Three -Michelin -starred chef Heston Blumenthal is set to lend his support to the Marlow Food festival later this month. The chef-patron of the award winning restaurant The Fat Duck at Bray will conduct an hour long Q & A session followed by a book signing of his new book “The Fat Duck Cookbook”, due to be launched in October. This should be an interesting addition to my cookbook collection, I wonder what the recipes will be like? Will it include the one for Victorian Wobbling Jelly?
Heston joins celebrity chef, Jo Pratt (one of Waterstone’s Authors for the Future) as a new addition to the event. Jo will be talking about her new book “In the Mood for Entertaining” and the delicious no – fuss recipes which have endeared her to an international audience. A regular face on the popular cooking show Market Kitchen, Jo has worked with BBC's Gary Rhodes on The Good Food Show, contributed columns and recipes to Elle UK, Olive, BBC’s Good Food Guide and Glamour. She also co-wrote, The Nation's Favourite Foods and contributed to the subsequent hit show.
Helen Rathbone, of Flying Pig Events, who is organising the event with sponsors, Hamptons International, and Crowne Plaza Marlow says “The Marlow Food Festival has already surpassed all expectations in terms of the level of support we have received locally. The festival will offer something for everyone of any age who is interested in food, and hopefully, this will become an annual event which is a credit to Marlow town”
The Marlow Food Festival aims to put Marlow on the map as a serious culinary destination. The winners of BBC Two’s programme, The Restaurant, Russell Clement and Michelle English, owners of The Cheerful Soul, (opened in June this year in the Hare & Hounds pub in Marlow) were one of the first to get involved and will be participating in their own Q & A event on the day.
Local chefs from Marlow restaurants, including Michael Macdonald of Vanilla Pod and Miles Nixon of Aubergine at The Compleat Angler will showcase their skills alongside renowned Chocolatier Damian Allsop and “Come and Cook” owner Dorn Kipping who will be conducting a “hands-on” children’s cookery session. There will also be food & wine tastings, displays and children’s activities on the day.
This is a terriffic line-up for a First Festival and will be a very interesting event. Helen Rathbone has done a great job of getting lots of Marlow Restaurants involved with the Food Festival and I'm looking forward to spending the day there.
More details about The Marlow Food Festival can be found on thebestofmarlow events page by following this link Marlow Food Festival