Cookery to the fore - an experience not to be missed

The Wot's Cooking purpose-built Cookery Theatre

Are you sitting comfortably? Then I’ll begin. If you have never experienced a cookery demonstration organised and presented by the Wot’s Cooking team, then you have missed a truly memorable experience. For a start, husband and wife team Katie & Glyn Johnson have their own fully-equipped mobile demo kitchen: all mod cons and purpose-built to allow everyone in the audience to see and experience what is happening live, on stage. Whilst Katie ‘presents’, Glyn is  behind the scenes taking care of the ‘technicals’. Last Autumn, I was so captivated, I could have spent the entire Show watching and thinking food.

Presenter and compere,
Katie Johnson of Wot's Cooking

This year sees an even more eclectic programme - with the Wot’s Cooking theatre at the heart of the ‘Taste It’ section of the Show. Featuring a range of knowledgeable practising chefs (some appearing at Malvern for the first time), who could fail to be inspired by the delectable selection of specialties they will be showcasing?  You will need to check your Show Guide for exact times. Bookmark any of the following …

Watch bread being made in the Cookery Theatre, 
and then buy something fresh and tasty - 
there's such a selection from which to choose

Appearing twice on Saturday (27th) is Rob Swift of Swift’s Bakery from Clee Hill, whose family have been baking artisanal and speciality breads since 1863. Rob is fifth generation and passionate about the bread-making process and their wide range of finished products: white, wholemeal and brown, French, international, speciality, and a particularly tasty-sounding ‘healthy eating’ range. Rob’s demos are always fun, and afterwards you can visit their stall to stock up on whatever takes your fancy.

Liz Knight at last year's Show

Also twice on Saturday’s bill of fare is Liz Knight of Forage Fine Foods. She uses ingredients plucked from her garden and local Herefordshire hedgerows. What a pleasure to discover that you don’t necessarily require expensive ingredients to create a feast when what you need is right there on your doorstep. Liz makes flavours and special seasonal treats, loving the taste of wild ingredients and the thrill of discovering new combinations of flavours - her products are a celebration of the best of the wild, adding a new, wildly irresistible dimension to home cooking.

Always popular - take your seats in good time, ladies and gentlemen

Whilst compiling this preview, I learned from Katie Johnson that Chris von Landkammer - head chef at The Elms in Worcester, is the most widely travelled chef that she has ever engaged to work with. Not in terms of Malvern to Worcester (a mere hop) but from as far afield as New Zealand. If the hotel website is anything to go by, you’ll be in for a treat, for he infuses many of their delectable dishes with touches of Asian cuisine garnered from his experience in the Far East.  Using the freshest of ingredients, and fruit, herbs and vegetables from The Elms’ extensive kitchen garden, he conjures up a daily smorgasbord of fabulous meals. What will he offer us in the Wot’s Cooking kitchen?

Calling all vegetarians - oh so tasty (pumpkins to the fore)

For the vegetarians amongst you, Lizzy Hughes of  Our Lizzy Cooking - a Malvern-based vegetarian cookery school - will be there to entertain you on both Saturday AND Sunday. She enjoys using a wide range of locally grown seasonal produce and loves exploring new ingredients whilst developing new recipes. She says, “Autumn is my favourite time of year. I especially love trying out different pumpkins and squash as they work so well in vegetarian dishes.” At the show she’ll be demonstrating a three course Autumnal feast will a warming Roasted Pumpkin and Chilli Soup, Squash and Spelt Risotto, Hubbard Squash and Fava Bean Casserole. (Lizzy also loves using fruit and will show the traditional Malvern Pudding using apples from her own tree.)

Fish - a refreshing change?

Tom Court of Sticky Fig Catering will be appearing twice on Sunday (28th). Established in 2013, their services have grown to include event catering, from intimate dinners to large celebrations, to weddings and parties in the privacy of home. Their aim is to provide the best quality food and service at all events, creating memorable experiences for guests. Sticky Fig is committed to sourcing the best local and sustainable produce from local suppliers whist being mindful of budget. There are bound to be plenty of useful tips from this midlands-based chef who is used to cooking for clients or with them in their home kitchen.

From seed to plate: metres rather than food miles

Andy Link - the award winning head chef, gardener and bee keeper at The Riverside Inn, Amestery (a rural Herefordshire restaurant) - aims to create a true hub for local seasonal produce, showcasing the best the area has to offer. As part of this the chefs have developed over an acre of land to create traditional and experimental vegetable, fruit and herb gardens - which even include their own bee hive. These working kitchen gardens are an essential part of their facilities, offering chefs the opportunity to experiment with different ingredients and plant types, whilst introducing new flavours alongside a great level of freshness, The result?  Some dishes travel only metres, not miles.  Andy says that during the Malvern Autumn Show, he will be “discussing the sustainable way in which the restaurant uses this seed-to-plate approach to create a few seasonal, home grown plates of food using only ingredients from the restaurant grounds."

Oh the shame of it!
 Even journalists have to eat!

Watching food demos is hungry work, or at least one craves food afterwards, or at any time of the day. There are plenty of refreshments on offer around the Showground, clearly marked on the map that accompanies your Showguide. As these are all conveniently located, there’s no excuse for not stopping for a bite and a cuppa – indeed, your visit may well benefit from so doing when you arrive, allowing you time to glance through the Show Guide and formulate a plan of what you most want to do; Cookery Theatre timetable included. Familiarisation can save time and possible frustration, allowing you to pack far more into your day out.

All images are copyright - with thanks to all the photographers who have co-operated with me to produce this cookery preview.


Just to remind you: Show opening times on both days are 9.00am to 6.00pm and there’s a free shuttle bus from Great Malvern rail station. There's also no charge for standard car parking.  Book your Show tickets online, or phone the ticket hotline (01684 584924). More next week - so do bookmark this page.

Lights, Camera, Action - well almost!

Action! Shifting timber (or how it's done now)
Image courtesy Stuart Purfield

Cute little dog (image
courtesy Stuart Purfield)

It’s all too easy to regard the Malvern Autumn Show as being devoted solely to gardening and harvest. But it isn’t. Although those aspects are certainly the main focus, there is so much else going on - in fact if you visit for only one day, you will be hard pressed to cram in all that is on offer. You will need to be selective.

Jumping multi-coloured sheep - it's true ... (or was in 2013)

There’s always a hum of activity in the ‘Experience - Live Shows’ area of the Showground, with a number of small parade rings where you will be able to enjoy all manner of activities. Maybe not the same as pictured here (these images were taken at the 2013 Show) but comparable with the fun I have observed and enjoyed at past Shows. Can you imagine a flock of sheep in coats of many colours jumping over hurdles? Dogs and horses, yes, but sheep? (Or it could have been runner ducks whose upright stance is both comical and endearing.)

Somewhat more traditional - but just as entertaining 

Dogs, supposedly man’s best friend (when well-trained), will be much in evidence. It is fascinating to watch intelligent breeds traditionally used by farmers to herd sheep - enjoy their antics as they are put through their paces. Indeed there is all-day entertainment in the Activity Arena featuring dog agility, and gundog displays. 

What little girl hasn't dreamt of riding - or racing with - a pony?

Indeed, if you and your children / grandchildren love animals, don’t miss the daily animal parades in the Teme Arena and the fur and feathers of the Poultry and Rabbit Marquees! This year the Poultry Show has been upgraded to a Championship Show by the Poultry Club of Great Britain. There are usually horses as well - and there are always knowledgeable owners and trainers on hand to answer questions and point you in the right direction to discover more.

Horseshoes or wrought iron garden ornaments - working with metal is a skill
as old as the hills, and still much in demand today

Horses need horseshoes and making them is an age-old craft which is much the same today as it was centuries ago when the horse was a beast of burden, in peace-time or in war. Farriery is just as much in evidence today (maybe at this year’s show), but smiths also work decoratively in iron - a wrought iron gate, or decorative garden ornament. 

An army of men to plank a tree trunk, with ease and precision

Staggering to see close at hand (within the ‘Nostalgia’ element of the Show), and quite amazing: old and modern machinery used past and present for farm and forestry activities. We are probably all too used to going down to our local friendly D-I-Y store for the odd plank of wood, or decking for the patio, little realising how such timber is transformed from tree to felled trunk to a packaged product. In days gone by, planking would all have been done by hand, often using a pitsaw - one man above ground, the other standing beneath in a pit with the log midway on trestles; extremely hard work.

Cider harvest with mobile facilities for
pressing (it could be straight out of a
Thomas Hardy novel). Image courtesy
Stuart Purfield

Whatever your interest in times past, check out the fabulous vintage vehicles on display including a collection of old commercial vehicles and steam engines, plus threshing and cider machines. Also back in the past, to trigger memories: historic lawn mowers - remember struggling to push those across the lawn? - and caravans that had all the style but few mod-cons. In the ‘Country Pursuits Marquee’ you can discover wood turning, stick making, spinning and other age-old delights at the very heart of the Show. Some of Britain's most traditional rural activities, skills and pastimes that have survived the years - truly a case of Relive and Revive.

Just to remind you: Show opening times on both days are 9.00am to 6.00pm and there’s a free shuttle bus from Great Malvern rail station. There's also no charge for standard car parking.  Book your Show tickets online, or phone the ticket hotline (01684 584924). More next week - so do bookmark this page. (All images are reproduced by kind permission of Ray Quinton, unless credited otherwise.)

A Fruitful Experience

Strange? Not really: think about it in relation to the enjoyment
obtained from visiting the Malvern Autumn Show

Have you ever, when planning a garden, or re-thinking a plot, likened it to creating a patchwork quilt? A sewing together of seams, a melding of materials, a blending of colours, a loom-weaving of ideas into something which becomes whole-cloth. It’s much the same with staging the Malvern Autumn Show. If you were to see the Showground right now, you would observe a wide-open grid of gigantic grassy rectangles bound together by ‘streets’ and ‘rows’, interspersed with exhibition halls, buildings and permanent gardens. That’s the framework, a living land-map into which will be jigsawed five major ‘components’, each focussing on a different Autumn fruitful experience. ‘Grow’, ‘Harvest’ and ‘Taste’ all interlink - whilst ‘Relive’ (nostalgia) and ‘Experience’ will provide just as much inspiration for the months ahead, be it in garden, home or the great outdoors. The whole Showground will be jam-packed with inspiration and shopping experiences, the like of which it is hard to find brought together in one location.

Lubera 'Redlove' apples - Swiss-bred and available to UK buyers

It’s a fruitful experience for me, too. How I love to visualise that familiar blank framework (overlooked by the enigmatic Malvern Hills) and within my blogposts draw together disparate threads of information that come my way. How good it was this last week to hear from a new exhibitor who is inviting you to visit their stand and taste the forbidden fruit (my words, not theirs). Rich, red, tasty, juicy, luscious, appletastic apples!!! The ‘Lubera’ show team is very excited  to be promoting their beautiful apple range and specifically their ‘Redlove' family. So why not pop along and say hello and hear all about apple breeding and 'hot off the press news' of new varieties to come. You will also get the chance to partake in fruit testing and tasting. I already grow various varieties produced by Lubera, and believe me, they really are something. (Where:  Stand WH83, Garden Sundries Pavilion - meanwhile take a preview of their fruit-breeding programme.)

An appreciative audience in the Good Life Pavilion theatre
(image courtesy Stuart Purfield)

Further fruitful experiences continue throughout the Show, with visitors flocking to the theatre in The Good Life Pavilion.  Meeting well-known TV personalities ‘live’ is always a thrill and this September will be no exception as television gardener, Monty Don, is to head up the celebrity guest list, and will be at the Show on Sunday. Renowned as a writer and presenter, he is best known for fronting the team of experts behind the popular weekly gardening programme, BBC Gardeners' World. 

Monty Don

He will join fellow gardeners Joe Swift and Mark Diacono; and will be talking to Joe live on stage in the event's Good Life Pavilion, about all things gardening. He has presented gardening and travel programmes for over twenty years and became the lead presenter for the BBC flagship programme Gardeners' World  between 2003 and 2008, and then again from 2011 when he began hosting Gardeners' World from his home in Herefordshire. And that’s not all: Monty is a committed organic gardener and President of the Soil Association. He has worked with schools, and groups of drug addicts, to build respect and reward from working with the natural world, and has a strong belief in the importance of communities working together through an understanding and love of the land. He says: "The real importance of gardening  is the empowerment that it gives people, however small or seemingly insignificant their gardens might be. It is surprising how liberating it is, if you can grow anything  at all -  and there is as much pleasure in a snowdrop as in a successful career.” 

Forgive the thesaurus, but reflect on how much you could gain
from an inspirational day at the Malvern Autumn Show

Words of wisdom indeed - don’t miss the opportunity to hear him, and other celebrities; but do check the Show website for times of appearance. In fact visit it regularly for updates on all that is happening, and many more fruitful experiences to come.

Sunshine and Showers ...

The Malvern Hills in the background -
and all the fun of the fair on the Showground

Whenever I think of Malvern in my mind’s eye, I see that whaleback line of hills, and marvel at the fact that no matter when I am there on the Showground - Spring, Summer, Autumn and even Winter, the weather does not matter one jot to my enjoyment of what is on offer.

Floral delights, as always

And thinking ahead again to this year’s Autumn Show; what a joyous occasion it will be. Do you know that feeling of pleasurable euphoria? A day out in the country after a busy summer, tasks accomplished, harvest ongoing - late September in all its glory.

A true celebration of Autumn harvest

Latest show ground news is starting to trickle into my inbox - it’s really exciting when this happens, and has me ferreting for stories surrounding a series of bullet points. First up this week is related to ‘The Good Life’ aspect of the Show, which is all about sowing, growing and cooking with fresh, wholesome food harvested from the garden. 'A Brave New World of Beauty' is the theme of a brand new feature garden in the Good Life Pavilion.

The filigree beauty of hoar frost
on hogweed (c.rquinton)

The design celebrates a new shift towards allowing perennials to stand over winter - enjoying them in the frosty garden rather than tidying them away.  Plant beauty rather than bare soil. Three of the four seasons will be depicted - Autumn, Winter and Spring.

The subtlety of Autumn

Autumn features warm colours (particularly red), with bright Autumn foliage forming a backdrop.  The Winter section will make use of frosted glass and silver foliage, white bark and white plants to evoke the feel of the Winter season.  The Spring section will feature a sumptuous array of Spring coloured flowers with a meadow feel, created using long grasses and asters (the latter normally associated with Autumn) - but that’s in the nature of show gardens: theatricality rather than reality. Do look at the website for the three ‘mood boards’ already featured.

A packed and appreciative audience

As to Celebrity Speakers at the Show, so far confirmed are Joe Swift (both days), Monty Don (Sunday) and Jim Buttress (Saturday); always popular, it’s an excellent opportunity to catch up on the latest professional guidance. Again - keep visiting the website for news; and don’t forget to purchase your tickets in advance. More news will follow from me in due course … it may be trite to say so, but “watch this space!”

Back to the Basics: Show opening times on both days are 9.00am to 6.00pm and there’s a free shuttle bus from Great Malvern rail station. There's also no charge for standard car parking.  Book your Show tickets online, or phone the ticket hotline (01684 584924). And bookmark this Blog if you haven’t done so already as I’ll be posting regularly right up to the Show.

(All images, apart from the frosted hogweed, were taken at the 2013 Autumn Show, are copyright Stuart Purfield and reproduced with his permission.)

WELCOME BACK .....

Memories from the 2013 Malvern Autumn Show

Summer isn’t over yet, but it’s good to say hello again after my break from Show blogging. Mind you, the Showground has been busy with many activities since I last posted about the RHS Malvern Spring Show. So welcome back to Ann’s Malvern Jotter as I now bring you news of the forthcoming Three Counties Malvern Autumn Show.

The Regional Cookery Theatre is always popular (this, too, was 2013)

And oh, what a treat it will be! Note the date first: Saturday and Sunday 27th and 28th September when the Three Counties will be celebrating food, gardening, harvest and nostalgia - and a whole lot more.

A new collage from 2013 images

So, in a nutshell for today’s introduction - what to see and do: Food - taste it (packed full of flavour); Gardening - grow it, harvest it; Nostalgia - re-live it (wander down memory lane); Live Shows - experience it (catch all the action!) and pick up something really special: Shop - buy it (or as they say in a well-know supermarket ad, “shop till you drop”.

Fascinating talks and demos by remarkable specialists

Early news that has just landed on my desk relates to another popular aspect of the Malvern Shows - Plant Demonstrations and Question and Answer Sessions. Two of the Royal Horticultural Society’s major bodies - The Tender Ornamental Plant Committee and The Fruit, Vegetable and Herbs Committee, plus the National Vegetable Society - are joining forces for the second year to host these sessions in the Harvest Pavilion. Visitors can glean advice and benefit from years of experience from an outstanding panel of speakers. 

We all use them, but obtaining the best results requires skill and knowledge

Scheduled for the Autumn Show are the following: Pelargoniums  -  Helen Bainbridge, Member of the RHS Tender Ornamental Plant Committee; Fruit Tree Pruning - Nick Dunn, Chairman of the RHS Fruit, Vegetable and Herb Committee; Growing Vegetables in Containers - Mark Hall, Trustee of the National Vegetable Society; Plants in the Home -  John Hughes, Member of the RHS Tender Ornamental Plant Committee; Fuchsias  - Geoff Oke, Member of the RHS Tender Ornamental Plant Committee; Home Composting -  Mick Poultney, Chairman of the West Midlands Association of the National Vegetable Society and Abbey Road Allotments; Carnivorous Plants  - Matthew Soper, Member of the RHS Tender Ornamental Plant Committee; Showing Fruit and Vegetables - Colin Spires, Vice-Chairman of the RHS Fruit Vegetable and Herb Committee;  Planting Winter Containers  - Brian Taylor, Vice-Chairman of the RHS Tender Ornamental Plant Committee; Tender Plant Associations - Jon Wheatley, Member of RHS Council and Vice-Chairman  of the Tender Ornamental Plant Committee. Talks will take place at hourly intervals (if space permits, I’ll list these with the relevant day in a future post). I sat in on a number of similar talks at the 2013 Show and found them both useful and absolutely fascinating.

A grand day out at Malvern - all the fun of the fair

Now to the nitty-gritty: Show opening times on both days are 9.00am to 6.00pm and there’s a free shuttle bus from Great Malvern rail station. There's also no charge for standard car parking.  Book your Show tickets online, or phone the ticket hotline (01684 584924). And bookmark this Blog if you haven’t done so already as I’ll be posting regularly right up to the Show.