We arrived at about 12.30, by which time there was already an impressive crowd of people and the festival had a nice buzz about it from the off. We started off inside The Forum where top chef and local lad Rich Bainbridge was about to give a demonstration. Although we didn't have time to follow the demonstration through, we did hear him talking passionately about his journey over the past 18 months, from leaving Morston Hall - where he had been head chef for a number of years - to establishing his own restaurant, Benedict's, as one of the very best places to eat in Norfolk.
Rich speaks with such passion and enthusiasm about his work and he has such humility too; whilst we are lucky to have him in Norwich, he makes it clear that the feeling is mutual and he feels blessed to be here in his home city, establishing a loyal following of diners who are attracted to his modern, seasonal locally-sourced food. He is open about how much he risked in opening his own venue in the city with a limited budget, which effectively meant no real publicity, and he has had to work hard - with support from his family and his Benedict's family too - to achieve the success he is now achieving. Having visited twice ourselves, and planning to go again very soon, we can confirm that Benedict's are really hitting the mark and the plaudits Rich and his team are receiving are well-deserved.
Inside The Forum, numerous stalls caught the eye and our first stop was at the table of The Tiny Tipple Company, who specialise in creating infused spirits. We sampled a strawberry gin which was delicious and packed a real hit of fresh strawberry flavour. There was a good crowd around the table, sampling other delights including rose hip infused vodka and rhubarb gin.
Our next stop was Season's Bounty, maker of handmade preserves. This was where we made our first purchase - a jar of strawberry and elderflower jam which WOTVM bought as a present for her dad. The jam was very tasty and clearly very popular; we managed to get the last remaining pot.
Just across the way from Season's Bounty was the stall of Ethnic Fusion - a catering company and cookery school based near Dereham and specialising in fine Indian cuisine. The food on offer looked amazing and Mr Vegan Man couldn't resist. Alongside traditional pakoras, samosas and bhajis was a gluten-free offering called a bonda, made using chick pea flour. The bonda was superb, lightly crispy on the outside and filled with a spicy potato-based filling. There was some coriander chutney on the table too so we helped ourselves to a good spoonful of that as well and we were very glad that we did - it was fresh and punchy and went excellently with the bonda.
As we began to make our way towards the exit of The Forum to check out the stalls outside, our eyes were caught by Candi's Chutney. An array of intriguing chutneys and pickles were on display, and Mr Vegan Man tried a spiced carrot chutney and an asparagus chutney. The asparagus chutney was tasty, reminiscent of piccalilli in flavour with a nice sharp vinegary, mustardy taste. This was, however, outshone by the stunning spiced carrot chutney, which was so good that Mr Vegan Man insisted that WOTVM needed to try it. She tried it and she also loved it and so our next purchase of the day was complete. We will bring you a dish incorporating the chutney later this week - yes, we've already been using it!
Next door to Candi's Chutney was a Deliveroo stand, offering generous free samples to anyone entering their competition. We signed up for the competition and were rewarded with two delicious pieces of sushi from Ciscoe's and a chocolate and hazelnut brownie from Macarons and More. The brownie was rich and fudgy with a generous amount of hazelnuts, it looked great and the taste lived up to its looks.
Once outside, we discovered a whole host of stalls around the side of The Forum and we made a beeline for Bullards' table where their Norwich Dry Gin was being handed out. The gin was incredible, with a real peppery heat on the back of a throat and deep, fruity flavours from their blend of botanicals. We're quite well-stocked for gin at the moment, but this blend will definitely be on our wish list once we've depleted our current supply a little further.
We moved on to Essence and Jubberwacky's stall next door. Mr Vegan Man tried two kinds of mustard, one spicy mustard and one wholegrain mustard. Both were excellent but the Jubberwacky wholegrain mustard in particular was superb and so another item was bought. The helpful lady on the stall (who may have been the owner) explained that the good kick that comes at the end when you taste the mustard comes from them cracking the grains and soaking them overnight in Nelson's Revenge. They pride themselves on using local ingredients in their preserves and it is clear from the taste that Norfolk is producing some excellent ingredients right now!
We also quickly perused Kind Food's stall, offering a good looking range of gluten- and dairy-free breads, cakes and pastries. Unfortunately we were too full to consider buying anything and so moved on to another excellent preserves stall, this one being run by Ollands Farm Foods. The jams were excellent, Mr Vegan Man tried a particularly tasty lime and chilli marmalade, but we couldn't justify a further purchase and so we left empty-handed. The outside stalls were all really busy, which was great to see, and Riverford seemed to be getting interest in their increasingly popular organic fruit and veg boxes.
The 'Battle of the Bangers' was one of the highlights of this year's festival and so we decided to join in. Of the eight varieties on offer there was one veggie option made by North Nofolk's vegetarian Art Café. As Mr Vegan Man could only try one of the options and so would vote for this by default, he abstained from the contest and WOTVM was left with the great responsibility of selecting her favourite banger. Ultimately, the first one she tried was her favourite - a substantial and meaty pork sausage from Icarus Hines. WOTVM chose this one because of its great texture - smooth and not grainy - rich pork flavour and excellent caramelisation. We bumped into a friend of WOTVM's who had also voted for the same variety and as it transpires, the Icarus Hines entry was the overall winner of the 'Battle of the Bangers'.
Before we left, WOTVM couldn't resist the sight and smell of the hog roast stand and so as we left she bought herself a generously filled roll, complete with crispy crackling. The pork was soft and rich and was a rare treat for WOTVM as it's not the sort of thing she ever gets to have at home.
We had a great day out at the Norwich Food & Drink Festival. Huge kudos to the organisers as the event seemed really well-run and attracted a good crowd throughout. It was great to see so many local producers gathered in one place, many of whom we had no idea existed, and this was further evidence of just how strong the local food scene is in Norfolk at present. We look forward to seeing what's on offer next year and we will definitely be seeking out some of the vendors again.
Stay tuned over the next fortnight as we will be bringing you two dishes using ingredients we bought at the festival. We hope that those of you who attended enjoyed yourselves as much as we did. Please get in touch via the comments section or send us an email with your thoughts on the event.
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