Foodie heaven at Northamptonshire Food Show @ Holdenby House

Northamptonshire Food Show @ Holdenby House

What a lovely way to spend a bank holiday! The weather might not have been tip top, but the taste-buds were still tantalised at Northamptonshire Food Show at Holdenby House - a great end to my bank holiday weekend.

Set in the historic surroundings of Holdenby House, Northamptonshire Food Show is now in its sixth year and I'm ashamed to say today was my first visit! And having saved so much money with my recent #SOS trips (and lost five pounds in the past week!) I thought a few treats were definitely deserved.

And treats a-plenty there sure were! My first purchase was these absolutely heavenly marshmallows from Ms Marsh & Ms Mallow (http://www.zoesbiscuittin.co.uk/). Two packs for £5 and I chose a pack of lemon and a pack of chocolate and cinnamon. 

The chocolate and cinnamon have been short-listed in the Northamptonshire Food & Drink Awards for new local product (Mr Kate was on the judging panel!) and I certainly see why - they taste like little chocolately pillows from heaven! Based down the road in Wellingborough, these folks could go far and with the right branding could have an absolute winner of a product on their hands. 

Chocolatey and lemony fluffy marshmallow pillows sent from heaven!

After sampling the sweetness of the marshmallows, something a little more savoury was in order for lunch - buffalo burger a-go-go! A healthier alternative to beef, the burgers are made in nearby Napton and are very tasty indeed. Tastier than the average beef burger for sure! http://www.waterbuffalo.co.uk

Prettiest stall of the day definitely had to go to Sam's Cakes & Treats for her fabulously vintage baby pink cabin deliciously filled with cup-cakes and cookies! She's also based in Wellingborough and on Facebook at: http://www.facebook.com/pages/sams-cakes-and-treats/380652615944

Second place for prettiest stall was this creative cake stand with cakes in jars! 

Mr Kate will probably want to steer clear of me when I start drinking this fruity raspberry vodka I bought from the Mrs Sippi stall. I'm not exactly a big drinker (one sip and I'm gone!) but found the Mrs Sippi fruit vodkas absolutely delicious - so much so that it was so hard to pick between the raspberry, strawberry and elderflower flavours that I had to sample them several times! http://www.mrs-sippi.co.uk

I also bought some Victoria plum jam from the nice folks at the Village Orchard - it looked so good that I thought I'd give it a shot even though there weren't any samples to try. Fingers crossed it was worth the punt but if their tangy apple juice they were sampling is anything to go by then it will be flavoursome indeed! Their apple juice is another Northamptonshire Food Awards nominee so the jam should be top notch! http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Village-Orchard/142674725762227


And finally, I couldn't resist this cherry bakewell fudge from the lovely boys at Tom's Fudge (http://www.tomsfudge.co.uk/). These boys certainly know a thing or two about making sweet treats! A little of this will go a very long way - I think a tiny slice of this a day will about satisfy my sweet tooth and keep me on the diet straight and narrow this week! 

Cherry Bakewell Fudge

I would highly recommend the Northamptonshire Food Show to all fellow foodies. Lots of samples of local products, many tempting enough to buy and take away, and the majority are local producers from Northamptonshire and the surrounding counties.

The Holdenby House setting adds a certain je ne sais quoi and the house was open to visit and explore. The gardens were well worth exploring too - I picked up lots of tips for the veg patch and now want a plum tree like this one on our garden wall!

The fragrant gardens - filled with fresh herbs 

In short, if you haven't already been then be sure to get there next year for a bank holiday foodie treat!

Details at: http://northamptonshirefoodshow.co.uk/

P.S. I even learnt how to milk a cow... well... kind of!