Warner Edwards

BBC Good Food Show Summer 2016

16th June 2016 by Rosie

I’m home from another fantastic day at the BBC Good Food Show in Birmingham. Today was day one of the show which runs for four days until Sunday 19th June, so there’s still plenty of time to book your tickets online, or alternatively, you can just turn up and pay your admission fee to gain entry. However, if you pre-book your tickets online and use my code BL20, you can grab yourself a cool 20% off your admission price! That’ll give you even more money to spend on delicious produce.

As it’s the summer show it’s also the BBC Gardner’s World Live show too, so there’s a huge amount to see outdoors in the way of plants, furniture, exhibitions etc. My fave was this lovely girl that I saw beside the path on my way back to the car.

I’ve spent the day walking, eating, drinking, chatting, watching chefs (& friends) on stage, not to mention cuddling these two fantastic Italian Chefs and have brought home a whole cacophony of goodies with me.

Lexus UK are once again sponsoring the show, and I watched a good friend of mine, Julie demonstrate her cupcake decorating skills with Marcus Bean on the Lexus stage.

I’ve met some really lovely food producers who are all incredibly passionate about their products (and rightly so too!) My haul includes:

The ever delicious gluten free sauces from Debbie & Andrews. You can find them on stand F685. I came home with Sweet Chilli and Chicken & Mango flavours.

I can’t wait to get cooking a delicious tagine with the gluten free Harissa Sauce and a delicious pasta dish with the Pesto sauce from Taste Collectiv. Go and say hello to Mark & Victoria on stand F181, and treat yourself to their range of 5 sauces.

I’ve got delicious and fresh tasting Aloe Vera drinks from Grace Aloe Vera on stand F110, (to which I have to admit I was really pleasantly surprised about; not just on the flavoured versions but on the original flavoured ones too).

Lots of lovely gluten free macaroons, madeleines, savoury crackers and cereal bars from Mrs Crimbles on stand F90.

My mouth was on fire with the Chilli Fudge from Tan Rosie. Who knew you could use scotch bonnet chillies in fudge? Their family recipes are inspired from their heritage in Grenada and Carriacou. Go and find them on stand F632 if you dare…! HAHA!

I wasn’t brave enough to try the Fire Candy from the lovely guys at the Black Liquorice Company – but I dare you to try some yourself! Their flavoured liquorices are delicious though. You’ll find them on F195.

Who knew that you could make a pestle & mortar out of Himalayan Salt, let alone cook on it or build a wall from it? Visit the Salt House on stand F302 to find out more on this one.

I tasted a lovely variety of oils, balsamic vinegars and grape musts from Casa de l’Oli. I think my favourite one was the 5 year old Blanco Balsamic vinegar, teamed up with their lime olive oil.

I bought home some delicious coffee fudge from the Fudge Kitchen (but it’s all gone now as it didn’t last long with my husband and daughter to share it with!). They have lots of different flavours to choose from over on stand F179. (Nice sash by the way!)

For lunch I enjoyed a gluten free Chicken Italia burger from Heck Sausages (stand F97), whilst to follow I bought a deliciously creamy coffee ice cream from the Salome Dairy (stand F916) which just filled the last little space I had left. (Sorry, no photos here – I was hungry!)

I also came home with a bottle of locally (Northamptonshire) produced rhubarb gin from my favourites and the multi award winning Warner Edwards (stand F460)

As well as the most beautiful new apron from my favourite knife manufacturer I.O. Shen Knives who you can find on F682. How beautifully does this go with my blade tattooed knives? I’ve already been told this is a ‘Man Apron’ and therefore has been bagged by my husband for himself! Thanks Nat x.

If you like peanut butter, then you’ll love these guys over at Proper Nutty Butter. Produced in Yorkshire with ‘Nowt but Nuts’ and love! You’ll find them on stand F638

I also have delicious tasting pea flour snacks from Yushoi Snappea Rice Sticks over on F662.

I wish I could go back every day for the next three days of the show, as there is so much more I’d love to share with you, however, I’m having knee surgery tomorrow morning and have to be in hospital at 7am, so sadly only one day at the show for me this year.

If you’re going to the show over the next few days, have a wonderful time. I wish all the exhibitors and organisers a successful show and hope the visitors have an amazing time too. See you all for the Winter show in November.

As an official BBC Good Food Show blogger, I am provided with free entry into the show. Some of the samples detailed above were provided to me free of charge by the exhibitors to try and review – thanks to those who continue to support me and my blog.

BBC Good Food Show Bloggers Day Out at Warner Edwards Gin

16th November 2015 by Rosie

A few weeks back I was invited, as one of the BBC Good Food Show bloggers, to visit Warner Edwards gin distillery in Northamptonshire. As a local Northamptonshire girl and a fan of their gin already, there was no way I was going to pass this one up! So, with the day booked off work and the services of my husband employed as my chauffeur for the day, I went the 15 miles from my home to the beautiful little village of Harrington, where their distillery is based.

Tom (Warner) and Sion (Edwards) met at agricultural college and have been the best of friends ever since. They are both from farming backgrounds and the distillery is actually based in a converted barn on Tom’s parents’ family farm, where the water they use to manufacture the gin and cut the alcohol is taken from one of the many natural springs which emerge from the land on the terraced fields upon which the farm looks.

After arriving and being met by Sion, we were taken indoors to meet their beautiful copper Arnold Holstein Still called ‘Curiosity’. Why is she called Curiosity? Well, the story goes (and there are paw prints to prove it), that when they laid the concrete floor ready for the still, they came back the next morning to find cat paw prints embossed into the now dry concrete; so as the saying goes “Curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back”.

One of the first thing that hits you as you enter the distillery, along with the warmth, is the distinctive smell of the juniper and the other ten botanicals that they use in their distilling process, which includes coriander and nutmeg. The beautiful patina on the copper is produced by the heat of the process within creates some gorgeous colours.

The gin distillation process takes approximately 7 hours, with the spring water, barley, grains and botanicals being added to the gleaming 500 litre pot. The copper in the pot natrurally absorbs the acids, cyanides and carbonates that the botanicals add to the sprit. From there, the spirit is distilled through the 4.3m high column of 8 bubble plates, a defleginator and a catalyser to produce the spirit which is then cut down to 44% ABV using the natural spring water from the farm.

Their first batch was brewed in November 2012 as a Harrington Dry Gin. From there, in 2013 they introduced their light and fragrant Elderflower Gin, made from locally picked elderflowers near both Tom & Sion’s family farms in Northamptonshire and Wales. Their limited edition of 2000 bottles sold out in next to no time and surprised them with it’s popularity! Next to be introduced into the Warner Edwards gin family came their Sloe Gin in December 2013, followed by their latest creation of Victoria’s Rhubarb Gin in September 2014. The rhubarb used to create this gin has firm roots and history traceable to the Buckingham Palace garden of Queen Victoria herself.

The intital aim from Tom and Sion was to produce a spirit that you were able to drink both neat as well as with a mixer, and they have certainly achieved this with their current range of 4 delicious gins. They had to perform their initial research (carried out in the local pub) twice, because by the end of the first night and the end of the glasses of lots of different gins, they realised they hadn’t taken any notes. So off home to sober up and start the process anew WITH note taking this time!

In 2013, within 6 months of their launch, Warner Edwards won a Silver in the prestigious San Francisco World Spirit Awards, followed by a very impressive Double Gold Award in 2014.

Currently you can buy Warner Edwards award winning gin directly from them, or from Fortnum & Masons, Marks & Spencer as well as Waitrose and independant retailers.

Thanks to the BBC Good Food Show organisers, River Street Events, for the invitation, and to Warner Edwards for their hospitality. Together, with the lovely Alex From Gingey Bites Blog, we raise our glasses to your continued sucess, and join you in becoming ‘United in Sprit’. Cheers!

BBC Good Food Show, Winter 2013

7th December 2013 by Freycob

I visited the BBC. good Food winter show last Saturday with 2 wonderful friends, Carmela Hayes & Julie Elliott. We are an awesome trio when we get together and last week was no exception!

Starting on the train to Birmingham with Pain aux Raisin for breakfast, we visited stands laden with cheese, crackers, olives, British oils (Duncan Farrington from Farrington’s Mellow Yellow fame), spices, chocolate, coffee, gin (from the lovely guys at Warner Edwards), wine, pickles, chutneys and a myriad of other amazing ingredients.

We had 4th row tickets for the Super Theatre to see Paul Hollywood & Mary Berry demonstrate their recipes and were treated to a rather fabulous looking ‘kitchen hand’ who not only swept the floor, but also brushed Mary Berry down and tried to wipe the grey from Paul Hollywood’s beard.

The kitchen hand was only Gino Di’Campo!!!!!!

At the end of a fabulous day we bumped into the lovely Urvashi Roe who recommended we visit the Barbers cheese stand (how did we miss this?!) I’m so glad we did as I entered a competition to win a hamper of cheese.

Well, blow me down with a feather because look what I won…..!

A HUGE, quality made wooden box.

Which when opened revealed a gorgeous quality apron.

And underneath the insulation and packaging a MASSIVE treasure trove of amazing cheese. In fact over 3kg of their 24 month matured Vintage Cheddar Cheese. Now I know this cheese is good stuff as I tasted some at the show, we had ‘train snacks’ of cheese on the way home and I bought 2 packs of it to bring home for the family to enjoy too.

How lucky am I? Thank you to the Barber family for my generous prize. The wooden box will be kept for storage to remind me of your generosity.

BBC Good Food Show Summer 2016

As an official BBC Good Food Show blogger, I am provided with free entry into the show. Some of the samples detailed above were provided to me free of charge by the exhibitors to try and review – thanks to those who continue to support me and my blog.

BBC Good Food Show Bloggers Day Out at Warner Edwards Gin

BBC Good Food Show, Winter 2013

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