Speciality Food Fair - fun in London.

What do you think is more fun: a fine food fair including a whole section of the show devoted to chocolate, or the London Urban Street Fashion Show, with the chance to rub shoulders with scary looking people with multiple piercings, tattoos and orthopaedic boots?

It’s probably my age, but we stuck to the food.

It was a chance to meet existing customers and new ones, to show new products and to catch up with lovely lovely food producers like Hawkshead Relish, Pipers Crisps, Clams Cakes, Shropshire Fine Herb, Paxton and Whitfield and Patchwork Pate.

We also had the great delight of a very special meal at Zaika’s (www.zaika-restaurant.co.uk) where the hugely talented Chef Patron, Sanjay Dwivedi cooked a superb tasting menu for a carnivorous friend and me and a vegetarian tasting menu for my daughter- a rarity indeed. Highlights included a spiced wild mushroom ‘risotto’ served with tomato icecream, and a masala tea icecream, and we also had the best garlic naan I have ever tasted.

After the show all the hard work started following up the contacts and we are really pleased with the numbers that have translated into orders. The recession seems to have affected some parts of the market more than others and thankfully our customers are reluctant to downgrade their sea salts- once you’ve tasted Halen Môn you’re clearly addicted!