News & Stories

Saturday 15th & Sunday 16th July 2017

A Recipe For Success

Take the very best cuisines, an independent and unique vibe, a gentle sea breeze, a friendly and energetic atmosphere and mix together for the perfect food festival…

Festival Recipe:

• Carefully weigh out over 50 stalls of foodie offerings
• Heat gently with exciting taste sensations
• Stir in a vibrant mix of sights, sounds and smells
• Take a pinch of ‘sea salt’ air and sprinkle with a seaside location
• Add a heaped spoonful of entertainment, live music and family fun
• Whip up into a two days of summer festival fun

This year’s delicious event promises a feast of culinary delights with over 50 stalls of local produce, artisan foods, fresh seafood, real ales, wines and beers in the road closure area. Southsea is ideally placed to celebrate the vast array of local food and drink offerings from across Hampshire. Market stalls filled with tasty local goodies and an abundance of independent traders from local Southsea restaurants.

In the precinct on the Saturday, Love Southsea will bring an array of tasty treats to try on the day and take home to savour. Hampshire farmers join in the fun on the Sunday, bringing the best quality, seasonal, local produce with them.

Community Chef Robin van Creveld, hosts local food businesses, practical demonstrations, key tips, insider secrets and culinary creations. ‘Food Portsmouth’ will bring a unique way to utilize food surpluses with a fun packed ‘Ready Steady Cook’ demonstration in the Kitchen Theatre.

It’s not just the foodie treats that make the Southsea Food Festival a huge success, the al fresco vibe and festival atmosphere fill the air. Pull up a deckchair at the kitchen stage and let the sights, sounds and smells take you to the far reaches of the world. It’s a great way to relax, kick back and enjoy time with friends and family. There’s always fun for all the family, young or young at heart, from live music, face painting, demonstrations and plenty of food!

Live music from the Wedgewood Rooms provides the festival sound track on the music stage. With a mix of acoustic sessions from laid back beats, summer grooves and crowd pleasers to go hand in hand with your culinary adventures.

So don’t just make this food for thought, book the dates in your diary and eat, drink and be merry at Southsea Food Festival 2017!

Festival Areas:

• Kitchen demonstrations – Kitchen Theatre
• Music
• Food stalls
• Children’s entertainment

Saturday 15th July 10.00 – 18.00

Sunday 16th July 10.00 – 17.00

Get in touch:
023 9284 1068
rebecca.coghlan@portsmouthcc.gov.uk

These days, there are lots of people selling food out of vans, their kitchens or off market stalls, but this wasn’t always the case…

The street food movement has had something of a revolution over the past decade, with the variety of food on offer reaching gourmet levels and even Michelin stars! Street food’s popularity could be down to its authenticity, the fact that it is cooked fresh to order and, of course, that often it’s sold at very reasonable prices. The popularity shows no sign of waning and has given birth to a brand new style of eatery – the street food restaurant.

Here you can expect a range of flavours and fusions between east and west. Take Umami on Elm Grove. Your tastebuds will go on a ride; American-style burgers, wraps filled with Lebanese herbs and spices, and their own secret blend of sauce. The name itself gives some hint as to what to expect – Umami means ‘the 5th taste’, describing an individual’s original taste beyond the four basics – sweet, sour, bitter and salty.

The owners of 6oz burgers, home of some of the best burgers around, have recently started a new venture. Two Doors Down (literally, as well as in name) brings the feel of a street food market. The owners could not narrow down what cuisine they wanted to focus on and so decided to incorporate a range of cuisines. Dishes include crispy seared tuna; California quinoa salad and sweet churros.

Events such as Victorious Festival on the 25th, 26th and 27th August showcase some of the best in local street food vendors. Expect to see The Gourmet Grilled Cheese Co and Feed Hot Dog Co amongst others.

Taste of Portsmouth Guest Artwork – Emma Nicol

Our amazing artwork for the centre spread is from Emma Nicol an illustrator and designer who lives in Southsea. Based in her studio by the sea, Emma creates custom embroidered and applique homewares, inspired by your favourite people and places. She has an obsession with all things creative, if it can be drawn, painted, sewn, cut, printed or baked, Emma will have a go.

Commissions? – Just ask!

Visit emmanicolillustration.co.uk

Barbecuing is the world’s oldest method of cooking, every culture seems to have its own version of it, from the South African Braai; the Hawaiin Luau or the Argentine Asado, we all love the ritual of cooking in the open air over a burning flame..

When it comes to what you are throwing on the barbie, meat is king. Visit Bransbury Park Butchers or Buckwells on Osborne Road, for some of the best local cuts of meat. For a quality sausage, try the award-winning ones from Stephen Humby Butchers on Tangier Road – the best banger for your barbie. For chicken and poultry, Farmers Choice Free Range has to be at the top of your list. Here, chickens are totally free range and to make your life easier, order online and they will deliver your goodies straight to your door. Alternatively salmon steaks, whole sardines and mackerel are also a firm favourite.

If you fancy getting out of the back garden, there are a few designated areas where you can get your grill on. The main area is the common near Clarence Pier, as well as Southsea Castle and adjacent to the Canoe Lake. Check portsmouth.gov.uk for an the up-to-date map of exactly where you can and can’t barbecue.

For those who prefer their food indoors (well, we do live in England!) then barbecuing is popular enough to have restaurants dedicated to the cooking style. Try Korean-style barbecued food at Twins BBQ or go Brazilian at Casa Brazil where your choice of marinated meat is sliced at your table.

If you are lucky enough to be in the same vicinity as The Meat Thief – a mobile BBQ catering company, then get ready for a taste-sensation. Find them at local events and markets serving up tasty treats, including their honey and milk pork chops and BBQ whiskey chicken.

Swimming in milk, a slice of lemon, heaps of sugar, just plain or with the bag left in; we all like our tea to be prepared in different ways.

It was being sold in British coffee shops in the 17th century, but it was mainly the wealthy who enjoyed a nice cuppa as it was still considered too expensive for the majority.

By the mid 18th century, tea had become Britain’s most popular beverage, replacing ale and gin as the drink of the masses. Before long, the East India Company was using fast ships called ‘Tea Clippers’ to bring back leaves from India and China.

Some of the popular teas we know and love today, are scarcely recognisable from the leaves that first landed in the UK over 400 years ago. From a white tea, elderflower and apricot brew, to kombucha, a fermented, slightly effervescent black or green tea drink, we are experiencing a new love affair with tea.

It became more readily available and as a result, dedicated tea shops began popping up on high streets up and down the country. Although still popular today, what is being drunk inside them is changing all the time. The typical strong ‘builder’s’ tea is losing popularity to its trendy, younger siblings: green, herbal and fruit flavoured varieties.

Here in Portsmouth you can find a company so passionate about tea, that they are the self-proclaimed ‘saviours of the cuppa!’ Andrew Gadsden is the founder of All About Tea and has revived the times where each city would have had its own tea merchant with their own standard blend, suitable for the local water and the tastes of their customers.

The tradition faded with the introduction of supermarkets who could offer tea at much cheaper prices, thus losing the area-specific blends, making room for tea for everyone, regardless of where they are and the hardness of the water.

All About Tea blend and pack the finest teas for both businesses and the public alike, including a speciality tea for Portsmouth which is a rich, strong, full-flavoured tea that is specially blended for Portsmouth’s harder, chalky water.

As a wise Japanese proverb once said “If man has no tea in him, he is incapable of understanding truth and beauty’’. We’ll drink to that!

Check out this Youtube documentary All about tea…