Perfect timing then, for the Lincolnshire Food & Gift Fair at the Lincolnshire Showground. A gathering of local chefs and producers, all vying to show off their festive treats. For my sister in law and me, a chance to pick up a few gift ideas and eat and drink until we almost passed out
We arrived on Sunday morning, a little later than planned at about 11am and the Showground was already heaving with excited shoppers and foodies. Having skipped breakfast to leave plenty of room for sampling the delicious local fare, we kept our eyes peeled for food as we made our way down the first aisle of stalls
I have to be honest, at any of these county events I am always most excited about the food. Lincolnshire produce is so varied but invariably delicious! And judging by the crowd around the Uncle Henry's stall I'm not alone! Honestly, it was six deep, I couldn't even get a photo! Luckily my sister in law managed to elbow her way to the front at one end and with me at the other we managed to pass each other many morsels of sausages before eventually plumping for a pack of the caramelised onion. Just SO DAMN GOOD!
Sadly, due to my chronic ill timing, we managed to miss all the cooking demonstrations but I will definitely make sure I catch one next year. We had a chat with The Lincolnshire Chef as we saw him popping a delicious looking pie into the oven and pinched some recipe cards off him to try at home
Despite being completely overwhelmed by the choice of food on offer, we managed to settle on delicious spicy Moroccan lamb served with a zingy salad, pitta bread, minty yoghurt and chilli sauce. Probably the most expensive lunch available on site but oh so worth the queue! I managed to get the sneakiest of sneaky pics ...
We followed it up with pears poached in mulled wine and topped with gingerbread crumble, served with a generous helping of vanilla custard
By the time we'd devoured this feast we were almost too rotund to make it out of the doors but we managed to leave and make our way home, full and sleepy! We'd planned to stop at Waitrose on the way home for shopping but we were both so full that the thought of any more food just made us groan!
If you like to mix your festive shopping with a glut of excellent local grub then I highly recommend you plan a visit to the Lincolnshire Food & Gift Fair next year. The quality of stalls is superb, there are demonstrations, food tasting - did I mention the food?? Parking is free and very well managed and the facilities are excellent. All in all it is a fun day out and perfect for getting you in the mood for Christmas
Thank you to the Marketing team at the Lincolnshire Showground for the complimentary tickets. No payment was received for this feature and all opinions are my own
