We can’t wait to welcome you to the Festival of Food and Drink so you can enjoy all we have to offer including our fantastic line-up of celebrity chefs.
To get to know them a bit better, we asked them each a few questions about their cooking, what they’re planning to show you in the Cookery Theatre and what they like to eat…
Phil Vickery
Q: What can people expect to see from you at the Festival of Food and Drink?
A: The cooking I always talk about on This Morning – dead easy, simple, tasty and that everyone can enjoy. I also love to share a few tricks and sharing my experience of 42 years of cooking for people.
Q: With more people reportedly spending more time in the kitchen during lockdown, what are your top tips for cooking at home?
A: Keep it simple, don’t be snobby about canned or frozen foods, just as long you prepare and put it together properly. If possible, also think about your ingredients for the entire week so you can reuse some ingredients and flavours and to avoid buying lots of different ingredients that you end up throwing out and wasting.
Q: What would you say your approach to food is?
A: Simple, honest, well research and tasty recipes – that always work!
Jean Christophe Novelli
Q: Having appeared at many local events, what is your opinion of the food and producers in the East Midlands?
A: The thing I love about appearing at festivals is meeting all of the stall holders and producers, everyone has something unique to offer. I love hearing about each person’s story and how passionate they are about their product. As I French man I always feel like Alice In Wonderland.
Q: What can people expect to see from you at the Festival of Food and Drink?
A: I will be showcasing some exciting recipes. People can expect lots of tips and techniques during the demonstration. I try to make my demonstration fun, interactive but also informative. I can show people how to cut down on salt, sugar and saturated fats without compromising on flavour. Apart from the cooking I hope to meet as many people as possible.
Q: Is there a type of cooking you’ve become more interested in recently and would love to learn more about? If so, what?
A: Not so much recently but over the years my cooking style has changed. Since having a young family I have learnt to cut out salt, I certainly cook with less fat and look forward to showing some of these techniques at the Clumber Festival of Food and Drink on the 19th September.
Matt Pritchard
Q: Nottinghamshire is home to the Bramley apple, and we are approaching apple season. What would be your recommendation for a dish featuring this ingredient?
A: I’m old school so it’s a defo apple crumble With a bit of nutmeg.
Q: What can people expect to see from you at the Festival of Food and Drink?
A: Let’s just say I’m not your normal cook. I haven’t decided what I’m cooking for the festival yet but most of my dishes are wholesome home cooking kind of dishes. I’ll be sharing with the audience stories of my time at sea rowing the Atlantic Ocean and answering any questions anyone may have.
Q: How do you feel society’s approach to food and cooking is changing and what advice would you give to anyone considering going vegan?
A: It’s exciting to see so many people enjoying food and long may it continue. I’ve seen so many small independent food businesses opening recently and its really promising to go into the future especially for choice of cuisines. If you’re going vegan my main piece of advice is if you mess up just start again.
Q: What’s the biggest myth about Veganism?
A: That we all look and dress like hippies
Joe Hurd
Q: When did you first become interested in food and cooking?
A: I think it wasn’t until much later in life. Food and cooking where always a huge part of growing up for me and I just took it for granted.
My maternal family side were Italian, so we would eat as a family a lot in the week, lots of big pasta al forno, cotoletta, pasta dishes, home-made sausages, zuppa, home-made pizza etc. It was just part of life, we all chipped in, all the cousins making pasta and sauces etc.
If anything, I think I resented it a bit, I wanted McDonalds and Frey Bentos. When I went to University in Leeds, suddenly, I had a massively valuable skill in the kitchen which made me popular and occasionally in demand! Combined with missing the food I was used to getting with the family (and having too many takeaways and convenience foods) I realised how important it was to me.
I always loved restaurants though, and the trattoria we would go to every week back in Hull really colour a lot of my earliest memories. Sat at huge tables with all the family watching the Pizzaiolo throw the doughs, etc. That was a huge part of my life.
Q: Do you have a signature recipe – that go-to dish? If so, what is it?
A: Not really, I think if anything probably pasta with tomato. It might sound simple but over the last year every element of that dish has constantly evolved, from the type of pasta I use, the olive oil, the tomato, how you cook the basil to the difference that pans can make to the flavour (aluminium all the way) or different PH in water. We eat it once a week as the primo to our Sunday dinner which is always strictly Italian. Otherwise, I have always tried to put myself out there as a great lover and cooker of octopus.
Q: What can people expect to see from you at the Festival of Food and Drink?
A: A one-man trattoria.
Karen Wright
Q: What can people expect to see from you at the Festival of Food and Drink?
A: Cooking that is fun but very easy and impressive!
Q: When did you first become interested in food and cooking?
A: I first became interested as a child when I was given my first cook book. I was enthralled and haven’t looked back since.
Q: Do you have a signature recipe – that go-to dish? If so, what is it?
A: Beef Bourguignon, Gratin Potatoes, Tarte au Citron
Annie from Annie’s Burgers
Q: Do you have a signature recipe – that go-to dish? If so, what is it?
A: I love a whole bunch of different dishes for whatever occasion or season… Love Fondue in the Winter for example. I can tell you one of my favourite go to burgers I have. Got to be The Delta burger. I usually tell people to give that a try if you can’t decide which one you want.
Q: What can people expect to see from you at the Festival of Food and Drink?
A: Hopefully a lot of tips and ideas how to make it Authentically American
Q: Name a simple foodie pleasure…
A: Cinnamon Sugar toast with slightly melted butter or grilled cheese with tomato and mayo with Campbells Tomato Soup
