Lots of local food and drink producers offer “activities” of all kinds in addition to making super products.
You can adopt a vine or share an apple crop, go on a bread making course, learn about cheese making, tour a cider mill or a farm, take an Indian cookery course, find out more about orchards, tour a vineyard and so on.
We have a number of ideas in our Producers Index on our website which could provide you with the answer.
And if nothing satisfies, why not come into Ledbury and put together a gift of local food – there are even shops selling boxes for you to present it all in.
Two events for you at the Master’s House, St Katherine’s, Ledbury
Where do we go from here with food and farming?
Rob Elliott and Sally Dean ask this question in the third of their talk/discussion series on Monday 16th November at 7pm.
Don’t worry if you missed the others in this series as there will be plenty to interest in this session.
Rob says, “We will discuss the options we have today regarding our future health and food security, looking also at how those options might address the problems of environmental degradation, human misery and the general ecological health of our planet. Where do we go from here with regard to food and farming? Can we continue to feed a growing population? What about the obesity crisis? Or indeed poverty and hunger?
We will look at these issues through the eyes of some of today’s new pioneers, including one of our very own back-to-nature (and “back to the future”) farmers, Simon Cutter of Model Farm near Ross-on-Wye, who will give us a brief but inspiring overview of how and why he farms in a genuinely sustainable way.”
Not to be missed, tickets costing £6 can be purchased in advance at Ledbury Library, and will be available on the night. Your ticket includes light refreshments and a very local drink.
This event is organised by Ledbury Library Development Association in association with Ledbury Food Group.
Grass-fed cattle at Lower Hope, Ullingwick
Feast at the Master’s Table
Eat, drink, be merry and entertained at a splendid meal of local food in the glorious medieval setting of Ledbury’s Master’s House.
The Friends of the Master’s House invite you to join them, and the Master, on Saturday 21st November for an evening of food and entertainment starting from 7pm.
A three course meal of seasonal local specialities will be provided from the pop up kitchen manned by Belinda Sparey’s team from “The Best of Taste”.
Various musical and other divertissements will be provided to entertain you, and period costume is optional.
Tickets are now on sale at Ledbury Library for this special event at £30 – numbers are limited and tickets must be bought in advance. Drinks will be available at the event.
This event – which could become an annual occasion – is organised as part of an ongoing programme of events at the recently restored and revived Master’s House.
For a different day out, what about a day making cheese?
Monkland Cheese Dairy near Leominster offers a cheese making experience day, and I was lucky to be bought one as a birthday present.
The day starts with a full health and safety check when the budding cheese makers – we were five – are kitted out appropriately – huge rubber aprons, hairnets and wellies – and reminded of hygiene practices to follow through the day.
Into the dairy, we find that the main vat is already full with over 500 litres of freshly delivered milk quietly warming up. Another vat with nearly 200 litres of milk is warming nearby. To both a bacterial starter culture has been added to create lactic acid which helps to build the cheese. When the milk reaches a temperature of about 30ºC the magic begins. A small quantity of rennet – an enzyme – is stirred in to the milk. The warm bacterial soup now divides with the help of stirring into curds, which will be used to make the cheese, and into whey, a sweet tasting transparent liquid.
At this stage we found that the process varies depending on what kind of cheese the maker wants e.g. hard or soft. For soft cheeses, the curds are separated from the whey once a suitable cure has been obtained, and packed into moulds (full of holes) in which the curd cheese solidifies and whey drains off. For hard cheeses, the apprentice cheese makers were found all kinds of manual tasks to help make the cheese – stirring the curds and whey, cutting up the curds into squares after the whey had been run off (called cheddaring), testing the acidity of the lactic acid, and milling down the curd before adding salt. Through these processes we noticed how the curd changed in terms of solidity, structure and taste.
Finally it was time to form the hard cheeses, filling plastic moulds with the curds, and allowing them to firm up, before placing them in presses.
This is just day 1 of the life of a cheese. It now has to mature during which the various components of the cheese including fat, protein, bacteria (yeasts) and salt conspire together to develop its taste. In the gaps in the making process, we were encouraged to help with turning cheeses in the cheese store, and putting holes into cheeses to encourage the growth of blue cheese. It’s fascinating to think that in most food production areas presence of bacteria would be a disaster – not so in a cheese dairy.
We experienced a few things that you don’t appreciate when you eat a craft cheese – the amount of work in the cheese dairy that is manual and arduous, the care taken with each step of the process, the amount of washing up and washing down, and some cheesy jokes.
The softer cheese we made (or helped make) will be ready in about 6 weeks, the harder cheese in about 3 months. The whey will go to feed some very happy pigs.
If you fancy a day cheese making in very pleasant surroundings, find out more at www.monklandcheesedairy.co.uk. Look out for the cheeses we made in coming months!
After threatening rain, the sun came out and shone on this year’s Ledbury Celebration on Sunday 12th July featuring over 30 food and drink stalls selling all kinds of local food and drink.
Did you try the good traditional local food that was on offer?
What did you think of the new twists this year with Polish style pierogi (pasties) and Columbian style empanadas, made using local ingredients?
Cake Heaven at Three Talents Cakery
Did you discover scotch eggs (all kinds of flavours), jams, preserves, chutneys, freshly baked bread, delicious cakes, granny Tigg’s dressing, cherries, granola and, of course, very local ice cream?
Did you sample the medieval cake samples that the Ledbury Library Development Group were offering linking today’s event with the restoration of our 15th century Master’s House? Did you pick up a recipe card?
Visitors enjoy an alfresco lunch
Did you have a “street food” lunch – once the rain had stopped?
What did you think about the fine range of local ciders and perrys, wines, beers, fruit drinks and even local gin on offer? Did you stay to enjoy these while listening to the fabulous range of local musical acts and poets joining in this event?
The Fetch Theatre Co puppetry
Did you explore the puppetry of the Fetch theatre – a lot of people really enjoyed this – and the mystery of the CowGirl Parlour?
Did you meet the Mayor of Ledbury, Councillor Annette Crowe when she visited the celebration?
Did you buy a ticket for the Food Group’s local food raffle? Gareth Morgan did and won with ticket 26!
Catherine Every, organiser of the event for the Ledbury Food Group, said, “We are very pleased that again the Ledbury Celebration with its blend of food, drink, music and poetry has brought pleasure to so many people. We thank everyone who helped make the event such a success.”
Phillippa Slinger for Ledbury Poetry Festival said, “The Festival is thrilled that we put on a stunning array of poets and musicians, from the irreverent and hilarious Johnny Fluffypunk, to the Baltic melodies of Flatworld, as well as local poets and musicians showing off their home grown talent. The variety and quality of the performers capped off a wonderful collaboration with the Ledbury Food Group”
This marvellous free event would not be possible without support from its sponsors who this year included Ledbury Town Council, Crowthers, Orme and Slade, Wilce’s, A.B.E., Pughs, Authentic Bread Company, Greendawn Accounting, Herefordshire Community Foundation, New Grove Trust, Tilley Printing, Rotary International, and the many volunteers who helped before, during and after the event.
Many thanks to all who helped and to all who attended this event this year. If you missed it, join us next year.
Please send us your comments on the event so that we can do even better next time toask@ledburyfoodgroup.org
You are invited to the Ledbury Celebration of Food, Drink, Poetry and Music on Sunday in Bye Street Car Park and Orme and Slade Car Park, Ledbury. Over 30 local food and drink producers will be selling their wares and there will be a full programme of live music and poetry throughout the day. You will be able to buy food and drink, including local beer, ciders, wines and fruit juices, to eat and drink while enjoying the performances, and there will be plenty to choose from to take home to enjoy later. A full list is here.
Alongside the food, drink, poetry and music, the day is also being visited by two exciting attractions.
The Fetch is a touring theatre company producing a highly visual style of theatre incorporating puppetry and mask work. The Fetch dispels the myth that ‘puppetry is for kids’, producing work that engages with audiences of all ages.
CowGirl Parlour is a sound installation inside a caravan with live outdoor performances and a pop up ice cream parlour.
You’ll also be able to sit and enjoy tea, coffee and homemade biscuits from Ledbury Country Market. Ledbury Library Development Group will have a range of second hand cookery books as well as medieval culinary treats, Wykeham Gardens will have plants and cards on sale and Studiocrafts will have a craft activity table where children can explore their creative sides.
Catherine Every, who is leading the organisation of the day on behalf of Ledbury Food Group said, “The Ledbury Celebration is in its sixth year and is going from strength to strength because it’s a great day out with something for everyone.”
The Ledbury Celebration is jointly organised by Ledbury Food Group and Ledbury Poetry Festival to celebrate the last day of the Poetry Festival and Ledbury’s super local food and drink. The event is supported by local businesses and Ledbury Town Council – entry is free.
Bored of cooking the same old meals? Desperately seeking inspiration that doesn’t involve a very long list of ingredients? Then the Aylton Cookery Demonstrations could be for you.
Local cook Helen Creese (formerly of Salvation Cafe) will be hosting a series of demos to inspire bored chefs and to entice curious cooks in to the kitchen. Helen champions the use of fresh, local and seasonal produce wherever possible and focuses on creating interesting, wholesome meals that can be enjoyed by all.
Using Ledbury’s finest butchers, Max the fishmonger and local growers and suppliers, Helen will demonstrate a series of meals that can easily be recreated at home.
Fabulous Family Suppers on 10th February will feature – Sausage and Cider Stew (sausages and cider supplied by Court Farm, Aylton), Poached Chicken Ramen (featuring a range of locally grown veg) and Salmon and Puy lentils with Watercress Mayonnaise.
The demonstrations are running from 10.30am to 2.30pm in Aylton on:
– Tuesday 10th Feb – Fabulous Family Suppers
– Tuesday 24th Feb – Marvellous Mains and Sensational Sides
– Monday 2nd March – Sublime Starters and Sweet Treats
– Tuesday 10th March – Lovely Lunches
The demonstrations are a fund raising event for Aylton Church and The Music Pool a local community music charity. The cost is £35 per session to include refreshments and lunch.
Full more details and to book call Rebecca Jones on 01531 670 250 or email
“rebeccacourtfarm” “@” “gmail.com”.
Many thanks to everyone who made the Ledbury Big Breakfast such a great success over the weekend. We hope you enjoyed a good local breakfast from the wide range on offer.
As well as breakfasts hot, cold, eat in or takeaway for you to enjoy, this year for the first time the weekend included a breakfast for Ledbury businesses early on Friday morning and a staff breakfast at John Masefield School. Bill Wiggin MP and Mayor Bob Barnes made an early visit on Friday to a number of participants to celebrate the start of the event.
James Bodenham of Llandinabo Farm Shop and Bill the Bell celebrate the winning prize sausage
“Bill the Bell” Turberfield was on hand to hail the winning sausage in this year’s competition run by Trumpet Corner Tearoom and Llandinabo Farm Shop – a delicious pork, bacon, liver and onion creation suggested by customer Alan Brown who won a free breakfast for idea.
Special dishes enjoyed this weekend included Hereford Hop rarebit with chutney at the Market House Café, poached Herefordshire pear with bara brith at the Feathers, cheese and crispy bacon muffins at the Muse Café, eggs in Portobello mushrooms at Cameron and Swann, Eggs Benedict at Chez Pascal., and a special takeaway Bagel Bar at Four Oaks Delicatessen. Mrs Muffins and the Café at Nice Things tempted those with a taste for the traditional with their hearty English breakfast.
Dave Waller and Bill Wiggin MP admire a salver of local breakfast produce
Outside Ledbury town, the Scrumpy House Restaurant at Weston’s Cider, Trumpet Corner Tea Room and the Nest, Hereford Road all joined in the fun of the event. In town, first timers Caffè 21 were cooking American pancakes and Delilah’s Café special breakfast omelettes. Handley Organics offered a tempting choice of breakfast bakery, and at lunchtime the Talbot celebrated with its Rock and Roll Bingo brunch hosted by Andy Ward. Our butchers Wallers, Gurneys and Llandinabo Farm Shop all had tempting offers to take home for breakfast. Well done to all who took part this year!
Please let us know if you have ideas for making this event even better in the future.
