Love Food

Summery Bunting

The weekends Love Food Festival took some exploring skills to find. Tucked away in Bristol's Paintworks, we followed our noses and the upbeat Jamaican tones being pumped out by the DJ's. We found a colourful courtyard festooned with cheerful bunting.

We arrived at lunchtime and quickly found our midday meal in the shape of Tom's tarts; we shared a slice of spinach and three cheese and a slice of chucky roasted veg. The spinach was divine but we were both surprised by how well the generous hunks of butternut squash went with the creamy egg filling. Delish!

We found seats in the glorious suntrap courtyard and people-watched while we tucked into our quiche. There was an overwhelming community atmosphere with strangers shaving tables and stall holders gamely exchanging happy banter. The sun was out and the mood was high.

Hedgehog bread, Tim's tarts and a travelling greengrocer

Next up was a slice of chocolate and cherry cake from the Ooh La La Chocolaterie accompanied by a well-deserved cup of tea. I lost myself in creamy black forest heaven for a full five minutes... Wow! I galantly managed to bring myself to share a few mouthfuls with my friend who in turn swapped a bite of her chocolate caramel cake. These girls know how to make a woman happy!

The foodhall, just off the main courtyard, was alive with tables of kids decorating hats (very tempting even to us adults!) and stalls groaning with sumptuous food stuffs. The Thoughful Bread Co amazed us with their unusually hued beetroot bread though the real star of their stall was their tangy onion bread. The lovely Kate from Lahloo Tea had a table stacked with delightfully chinz cups and saucers. I've since heard that they've won four Great Taste Gold awards for their glorious loose teas - congratulations Lahloo! My magpie eye just can't get enough of their stylish packaging.

Our eyes were also drawn to Parsnipship stall where they had a stack of Hedghog Bread (above). The dough had been snipped, sprinkled with cheese and decorated with pumpkin seeds for eyes and noses. Very cute! A savory take on gingerbread men that we just loved.

The Love Food Festival isn't the biggest food event that you'll find this year but it was friendly, relaxed and unpretentious. It has the feel of a school fete - maybe next time, we can have a foodie tombola and lucky dip!?

A beautiful blaze of colour