It was only a few weeks ago that I went in with the new by taking a trip to see the young Ludlow Food Centre. Now I was going in with the old by attending the 15th Ludlow Food Festival this year. Unlike the Food Centre situated outside, I had to venture into the centre of Ludlow to see the festival. The town has an agreeable archaic form to it with its black and white pubs, quaint shops, cafes and teashops. One could quite easily imagine their self in a Jane Austen or Charles Dickens novel whilst strolling down its cobbled lanes.
Alas, my view on the festival is not quite so optimistic. It was about 10 years ago that I last went. At that point in time very few were familiar with this culinary gala, or at least not on a national scale and you could amble around quite easily. I remember my eleven-year old self being fascinated by the quality of food sold. It probably had some influence in my education of gastronomy since I had never been to anything like this before. But that comes as no surprise when the Ludlow Food Festival was in fact the first of its kind in this country. Fast-forward to the future, and walking around the stalls is a nightmare. Hardly any samples are available, unlike in its early years, and it is a very effortless process to observe the huge proportion of vendors selling chutneys and pickles. I can appreciate that this festival is a chance for local producers to make sales, but really for about 75% of them to flog the same type of product is not only uninspiring for the visitor, but only makes competition harder for they themselves. Why could the organisers just not have allocated an x number of stalls to chutney and pickle producers, and selected which ones on a first come serve basis? They could then have given the spare stalls to manufacturers of other culinary substances. What is more, I was shocked to find how dull in taste the breads were from the bakery exhibitors.
The only creation I was really taken aback by was Welsh producer Condessa’s “Praline Welsh Cream Liquor”. It was a bit like sampling Baileys but with an after hint of the praline flavour. Since my father is very patriotic of his Welsh heritage, I thought I would find out a bit more for him on their website www.condessa.co.uk. Having been the liquor caterer at his 21st Birthday, I discovered through my investigations that another fan of this firm is Prince William. And before you assume anything, no the prices are not extortionate just because the royals drink it - a 50cl bottle costs £13. Otherwise, I believe that the Ludlow Food Festival was once an ultimate pilgrimage for the foodie. Now I am sorry to say that it has become an overrated and touristy food exhibition, where produce in terms of diversity is just too unbearably insipid.
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