A large portion of food and drink is again on the menu at this year’s Isle of Wight Literary Festival.
Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall © Matt Austin
As well as the chefs in the LitFeast Marquee, sponsored by HTP Apprenticeship College, there are other speakers reflecting our love of good food and exquisite drinks, at the festival, which runs in Cowes from October 8-11.
A marquee full of familiar faces
Perhaps the best known is Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, chef, campaigner and restaurateur, who has been a fixture on our TV screens for more than 20 years.
Hugh is renowned for his responsible attitude to food production and his latest book High Fibre Heroes: How to Turn 12 Everyday Vegetables Into 100 Joyful, Health Boosting Recipes continues his mission to make eating well both accessible and delicious.
Professor Tim Lang
Food for thought
Another writer who is passionate about the food we eat is Professor Tim Lang.
Lang says we are not preparing for the new era of multiple food shocks: climate change, volatile geo-politics, food weaponisation, and other factors…but he says he knows how to fix it.
In his book Feeding Britain, he laid out the facts and in his Just in Case report for the National Preparedness Commission he now goes harder.
Andrew Turvil © David Myers
Three decades of kitchen chaos
In Blood, Sweat and Asparagus Spears, former Good Food Guide editor Andrew Turvil recounts tasting Marco Pierre White’s three Michelin starred food, clocking Jamie Oliver’s first TV take, and fielding volcanic phone calls from irate chefs.
The book charts the wild 1990s ride from cigarette-fuelled SAS-style kitchens to Nobu’s celebrity glamour via the £5 recession lunch and the arrival of conveyor-belt sushi.
Michelin stars in the marquee
In the LitFeast kitchen, there will be plenty to make the mouth water.
Chris Galvin is a Michelin-starred chef who, alongside his brother, owns three eateries under the Galvin banner.
Chris Galvin
He will demonstrate a beautiful dish of daube of venison with quince and chestnuts, taken from the Galvin brothers’ acclaimed cookbook, Galvin: A Cookbook de Luxe.
Chris will share insights into his journey as a chef and restaurateur, as well as the inspiration and process behind creating the cookbook.
Baking with heart
Also appearing in the LitFest Marquee is Miranda Gore Browne, a finalist in the first series of the Great British Bake Off.
The author of two cookbooks, Bake Me a Cake as Fast as You Can and Biscuits, Miranda will show you how to bake with love.
Miranda Gore Browne
Miranda’s father was from the Island and her grandfather ran Roman’s Farm Dairy, delivering milk, while her grandmother ran a much-loved garden tearoom in Shanklin, known for homemade cakes, scones and cream from the family dairy.
Cakes fit for royalty
The third chef in the kitchen is Eric Lanlard, a French master pâtissier whose celebrated cake commissions include Madonna and Guy Ritchie’s wedding, wedding cakes for Elizabeth Hurley and Claudia Schiffer, Brooklyn Beckham’s christening cake and a cake for the Queen Mother’s 101st birthday featuring two corgis in tiaras.
Eric Lanlard
Eric has fronted his own Channel 4 series, Baking Mad with Eric Lanlard and Glamour Puds, and has twice been named Continental Pâtissier of the Year at the British Baking Awards. He is the author of numerous cookbooks.
At the festival he will demonstrate how to make a raspberry and chocolate tart from his book, Chocolat.
Raise a glass
If it is liquid refreshment that interests you, then there are two speakers that can’t be missed.
Helen McGinn, a festival favourite, returns to host a wine tasting event in Northwood House on the opening evening of the festival.
Ian Buxton
She is the resident wine expert on BBC1’s Saturday Kitchen and ITV’s This Morning, and is much loved for helping viewers navigate the wine aisles, find the perfect bottle for any occasion and spot the best bargains.
If whisky is your tipple then Ian Buxton is your man. His talk Whiskies Galore, based on his latest book, is centred around the single malts of the Scottish Isles, and is accompanied by a taste of one of the fine whiskies from the Isles.
For full details of times and ticket availability, go to the website.
News shared by Alan on behalf of Isle of Wight Literary Festival. Ed
