Foodies Festival Flashback + Ticket Giveaway

Sometimes life swings past so swiftly, even when most of mine is spent delving into the past with Fanny Cradock! The Edinburgh year is punctuated with many sensational events, but it is always August that either fills Edinburgers hearts with joy, or dread... It's festival time! Personally, I love it, the whole city is full - full of people, full of fun, full of excitement and full of festivals! Depending on your viewpoint too, Edinburgh can be full of Fannys.

Celebrating it's 10th year as part of the Fanny-less fun is Foodies Festival. Last year I chatted to a few celebrity chefs who were appearing in the demo tent, asking them about food, festivals and Fanny! Poor them, I don't think it was their usual kind of interview... Three of my favourites are set to make a welcome return this year, and I am excited to see what they are up to for 2015!

Adam Handling made his debut last year, and chose to wear his 'lucky pants' instead of a Fanny-inspired ballgown. They seemed to work - he was a hit with the crowd. His motto is 'smile or get out of the kitchen' but Adam himself admitted to being a little nervous about his appearance... Surely not this year though as 'Team Adam' returns?

Mark Greenaway claimed to be way too modern to remember Fanny, but he captured some of her cheeky spirit by having a laugh with the audience while he cooked. Interaction was a key feature of Fannys performances too, but Mark reckoned that he wouldn't look as good in a ballgown. I think we need to start a campaign to bring the ballgown back to food demonstrations? Or just to life in general.

Edinburgh's very own incredible Spice Man, Tony Singh, was a natural highlight of Foodies last year, with his inventive dishes that could be easily recreated at home. Tony told me he was more influenced by the late great Marguerite Patten than Fanny, but brought some of Fannys flair and colour to wow the audiences. This year Tony has stripped down for a pop-up restaurant 'Road Trip' at the Apex Hotel in the Grassmarket during August. It's the food that's stripped down, not Tony but there still will be lots of spicy fun to be had! Stripping and spice, but still no ballgowns. Sigh.

If you fancy joining Adam, Mark and an impressive list of others at Foodies between 7th and 9th August then what better way than to win some of the free tickets I have to giveaway? Just leave a blog comment saying what your preferred day would be, complete the Rafflecopter thingy-me-jig below, which will select winners at random after the closing date of 27th July 2015 and keep your fingers crossed! Previous entires from last weeks post will be collated with these. If you are the less optimistic type you can buy tickets instead direct from the Foodies Festival. If you win, you don't *have* to speak me at the Festival, but I will be there enjoying it all again - watch out for more Fanny Foodies Fun blogs in coming weeks,  and maybe some ballgowns...

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I am delighted to be an Official Foodies Festival Blogger. Prizes are offered by Lanyard Media representing Foodies and will be sent directly from them to you if you win. See you at the Festival!

Tickets:

Tickets are on sale now at www.foodiesfestival.com or by calling 0844 995 1111

Friday adult day ticket £10.00 (£8.00 concession)

Saturday or Sunday adult day ticket £13.00 (£11.00 concession)

3-day adult ticket £20.00 (£16.00 concession)

Friday VIP ticket £35.00

Saturday or Sunday VIP ticket £38.00

VIP tickets include a welcome glass of bubbly, access to the VIP tent with private bar and refreshments throughout the day, priority entry to food and drink masterclasses, a goody bag and a showguide.

All children aged 12 and under go free to all Foodies Festivals when accompanied by an adult.

Open times:

Friday 7^th August: 11am – 7pm

Saturday 8^th August: 10am – 8pm

Sunday 9^th August: 10am – 7pm

Handling Adams Homecoming at Foodies Festival

I think Adam Handling's a wee bit nervous about his homecoming demo at Foodies this August in Edinburgh. 'I've not done a Scottish crowd before, so we'll see how it goes!' but he promises to relax into it with some jokes and banter with the audience. Fanny Cradock cracked a few jokes too when she appeared at the city's Usher Hall. Initially, she thought her career was over 'for certain' when her usual lines were met with a stunned silence. Perhaps the crowd didn't understand her, or worse still they didn't appreciate her? All turned out well of course for Fanny when one well-to-do Morningside Lady (probably) started chuckling and the laughs soon rippled across the rather reserved Edinburgh audience. I don't think Adam has anything to worry about either - there is a real buzz about his appearance, and I'm sure his Scottish humour will be well received in Inverleith Park. We are a lot less reserved these days, I think!

Maybe Adam is nervous though because he has lost the lucky charm which served him so well in his early career? 'I used to have an LP Rose Champagne top from Gleneagles, I kept it in my pocket for two years' Perhaps it's time for Adam to find something new to bring good fortune? Not that he really needs it, he seems to be doing just fine. If you saw him on Masterchef The Professionals you'll remember some of those amazing creations, luck had nothing to do with it. Fanny used to armour herself with her sophisticated and showy stage outfits, but Adam can't really see himself donning a ballgown, instead opting for a more cheeky charm. 'Maybe I could get some lucky pants instead?' 

Adventurous Adam is keen to showcase two types of dishes at Foodies - one that is true to the restaurant, and one that is easy to do back at home. Probably one savoury, one sweet. Adam wants the audience to get involved too, so you never know there might even be a chance to help him create or taste his famous Chocolate Orange dessert. Well, actually I'm volunteering already to taste! Fanny invited selected guests to come on stage and taste her souffles and sensational creations, so long as they only said if it was 'delicious or disgusting'. No one ever dared to say anything other than 'delicious', but I suspect in Adams case it would be the response anyway. Particularly if its that Chocolate Orange. Did I mention I'd be happy to be a taster? 'I want people to know how it tastes, and then to reminisce about it at home.' I'm sharpening my elbows to get to the front, I love reminiscing!

Foodies will very much be a team effort for Adam, with a couple of highly capable, willing, smiling assistants on board. 'They are amazing, I love them all!' Watch out for them, they'll have 'Team Adam' emblazoned on their chefs whites and if you sneak backstage before the demo you'll see something Fanny would not have had any part of... 'We do a wee happy dance before we go out!' Adam also hopes to get to explore some of Edinburgh during his time at Foodies. 'I'll be there all weekend, so I can chat to people, get to munch a few things and see the city.' And dancing, clearly.

'My ethos is Smile or Get Out of the Kitchen, which just happens to be the title of my new cookbook!' The book will be available for pre-orders at Foodies which will make the crowds happy too I expect. Adam is almost as excited to be heading 'home' to Scotland for his demo as his many fans are. 'Twitter has been going crazy about it, it's great!' So whether it's down to ballgowns, champagne tops or pants, if you are lucky enough to see Adam at Foodies for his homecoming, push yourself to the front, give him a massive 'welcome home' cheer, taste his dishes (you'll have to fight me for the Chocolate Orange though), do your own happy dance... Just make sure you smile while you do it! 

I'm delighted to be part of the Official Foodies Festival Blogging Team! 

Ticket Information

2014 Foodies Festivals tickets are now available from www.foodiesfestival.com or by calling 0844 995 1111.

Tickets:

1-day adult ticket for Friday £10.00
1-day adult ticket Saturday or Sunday £12.00 (£10.00 concession)
3-day adult ticket £18.00 (£15.00 concession)
1-day VIP ticket £38.00 (Friday VIP ticket £35)

Opening times: 10am until 6pm.

VIP tickets include a glass of Bubbly on arrival, access to the VIP tent throughout the day, a goody bag and priority entry to theatre and masterclass sessions as well as a private bar with refreshments throughout the day and great views of the entertainment stage.

All children aged 12 and under go free to all Foodies Festivals when accompanied by an adult.