A tasty day out at the Winter Good Food Show
- ann-evans
- 13 minutes ago
- 4 min read
The recent Winter Good Food Show at the Birmingham NEC certainly drew in the crowds. Around 127,000 visitors packed the halls for the four-day shopping extravaganza, finding inspiration with new products, top brands and award-winning food and drinks.
As always there was a great line up of well-known chefs giving talks and demonstrations in the live theatre and signing their latest cookery books. These included James Martin, Michel Roux, Hairy Biker Si King, John Torode, Lisa Faulkner, Paul Ainsworth, Clare Smyth, Rachel Allen, Gennaro Contaldo and Jane Dunn of Jane's Patisseries.
There were live cookery demonstrations, all the latest in kitchen gadgets and utensils, food and drink tastings, workshops, interactive masterclasses, and of course realms of artisan producers. This year also saw the "Good Food Hub" with live podcasts and a kitchen clinic.
More than 350 exhibitors were on hand to tell people about their products and cookware and amongst the many that caught our eye was Sarah Nelson’s Grasmere Gingerbread Shop. Based in Cumbria’s Lake District, Grasmere Gingerbread was founded over 170 years ago by a hard-working wife and mother of three, Sarah Nelson, who was determined to make a good living for herself, her husband Wilfred and their three children back in Victorian times.
Caitlin Whitehouse and Clare Humphrey of Grasmere Gingerbread Shop were understandably proud of the business and eager to chat about the history and the delicious products they make. They explained that it all started in 1854 when Sarah Nelson invented her spicy-sweet chewy gingerbread – described as not a biscuit and not a cake. Sarah would sit outside her church cottage home, wearing a long white apron, and sell her gingerbread to villagers and visitors from a tabletop on a tree stump. Word of her spicy gingerbread spread far and wide, and she continued making and selling this throughout her life.
Sarah Nelson’s Gingerbread® celebrates its 172nd anniversary in 2026, and it’s still baked fresh every day from Sarah’s tiny kitchen at the back of the cottage. Now however it’s enjoyed worldwide and the business boasts 160 different products in its range including an award-winning rum butter.
Discover the full story of Sarah Nelson’s Gingerbread on their website: https://www.grasmeregingerbread.co.uk/
Also loving a bit of spice was our next port of call – this time stopping by Sly Dog Rum which was founded by brothers Louis and Bruce Goddard-Watts. Louis explained that they wanted to change the stereotypes associated with rum. “It’s so much more than pirates, parrots and palm trees,” he said. “We wanted to create a brand where the rum is the champion by using the best quality ingredients – the best quality rums which we blend and mix with the best quality spices to a secret recipe.”
The brothers spent 12 months with leading industry professionals to develop their first recipe before unleashing Sly Dog Rum to the world in March 2021. Louis continued, “Sly Dog Spiced Rum is a blend of three premium Caribbean rums from carefully selected distilleries in Jamaica and the Dominican Republic which have been aged up to 3 years in whisky barrels. We use 100% natural ingredients all sustainably sourced. In the World Rum Awards 2023, their Sly Dog Spiced Rum took the accolade of being the official World’s Best Traditional Spiced Rum. It was praised for its balanced, flavourful profile.
Bruce added: “Our rums are expertly crafted to be sip-able on the rocks, delicious with a mixer and perfect in a cocktail. We’ve got a range of cocktail recipes on our website. Our mission is simple: to craft outstanding flavoured rums and bring a new generation of rum drinkers along with us.”
For further details and information of where to buy Sly Dog Rum, go to: https://www.slydog.co.uk/
Sticking with the spice theme, we were drawn to Kuljots Indian Street Food – Kuljot being mum and the cook of this delicious Punjabi street food. She cooks fresh every day – samosas, large spring rolls, curry and rice – delicious traditional Indian food which has won them two great Taste Awards. They also produce an award-winning Tikka Masala dry rub.
It’s very much a family business with dad Amrit and their son Sahib working alongside of her, and their daughter Alisha working on the marketing side of things. Kuljots Indian Street Food came to the Good Food Show for the first time, three years ago. Quite recently they also took their dishes to France and Holland, where they were well received. “Once you taste our food, you will love it,” Kuljots said, adding that she learnt to cook by watching her grandparents.
Find Kuljots on Facebook and Instagram.
Not spicy but salty with a distinct flavour of herbs was Herbamare Herb Sea Salt. Herbamare® Herb Sea Salt is unrefined sea salt, infused with 13 fresh organically grown herbs and vegetables making up 5% of its salty mix, giving it a truly authentic, vibrant flavour. The salt is traditionally harvested by hand from unique salt marshes in Aigues-Mortes, an area of France well known for its rich agricultural land. Organically grown herbs and vegetables including celery leaves, leek, cress (water and garden), onion, chive, parsley, lovage, garlic, basil, marjoram, rosemary, thyme and kelp, are then steeped with the sea salt for many months to capture the distinctive quality and flavour.
Dates for your diary: The Summer Good Food Show at the Birmingham NEC takes place from 18 - 21 June 2026 and the 2026 Winter Show is on 26 - 29 November 2026. Visit: www.goodfoodshow.com
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