My 12 year old daughter came along with us too this year.  She’s becoming a keen & competent baker herself and had made some cookies on Friday night to bring along for us all on the train journey down.

It was a cool & drizzly day in London which was contrasted by the heat & humidity inside Earls Court Exhibition Hall itself. There were people as far as the eye could see; obviously this is a very popular show!

Amongst the talents to be spotted there were Eric Lanlard, Dan Lepard, Simon Rimmer, Richard Bertinet, Rosemary Shrager, Mich Turner, Peter Sidwell, John Whaite and James Morton to name but a few! 

My daughter did make me giggle when she told me that Rosemary Shrager was waiting in the queue for the ladies loo as we came out. Obviously we all have the same basic needs!

Walking round the stands of exhibitors there were some of the finest names in the industry; Billingtons Sugar (their molasses sugar tastes amazing so I just had to buy some to bake with myself), Squires Kitchen, Neff, Allinsons Flour, Renshaw, Lakeland, Nielsen-Massey, Betty Crocker, Bonne Maman and Sainsbury’s amongst others.  Not to mention the smaller producers who also contribute to our world of baking.

There were also the retailers who were more than happy to talk to you about their products and ranges on offer and demonstrate their use.  Some relatively new products into the market include one of my favourites – Little Pod’s vanilla paste in a tube (great idea to reduce waste) as well as their coffee & chocolate extracts from which they produced some delicious examples of foods to taste.

From sweets & fudge, through to cakes & breads and chocolates galore. We had a wonderfully tasty flatbread for lunch which I can highly recommend.

Starting the day on the train didn’t go as planned as one of my recently done fillings fell out, which meant I had to eat on the left side of my mouth all day. That wasn’t too bad until we topped off our day to a visit to Wagamama’s restaurant in Covent Garden for dinner, which resulted in me breaking a tooth on the left side of my mouth on the very first mouthful of my starter! I’d had squid before and didn’t like it, however on the recommendation of our waitress who proudly told us that they served the ‘best squid in London’ I gave it a try.

Although it was very tasty, that’s a decision I’ve now come to regret!  For my main course I’d ordered the Chicken Ramen.  Luckily, as the noodles were soft, I was able to eat them in the front of my mouth only and drink the soup base, so I managed to get something to eat. My daughter thought it was her lucky day though, as she got to eat all my chicken.

I’m looking forward to having my teeth sorted out and returning to Wagamama’s for a meal that I can enjoy (and chew) properly.