Food and Food and Foodie Festival!!

Heya!!!!

Looks like this weekend going to be sunny all over the south England!! So pleased!!!!!
I am off to Bristol for the important Harbour Festival!  
It starts Friday evening and will last all weekend! Feeling in the mood for sunshine, music, dance, circus and food? Then please come to Bristol this weekend!! You still have tomorrow!!

Last weekend I went back to Bristol for the Foodies Festival as well! 

After Bristol there are still 3 more foodies festivals going in Edinburgh, London and Oxford. They are hosted by Lakeland so there are really a lot of things going on and the local and national food providers all try to show their best as well! 

We've got herbs, fruit, patisserie, wine, apple juice, cheese, ice cream, cocktail etc.

             

There are so many flavours of vinegar, I personally prefer the raspberry that I tried on Sunday! Yum! 

 The apple juice was so delicious! I bought 2 bottles and I used it as my champagne during the Harbour Festival today! 

A lot of things happened there, I queued for this Jamaican jerk chicken for half hour! But it was really popular and worth the wait! 

 There was also a sand pit for kids! 

 Also sales!!!!!! From pan to mixer, well, Lakeland you know! 

 OK, I am going to introduce something really serious now!!!! 

 The Cupp Bubble Tea!!! 

Believe me, it is a real Taiwanese bubble tea! (In case you didn't realize, I am Taiwanese)

I've tried different bubble teas in London and Bristol, but this is the only one that I feel they really use real ingredients and real tea. Even the famous one in London, Bubbleology isn't up to the standards of real good quality Taiwanese Bubble Tea.

But this one, I promise, so good, so cool, so tasty! 

They currently only sell from their lovely van and so I think it is also a bit of fun chasing them around! Actually, I had one today as well!! 

 Besides all this food and drink at the foodies festival there were also chefs cooking lessons and wine and gin masterclasses!

It was a really good event if you are also interested in food and care about the food you get and where it comes from.

The recent news that the supermarkets in the UK are actually paying less to farmers than the cost to produce milk is really shocking to me. If all of the food production is controlled by a few big companies, then the diversity of  food in the UK will shrink eventually. And it is really worrying for the future. 

Hopefully the milk issue will be solved and it will also improve the situation of farmers in the UK. And go to the festival in London, Oxford or Edinburgh if you have time! 

Fang XX

London ZOO Late for party Animals!

The  posts from the last month went on tour with the lost goats...

Okay, first of all I want to say sorry to whoever had visited this blog and thought it might be an interesting and regularly updated blog. I was so very lazy in June but I've just hooked up myself again to keep this place happy. 

Time is passing so fast, I've just finished the Intermediate Patisserie term at Le Cordon Bleu and I am now in my first week in the Superior term. ( I will catch up with all the missing record of my study in the intermediate term and keep updating about the superior term! I PROMISE!! ) 

Before I talk about all the serious techniques, I'd really like to share my beautiful weekend with everyone.


The British summer seems as late or lazy as usual, we've had the wettest June but hopefully not the wettest July. Fingers crossed for the people who are fighting with floods at the moment.


Anyway, it was reasonably good weather in London last Friday. So before the Editor and I went to the evening zoo adventure we popped into the Euston Cider Tap for a fizzy cooling down. 

Cider is really popular in the south west of England but not as much in London so I was really excited to try this pub as I had became a cider lover when I was in Bristol!!

Reading Beer&Cider Festival!(Drunk Drunk) 醉了啤酒節

I went to Reading Beer & Cider Festival yesterday. Thanks to my lovely friend Pei who invited me to go with her!! This year was the 5th year of this drunken event!!! Woo!!! Here is the link: Reading Beer and Cider Festival 2012

As it says on the website, there were over 500 real ales and 200 ciders and perries. There were 2 big tents and a big outdoor area containing different food stands and performers.

 Every beer stand was so busy !!!

The glass cost £3 to hire but it is refundable. I kept mine though, as a souvenir! 

There are lines on the glass to mark a pint or 1/2 pint but according to my friend Eric, who has attend the event since 2008, his glass even has a 1/3 pint line! Lucky him!!!

Honey Glazed Berry Pie! 甜甜蜂蜜莓果派 ！

I made this sweet dessert pie for my lovely editor Edwards last Wednesday. It was so delicious! First, I blind baked the Pate Sucree tart case, then I filled it with Creme Chantilly and topped it with honey glazed berries!! So easy and so yummy! I ate two slices in one night! GOSH!
(趁著晚上有空做了這個蜂蜜莓果派！酸酸甜甜真的很好吃！ 在這裡跟大家分享喔！ 當然拉！我的神祕編輯愛德華先生也是心花怒放囉！嘿嘿）

I altered the Creme Chantilly recipe from school a bit so I've put my version here. I cannot write the recipe for the tart case here as it will infringe on the schools copywrite but it is really simple, all you need is some pastry and you can blind bake it to prevent it rising!

Here is the creme chantilly recipe for a 7" pie!

Cordon Bleu Diary- Entremets aux Marrons 栗子慕思蛋糕

Due to the Easter holiday I had this lesson a bit earlier. Here is the delicious Chestnut Mousse Cake that I made. 

(因為復活節的關係, 藍帶中級的第五堂的實作課被提前了一周, 所以可口的栗子慕思蛋糕也就被提早享用啦！yum yum!!!)

There are two main points that influence the result of this fine cake. The first is the setting point of the mousse and the second is the decoration on the surface.

The cake is basically a combination of biscuit sponge and chestnut mousse.

Taiwanese beef mince pie! 牛肉白菜餡餅

I just made this delicious and juicy mince pie last weekend to take to my friend's house party! It is  a common traditional snack/afternoon dessert in Taiwan! You can buy it in local markets and they are normally freshly made that very morning! I would say it is like the Cornish pasty in Cornwall just in a different shape with different filling and a different way to cook it! Oops, seems like there are a lot of differences!    (我做了台灣的牛肉餡餅去參加一個晚餐派對！為國增光！）

Ingredients

Filling ingredient:

lean beef mince      250g

chinese leaf             1

ginger                     10-20g ( Depends on personal preference)
garlic                      2-3 cloves

spring onion            4-5
baby leak                1

egg                          1

corn flour                adjustable 

Cordon Bleu Diary-Strawberry Mille-Feuille & Almond Pithiviers

 In the second practical lecture, chef asked us to use the puff pastry we had made in the previous lecture for the delicious (and popular) Strawberry Mille-Feuille and Almond Pithiviers! 

（在藍帶中級烘培的第二堂課, 我做了人見人愛的草莓層派和杏仁派！）

Cordon Bleu Diary-Puff pastry, Pub quiz.

I'm just going back to London now. The weather is horrible, windy, raining and damp.

Oh well, I think this weather will help to bring my mind back from my easter break! 

Yesterday I experienced my first time PUB QUIZ!!!! I can only say it was really hard for me. There was even a "homophone" round, GOSH! Our team score 51/80. I am so proud of my team mates! They are so brilliant! 

Okay, lets go back to puff pastry!

In the Second practical lesson at school we are going to make Mill-Feuille and Pithiviers. Of course, these delicious desserts are all based on a good pastry.

Chocolate Easter- The Chocolate Festival!!

Easter is an unfamiliar holiday for a majority of Asian people I think... In Taiwan we are affected by Buddhist ceremonies likethey are Christian celebrations here.

But everyone loves a holiday no matter what!

Today I went to The Chocolate Festival in Bristol. Bristol-The Chocolate Festival! 

Bristol is a really lively city. I spent last year here for my masters degree and I fell deeply in love with the city.

The harbour side always has a lot of events. The chocolate bar and chocolate Easter egg are believed to have been invemted in Bristol by J. S. Fry & Sons, Ltd.  The brief introduction of J.S. Fry&Son Ltd.

Cordon Bleu Diary: Dobos Chocolate Slice- Things are getting more serious now!

I realised that I forgot to explain the reason for me opening this blog. I want to share my life here in England and my journey learning patisserie at Le Cordon Bleu London.

I just finished my basic patisserie term and I'm now moving into the intermediate term today!!! As I mentioned in the title for this post, things getting more and more serious now!

Today I had my first practical lecture in the intermediate term: Dobos Chocolate Slice.

What is Dobos? As a Taiwanese, I didn't know any french before I started my course. According to the chef and my own research, a Dobos Chocolate Slice is a transform of a Dobos Chocolate Torte! It was first introduced at the National General Exhibition of Budapest in 1885.

Love food festival!

Just got back from the beautiful Cornwall yesterday. Lovely beach, Lovely art and Lovely food.

There was a shop named "paint a pot" in St. Ives and here is how my mug looked finished without being glazed! Now all I need to do is wait for the post to arrive in London to use my cupcake double-handled mug. 

The LOVE FOOD FESTIVAL in Bristol I would say was really successful. It was just next to Bristol Temple Meads station inside the old passenger shed. The venue was made into a place that people can hold events and enjoy the atmosphere.