As an agency of foodies, Liquid was never likely to turn down an invitation to Christchurch Food Festival! The annual event, held this year over the Queen’s Jubilee weekend, showcases the UK’s finest food and drink from local farmers through to world-renowned chefs.
Along with its usual line-up of delicious street food and craft drinks, this year’s edition focused on local produce from ethically-minded traders, with the festival taking place in the gorgeous setting of Christchurch Quay.
Liquid’s Ellie Jeffrey, Luke Horton, Jess Thompson and Chef Director David Colcombe were in attendance to soak up the South Coast sun and enjoy the many tastes of this year’s event. Here are their highlights from Christchurch Food Festival 2022.
Good food, good company
Arriving on Friday, Luke and Chef spent their first evening in Christchurch dining at local wine bar, BODEGA, with food experts and long-time friends of the company James Golding, Richard Bertinet, Sam Evans and Shauna Guinn.
Chilled red wine, charcuterie and cheese were on the agenda, setting the scene for a weekend of excellent food and drink. The team loved catching up with James, Richard, Sam and Shauna, who share close working relationships with Liquid through our consumer client Maple from Canada.
Dazzling demos
Saturday brought more food and, following some pretty dismal weather on Friday, a welcome splash of sunshine to Christchurch Quay. In this beautiful backdrop, James, Sam and Shauna got to work, putting on two showstopping chef demos for the festival’s attendees.
James cooked venison with a maple syrup vinaigrette, while Sam and Shauna put their signature BBQ spin on Wales’ national dish of cawl, serving up a delicious, barbecued lamb stew with leeks and carrots.
‘Always in Season’ Podcast
Later on, the team reconvened to record the very first face-to-face episode of Maple from Canada’s Always in Season podcast. James, Richard, Sam and Shauna were joined by Real Food Festivals founder and director, Phillip Lowery, to discuss Christchurch and all things food.
Recording the podcast in person presented a couple of challenges – not least the Elvis impersonator outside the pop-up tent whose strong vocal performance was only decibels away from making it onto the final cut of the episode!
The Liquid team returned to Birmingham well fed and already eager to attend next year’s edition of Christchurch Food Festival!