Saturday's Cake & Craft Fair 1st Dec

Congo Calling - 29th Nov

I had my tickets booked for Congo Calling's event in St Stephen's Church on the High Street a while ago. Bandi Mbubi was going to come and talk about Congo Calling at the hub (an event organised by the TEDxExeter team although not actually a TED event) but the success of Congo Calling meant that they outgrew us and so moved to St Stephens. I last saw Bandi at TEDxExeter 2012. 

I bumped into the TEDxExeter team while I was having a leisurely breakfast and they were having a meeting on the next table. They talked cake sale and I offered to get Baking Club involved. That chance meeting led to an amazing Bake-In at the hub on the Wednesday and a great cake sale at Congo Calling on the Thursday. The Congo Calling we so generous with their thanks and that meant a huge amount to Maria, Isabela, Geraldine, myself and our Baking Club Boss Lauren - who is the star in all this. 

Lauren wrote out an ingredients list with military precision, I went shopping, we brought in all our equipment from home, put our catering oven from my cafe days in the alley (to protect our fabulous ceiling) and got busy. Four and a bit hours later we had filled boxes with all sorts of goodies and had a ball doing it. 

All butter lemon dinosaur biscuits 

Maria wrapping the biscuits

Geraldine making Best Ever Brownies

Lauren's cupcake factory

coffee and walnut cupcakes

It's a fiendishly complicated brownie recipe

I love my KitchenAid

She's the Buttercream Queen

Cupcakes in Congo Calling colours

Bandi's talk was eye-opening, thought-provoking and emotional. It was a call to get involved and start making changes. Do have a look at the video below...

15th December Winter Food Fair

We all Love...Local Food 

Winter Food Fair at The Hub on the Green

Saturday 15 December 2012

Love Local Food are holding a Winter Food Fair on Saturday 15 December at the Hub on the Green, Cathedral Close, Exeter from 9.30am – 4.30pm. The event celebrates and showcases many of the local producers and farmers who supply the Love Local Food mobile shop and contribute to the exciting programme of education events.

Love Local Food's Winter Food Fair will be transforming The Hub on the Green into a 'festive food hall' celebrating the very best in produce from the local area. Regulars to Love Local Food's mobile shop, which supplies communities in Exeter and the surrounding area, will be familiar to the variety of high quality products they sell; the Winter Food Fair will enable you to meet the people behind the local produce whilst creating an opportunity to sample seasonal food, drink and even find unique gifts for friends and family.

The Winter Fair will feature local food stalls from Highfield Preserves, Dartmoor Chilli Farm, Good Oil, Emma's Bread, Chiman's Spices, Owen's Coffee and more. There will be mulled apple juice, seasonal soup and mince pies plus Craft Table, Storytelling and Face Painting too.

Bex Phillips, Project Manager, Love Local Food said: “It is unusual for us to be static as the Mobile Shop is usually out and about all over Exeter and surrounding areas. This is a fantastic opportunity for us to get together with some of our producers and create a family atmosphere in a lovely historic venue such as The Hub on The Green.”

Love Local Food have been selling seasonal vegetables, sustainably produced meat, dairy goods, bakery products and treats directly from local farms and producers from the mobile shop since 2008. The shop brings great quality fresh food right into the heart of the community whilst reducing food miles, packaging and supporting the local economy. The team also run community events, seasonal education sessions and monthly producer activities throughout the year.

Joey Lee, Community Projects Director, from the Hub on the Green said: “I am thrilled that Love Local Food are holding their First Winter Food Fair at The Hub on the Green. Their ethos of local seasonal produce is right up our street and they keep finding ways for us to buy in fun and convenient ways. I love Love Local Food!”

Love Local Food's mobile food shop is out and about every Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday in Exeter and the surrounding area. 

The Love Local Food Winter Fair is on Saturday 15 December at the Hub on the Green, Cathedral Close, Exeter from 9.30am – 4.30pm. For more information about the Winter Food Fair, Mobile Shop or Educational Events visit: www.lovelocalfood.org.uk or call 01392 824142.