Liverpool Food and Drink Festival is delighted to announce that celebrity chef James Martin of TV's Saturday Kitchen will launch the 2010 festival. James will be joined by award winning local culinary maestro Paul Heathcote in the cookery demonstration area of the festival at the launch day on Sunday September 12th in Sefton Park. Make sure you dont miss out on these excellent chefs as they demonstrate their skills at the festival!

For more information click here.

Did you know Liverpool has a unique supplier of honey?

Local Liverpool Beekeeper Yvonne Matthews is the inspiration behind Vonnybee.

"Bees are my passion and daily I am amazed at how they contribute to life and our existence.
They are the most written about creatures on the planet (after the human).

All the vonnybee products are free from any harmful chemicals and are made completely
naturally. They include Honey, Bee Pollen, Propolis, Bee Butter Balm, Soaps.

Our local Liverpool honey is rich in flavour from chestnut trees and the dark colour and
texture is quite unusual for honey.

We are all now considering the importance of honey for our health. Many specialists
have proven that honey is an important part of our diet as both an excellent source of
energy, and also has many interesting medicinal properties.

Anti-bacterial, anti-inflammatory, energiser, immune system booster, calms the nervous
system and helps regenerate cells and tissue. The best energy for any muscle, including
the heart.

Honey is a living food with a lot of bio-energy.

Honey has been found in Egyptian tombs 3,000 years old and when tested it was found to
be still fresh. !!

There is so much more to say about honey, however like anything the proof of the
pudding is in the eating, and nothing we eat stimulates passion in our taste buds like good
pure natural honey. Hence why it is called “Honeymoon”  "

 Find out more at www.vonnybee.com and visit Yvonne at her stall at the Liverpool Food and Drink festival launch day in Sefton Park.

Did you know that sui mai's are fast becoming a favourite dish in Liverpool? Locally based Golden Dragon Foods has been providing Liverpool and its Chinese community with a wide variety of high quality Chinese ready meals for over 20 years and  are now leading the way with new innovative and modern Dim Sum dishes. Demand for their Sui Mai has always been significant, but over the last 5 years it has trebled!!! Their largest market for Sui Mai is currently in Liverpool and demand is increasing all the time. Golden Dragon are currently working alongside acclaimed Pan Asian Chef Ian Pengelley (Gilgamesh Restaurant, London) to develop new ‘trendy’ and ‘funky’ flavours of Sui Mai, alongside traditional ranges, to meet ever increasing requests for new types of Sui Mai. 

We are excited to announce that Ian Pengelley will be showcasing his culinary skills in the demonstration kitchen at the festival launch day on Sunday September 12th in Sefton Park.

Did you enjoy the taste off in Liverpool One last week?

Many of you were wondering what the recipe was for the spicey Catalan scouse. Well here it is courtesy of Peter Kinsella of Lunya!

Catalan Scouse. (serves 4)

Ingredients

1.5 kg of potatoes, peeled and cut into good sized chunks

200g minced lamb

2 cooking chorizo (picante) –  make sure it is a good one

2 morcilla (Spanish black pudding) – not the smoked variety, nor the one with rice

3 carrots, coarsely chopped

1 medium sized onion

½ clove of garlic

1 sprig of Thyme

500ml of vegetable or pork/lamb/beef/chicken stock

½ teaspoon of Pimentón dulce

Salt and pepper to taste 

Method 
Boil the potatoes in salted water for 10 minutes, then drain.

Fry the minced lamb in a dash of olive oil until just cooked

Add the chorizo, morcilla, onion, garlic and carrots and cook for  a further 5 minutes to release all the oils.

Add the potatoes and stir through to ensure they are covered with the meat juices

Add the rest of the ingredients, stir and allow to simmer gently for at least half an hour.  Stir occasionally to break up some of the potato pieces. It is ready when most of the water has been absorbed, the potatoes are soft and some have started to go mushy.

Taste and season with salt and pepper.

This is great served straight away or is wonderful, when chilled, kept overnight and reheated the next day.  The flavours seem to develop more.

Try this with some pickled red cabbage on the side, or for a real touch of Spanish decadence, try it with some pickled artichokes.

With Lady GaGa insisting that there is no other place in Liverpool she would consider staying, it’s little wonder that the city’s very own Hope Street Hotel is flavour not only of the month - but of the year. 

Taking time out from accommodating global pop princesses, the boutique hotel’s team of Directors picked up the award for Best Hotel in The North at The 2010 Northern Hospitality Awards which took place at the Hilton Hotel Manchester on 12th April.

The awards recognise the very best chefs, restaurants, pubs and bars in the North West, Yorkshire and the North East, with The Hope Street Hotel beating off stiff competition from a number of prestigious establishments.

In the same week as picking up the top Northern gong, the hotel also announced its sponsorship of The Liverpool Food & Drink Festival which takes place in the city this coming September. 

Hope Street Hotel’s restaurant The London Carriage Works will be taking part in the festival activities with live interactive cookery demonstrations and opportunities for visitors to sample their magnificent and award-winning food and drink offer. 

Lentil, Aubergine and Tomato Moussaka

We are proud to announce that the Liverpool Food and Drink Festival won the Culture award at Juice FM's annual Liverpool Style Awards ceremony, held on December 5th 2009 at the new Hilton Liverpool.

We would like to thank everyone who voted for us, we are so delighted that all the hard work of the bars and restaurants in Liverpool really paid off making the Liverpool Food & Drink festival a fabulous success.

The Liverpool Style Awards is Juice FM's annual celebration of style in Liverpool and winning the culture award was a real stamp of approval for the festival and has helped put us on Liverpool’s calendar of fantastic events in the city.

Pictured accepting the award on behalf of the festival is Denise Harris of SK Events.