes from. Food is the currency of love and life and yes, it is all around us!