Cambridge Cocktail Weekend 2017 – Cambridge (UK)

Posted on 26/08/2017 by One Two Culinary Stew

Cambridge Cocktail Weekend is back for a second year, taking place at the Cambridge Corn Exchange 25 to 27 August 2017. The event was founded by Muddle and Mint to highlight the cocktail offering in Cambridge. It features a selection of Cambridge cocktail bars showcasing a menu of classic, signature and cutting edge cocktails. Local spirit and liqueur producers as well as premium national brands are on board too, giving attendees the opportunity to discover what they can do with their products

Cambridge Cocktail Weekend also offers an educational and interactive experience through workshops, masterclasses, live music and the WFA World Championship Grand Slam Competition where the world’s best flair bartenders compete in the art of juggling bar equipment to entertain and make great cocktails. Cambridge has the honour of hosting the fifth of seven annual Grand Slams held across the world.

Paulo and I attended on Friday, the opening day. There were ten bars selling cocktails and Nanna Mexico served up a variety of dishes made with nachos.

The little booklet prepared by Cambridge Cocktail Weekend, called a compendium, was well put together and contained all the information required for the event. We could peruse each bar’s cocktail menu and take our pick. It was a difficult choice to make! Some of the bartenders were happy to talk us through their cocktails, which helped us decide. The compendium also listed the masterclasses and workshops. Belvedere vodka ran two very popular ones on Friday.

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Love Food 2016 – Barton, Cambridge (UK)

Posted on 16/02/2016 by One Two Culinary Stew

Burwash Manor in Barton, Cambridge was the place for lovers of food and drink over Valentine’s weekend, 13 and 14 February 2016. Love Food, the annual fabulous festival of food, was hosted by Burwash Food Hall, which includes The Larder and Leech & Sons Master Butchers. It was a great way to showcase local independent producers, some of which were already firm favourites, but I also discovered new ones too. It was good to meet the people behind the products they are so dedicated to making. These independent producers really put their heart and soul into their food or drink products and it shows. The proof is in the taste!

I celebrated all weekend and enjoyed tastings and demonstrations by The Larder’s suppliers. They were held in The Secret Garden marquee, a lovely space with lots of room to explore the various stalls.

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Pinkster Gin Tour and Tasting – Barley, Hertfordshire (UK)

Posted on 18/06/2015 by One Two Culinary Stew

Those who have heard me rave about my favourite gin, Pinkster, will understand my sheer delight at being invited to a tour and tasting at Pinkster HQ, near Cambridge. You may have even seen Pinkster’s eye-catching displays in some shops, such as Cambridge Wine Merchants, and at events and fairs. They really do their branding well!

My visit on 15 June was very well organised by Pinkster’s newest team member, Lyndsey Spellman, who is quite the gin connoisseur herself. It was a real treat to have a peek into Pinkster’s premises. I didn’t know what to expect but given the fact that taxis were arranged, I knew there was going to be a lot of gin flowing. Yessss!

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Eat Cambridge 2015, the Main Event – Cambridge (UK)

Posted on 29/05/2015 by One Two Culinary Stew

Eat Cambridge was held at the Corn Exchange on 23 May, 2015. This one-day food and drink fair was the Main Event, with two weeks of fringe events leading up to the big day. I wrote about some of the fringe events: foodPark NIGHT MARKET, Over The Tracks and Grub Club Cambridge Producers’ Dinner.

Only in its third year, this food and drink festival has already become one of Cambridge’s best foodie events.

The aim of Eat Cambridge is to showcase independents that can produce, source or make their products easily available in Cambridgeshire. It’s a great way to discover our local producers, restaurants, cafes and farms.

Strictly not-for-profit, Eat Cambridge is organised by Heidi White and Sian Townsend, with the invaluable help of their team of volunteers. Heidi and the volunteers all worked really hard to make the day run smoothly. (Sian is expecting a baby any minute now so she wasn’t able to attend). As last year, the Corn Exchange was a fabulous venue to hold all the stalls and there were lots of rooms available for the various talks and pop-ups.