Ease into Christmas @ the Kempley Produce Market, Saturday 14th November

The next Kempley Produce Market is this Saturday 14th November.

Back by popular request, Dee Davidson will be bringing his great range of vegetarian curries and dahls. Made from soya milk and tofu from organic soya beans, curries have long been a passion of Dee’s. They are made from his own recipes which he has developed over time, inspired by 10 years of living amongst Asian communities in Walsall, Birmingham. Come along and meet Dee at the Kempley Produce Market, Saturday, 14th November, 9.30-11.30.

Also at this month’s market:

Table ready pheasants from Charlotte, £1.85 for a whole bird, £1.30 for a pack of two breasts. Orders can also be taken at the market.
Greek feta & spinach pie . Mary will be bringing her fabulous Spanakopita pie, a tasty treat that would save you having to think about what to cook this weekend, as well as a great selection of patisseries including chocolate & pecan cookies.
Christmas poultry & meat. Charlotte will be taking orders for all your meaty Christmas needs. Free range: Turkeys from £8.50kg & Geese from £9.50kg. Ducks from £6.50kg, Rib of Beef from £8.50kg, Lamb from £7.50kg, Gammon from £5.99kg. Find out more about Charlotte’s Fork to Farm venture.
Cheesy gifts and platters. Ian and Liz will be taking orders for your Christmas cheeses. A great idea for a really thoughtful present from your local cheese makers. Also goats cheese, yoghurt, butter, preserves & veg.
John’s homemade bread
Stephen Bull‘s tarts, pies and quiches
Rapeseed oil from Cotswold Gold
Flowering plants from David Bywater
The Forest Bakehouse’s sour dough bread, croissants & sausage rolls
Amy’s free range eggs
KPM’s Granola & dried strawberries
Organic vegetables from Flights Orchard Farm, Little Marcle
Melkirts Mushrooms
Honey from Paul Davies
Juice & Plumdelicious range from Bentleys Castle Fruit Farm & Juice from Hilters Fruit Farm
HIllbrooks Ice Cream range of luxury ice cream and sorbets

Cafe & Book Swap

Enjoy butties made from dry cured bacon and sausages from pigs reared in the Malverns, cured in Ledbury, cooked in Kempley. Served in freshly baked sour dough bread from The Forest Bakehouse. Catch up with friends and neighbours over a cuppa in the cafe (our meal deal, just £1.20). There are lots of good reads in the book swap. If you have nothing to exchange, then just leave a donation in the pot.

The market is open from 9.30 – 11.30 at Kempley Village Hall.

November 3, 2015November 30, 2015

The future for Food, and a really good Feast…

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 16^th 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 21^st 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.

October 19, 2015

Say Cheese, curds and whey…

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!

October 6, 2015October 6, 2015

This weekend for The Big Apple Harvestime celebrations in Herefordshire 10th and 11th October

For an afternoon, a day or a full weekend – the Big Apple is a special opportunity to enjoy the autumn countryside on the Marcle Ridge. This year’s celebration of English apples, orchards and cider will include walks, talks, tastings and activities, not to mention delicious lunches and apple teas, at eight venues in and around Much Marcle.

Cidermaking highlights this year will include getting hands on experience with a 200-year-old cider press at Woodredding Farm, taking a tour of Westons Cider, and seeing the horse-drawn travelling cider press at Awnells Farm.

A ‘Feast of Apples’ at Hellens will include a market featuring unusual varieties of apples while local printmaker Annaliese Appleby will be helping visitors to create an apple tree collage at Gregg’s Pit. Two special events will celebrate the contribution of local folklore historian Roy Palmer, who died earlier this year. Sweet Cider Time, an evening of music and readings features vocal group Serenata at 7pm on Saturday evening, while on Sunday morning a guided walk will include readings from Ripest Apples, the anthology compiled by Roy for the Big Apple. A Big Apple Bike Ride, meeting at the Market House in Ledbury at 10am on Sunday, will explore the Big Apple venues from the saddle, with plenty of opportunity to sample Big Apple catering along the way.

One of the final events of the weekend will be a screening of ‘Five Fruit Trees Make an Orchard’. This new film comparing seventeenth century and contemporary perspectives of orchard value was made with the help of people with learning disabilities and will be shown at Hellens at 3.30pm on Sunday afternoon.

A full programme of events can be found at www.bigapple.org.uk

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bigappleherefordshire

Press release from The Big Apple

September 1, 2015October 6, 2015

Good food or bad food? A chance to find out more…

We’ve all thought about whether food is good or bad for us, and what healthy eating is about.

In three monthly talk and discussion sessions starting on Monday 21^st September, local writer Rob Elliott and his partner Sally Dean invite us to explore what we mean when we use these terms, and how we might improve our diet and our lives.

Rob Elliott is the author of “The Food Maze” and “How to eat like there’s no tomorrow”.

The sessions are being run by Ledbury Library Development Group (LLDG) in association with Ledbury Food Group.

The themes of the three sessions are as follows:

Unravelling the Food Maze – Rob and Sally review our search for honest food. You want to eat healthily but is butter good for you or bad for you? What does ‘free range’ really mean? What is a balanced diet? Is it just too confusing?

Taking control of our own Health – Rob and Sally explore the connection between food, health and well-being. They also consider the links between industrial food and the major health and environment issues of the 21st century.

“Being the change we want to see”: You are invited to think positively about the food you eat. Using the story of their own lives, Rob and Sally will suggest ways we can make informed changes in our lives and what we eat.

How can I take part?

The sessions take place on Monday 21^st September, Monday 19^th October and Monday 16^th November in the Panelled Room at the Master’s House (Ledbury Library), Ledbury from 7pm to 9pm. Light refreshments featuring local products will be provided.

Tickets for each session are £6 with a discount for LLDG members and Ledbury Food Group members on the night.

Tickets for each session are available to purchase from Ledbury Library 6 weeks before the session.

Parking (free from 6pm) is available in St Katherine’s Car Park, off Bye Street.

Please contact us at ask@ledburyfoodgroup.org if you need to know more.

August 4, 2015August 3, 2017

Growing Vegetables with John Davenport

Spend ten minutes with John Davenport and you’ll go home and plant radishes in your window box. His enthusiasm is infectious as he shows you around his twenty five acres at Flights Orchard Farm, Little Marcle. Like his father and grandfather, he grows a wide range of salads and vegetables. With that kind of deep-rooted knowledge, there are no complicated planting plans. John knows exactly what is going where as it’s all in his head. Having converted to organic farming in 1985, soil fertility is crucial. He operates a strict four year rotation – clover, brassicas, non brassicas and then potatoes.

Continue reading “Growing Vegetables with John Davenport”

July 14, 2015August 1, 2015

Thanks for helping us celebrate our local food, drink, music and poetry

After threatening rain, the sun came out and shone on this year’s Ledbury Celebration on Sunday 12^th 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?

Led Celeb 2015 Cake Heaven at Three Talents Cakery P1020667 — 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 15^th century Master’s House? Did you pick up a recipe card?

Led Celeb 2015 Visitors enjoy an alfresco lunch P1020673 — 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?

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 to ask@ledburyfoodgroup.org

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