Northwest Food News – August 2013
If you thought summer camp was only for Americans and gardening was something that old people do, then prepare to have your minds well and truly blown by this month's eating and slurping round-up
How do you feel about gardening? Ambivalent at best? Well, Manchester is aiming to change all that by going on a paint-the-city-green mission with the Dig The City Urban Gardening Festival. One hundred tonnes of soil and a cornucopia of plants will transform parts of the city centre into garden, with Exchange Square becoming an urban forest – we sense some sort of epic hide-and-seek carry-on. There'll also be talks from food and horticultural experts about everything from foraging to making your garden a Mecca for wildlife, and you can expect pop-up gourmet food stalls from some fine local restaurants, ensuring you won’t go hungry over the course of the festival’s nine-day stint. Various venues, 3-11 Aug, various times and prices, www.digthecity.co.uk.
To pursue the horticultural theme, 2013 is witnessing a peculiar phenomenon: businesses are branching out to set up shop in parks. Well, two of them are. Caffeine & Co (@caffeineandco) have opened a cafe-cum-community kitchen in Stretford's Longford Park – perfect if you want more than a lukewarm can of pop and an extortionate ’99 – and they're teaming up with Hulme-based Uprising Bakehouse bread co-op to bring us artisan loaves and buns. The team spirit continues across south Manchester as West Didsbury’s resident cake-bakers And The Dish Ran Away With The Spoon partner with local care group Didsbury Good Neighbours to take over the Didsbury Park Pavilion, bringing their famed brownies with them. There’ll be savoury lunch offerings, as well as an extensive event calendar (expect classes along the lines of flower arranging, vintage clothes sales and, er, baby massage). Pavilion, Didsbury Park, Manchester, Thu-Sun until end Sep, 11am-5pm, www.dishandspoonfood.co.uk.
Over in Liverpool, the awesome music line-up of Summercamp is trying its darnedest to overshadow the festival's foodie offerings, but we’re on a mission to ensure that the epicurean delights get their 15 minutes. Sunday morning stalwart Simon Rimmer is bringing Brum’s best, Glynn Purnell, up North to create two ticketed gourmet dinners over the weekend. There’s also a naughtily named ‘Tree Huggers banquet’ to ensure the non-meat eaters out there get a look-in, and for those of you who prefer your festival food without airs or graces, there’ll also be CHEESE AND APPLE SHERBERT DOUGHNUTS. Yes, you read that right: they seem to be a signature dish courtesy of the creative chaps over at Camp and Furnace – who, incidentally, are hosting the entire weekend. Camp and Furnace, Liverpool, 24-25 Aug, tickets £30 adult (day), £55 (weekend), www.summercampfestival.co.uk.
With a bank holiday looming at the end of the month, why not begin August the way you mean to go on? For an evening making best friends with the grape, we recommend looking no further than Liverpool’s Albert Dock wine gem, Vinea. Set against a stunning backdrop of water and tall ships, evenings here seem wonderfully long with a glass in your hand. If you’d like a bit more structure to your night of swilling, then pop along to their Regions of Chile Wine Tasting. The night will have you sampling six wines in total – three Sauvignon Blanc and three Shiraz. These nights are incredibly relaxed and – great news! – you’re not forced to spit the wine into buckets. Word from the wise, though: you may actually want to, as they’re very generous with their servings. Vinea, Liverpool, 9 Aug, 7.30pm sharp, £15, www.vinealiverpool.co.uk.
Gazing ahead, we're looking forward to the Liverpool Food and Drink Festival, where a staggering 160-plus Merseyside chefs and regional producers will gather at the altar of nosh for masterclasses, demonstrations, a self-contained beer festival of more than 50 real ales and ciders, sleb chefs including Levi Roots and Aiden Byrne, and something called a 'heavenly chocolate garden', which we've started queuing for already. And if you can't make the weekend, its spirit lives on in a programme of events at venues across the city from 7-15 Sep. Sefton Park, Liverpool, 7-8 Sep, from £5 (kids go free), www.liverpoolfoodanddrinkfestival.co.uk.