OUT AND ABOUT | BBC GOOD FOOD SHOW SPRING 2014

Last Sunday I ventured over to the BBC Good Food Show Spring 2014 in Harrogate. Making its debut to the Yorkshire town, I was sent through a press pass as a Yorkshire-based food blogger to see what was on offer.

Arriving at the venue, the Harrogate International Centre, with foodie friend Diane, we got there at about 2pm - peak time! It was very busy indeed and a lot of feet treading/barging was going on (I had bruised feet to show!).

Working our way through each stall, there were a range of independent, artisan food and drink producers from all over the country. We soon noticed a major theme going on with every other stall devoted to either alcohol, cheese and chutney (all three great loves of mine!).

As we were just there browsing and because of the huge amount of producers on offer this post is more a selection of pictures to show you of what was on offer to sample and to buy. 

OUT AND ABOUT | NORD TASTINGS

Last week I was invited to come and try out the new offshoot of Baltzersens, a dining and restaurant concept called Nord in Harrogate.

Understanding that Nord would have a similar style to Baltzersens, taking Nordic inspiration and creating dishes using local Yorkshire produce it was made clear to us that Nord would be constantly evolving and developing. 

Using fresh produce and embracing techniques like curing and pickling they will have a series of 10 seasonal tasting plates available at any time (see their 'working' menu here).

I was invited as an honest taster to give feedback so that they could get the menu at its best for their launch on Friday 4th April. With 10 people, including myself, we were seated at a long dining table and given a series of dishes and wines to match and then asked for our feedback and opinions by Paul who owns Baltzersens and Nord and head chef Murray Wilson.

First up was the salad which was beautifully presented, vibrant in colour and full of various different ingredients and tastes. It was very refreshing and an exploration into fine dining which I have not experienced before.

Next up was a lamb dish with leeks, brassicas, barley and wild garlic. Unfortunately I cannot stomach lamb... a pet hate of mine so I did not sample this dish. However, everyone else said it was very good and one of the favourites from that evening. 

I was very kindly brought out a different dish as I couldn't eat the lamb option and was given a plate of pork belly, herring, cucumber, celeriac and pickle. Again, beautifully presented and a nice combination of flavours and tastes. The herring was raw and could possibly be quite a challenge for some people to eat but it gave the dish a nice variety of textures. 

Finally we were given a sweet dish to sample. Rhubarb with gin, tonka, yoghurt, oatmeal, lavender, bay, verbana and a kale sponge.

This was a real test for me as I found the lavender way too overpowering. The beauty of these sessions though is to provide this feedback to the chefs so that they can tweak and perfect the dish prior to opening. At a taster session later on in the week this dish re-emerged without the lavender and the feedback was significantly better. 

I am extremely excited to see Nord in full swing when it opens on the 4th April. I hope to make a visit towards the end of the month to see how things have shaped out and to watch the restaurant evolve.

OUT AND ABOUT | THE YORKSHIRE MEATBALL COMPANY

The Yorkshire Meatball Company, fronted by David and Gareth Atkinson, father and son, has been an idea in progress for a good two years. Now the dream has become reality with the pair opening up the UK's first ever meatball restaurant.

Claiming to be a 'speciality' meatball bar, these guys are all about the BALLS... be that in starter, main or dessert form! All their balls are hand-rolled and use only the freshest and tastiest locally sourced Yorkshire produce.

I visited Harrogate on the weekend after being invite to check out a new independent restaurant which opened earlier this month.

Arriving with my friend, we were warmly welcomed and sat down at a table reserved for us, complete with a chalkboard with my name on which was a nice surprise!

Upon entering I was impressed with the decor. A nice wooden and rustic feel that didn't seem to try-hard but had quaint little features and highlights like cheesegrater's for lampshades and  a large black chalkboard wall detailing where all their produce was sourced from as well as the drinks menu.

We were seated and talked through the menu which was laid out on our table on a large A3 sheet of manilla paper - kind of like a diner style set up which I really liked.

The main focus of the menu is to choose the Ball, Bed and Blanket Combo... which means you choose your 'Ball' option, with 6 variations available, including beef and pork, chicken, fish and falafel options. You then choose a 'Bed' option, again 6 variations including linguine, mash potato, roasted vegetables and salad. Then you choose your 'Blanket' option with 6 different sauces to choose from including gravy, home made ketchup and mushroom pesto. 

If you choose this combo you have three size options available, with

Small Balls (two) for £7

Standard Balls (three) for £8

Big Balls (four) for £9

...you can also get a Yorkshire Pudding for free on the side - a nice little added extra!

I went for the Ball, Bed and Blanket Combo with Birdie Balls, Salad Leaf and Gravy and of course the obligatory Yorkshire Pudding. My friend went for the 'Naked Balls' option with Fish Balls on a salad bed of watercress with avocado, raspberries and lime. We also ordered a 'Taster' of the Hot Balls 

with  Yorkshire Terrier Blanket as a starter and shared a side of roasted vegetables.

I wanted to check out their local beer selection and was extremely impressed to see two options for every type of ale all sorced from local breweries and mico-breweries in Yorkshire. I went for a bottle of the Yorkshire IPA from Wharfebank Brewery which was a good meal accompaniment.

Our 'Taster' came, cute and wee and was basically a meatball slider served on a lightly toasted brioche bun. This was really lovely and gave us a chance to sample the beef and pork meatballs too. They were light and fluffy with a spicy tomato ketchup/relish to match.

In come the mains! Slightly confused as several dishes were brought to the table, I was expecting my 'Ball, Bed and Blanket' combo to come all in the same dish. Despite this, my Birdie Balls were served in a mini cast iron skillet on top of a lovely thick onion gravy.

Accompanying this was a plate of salad leaves, a plate filled with our side of roasted vegetables and a lusciously big and crispy yorkshire pudding.

My friends Fish Balls arrived which were made with fresh haddock, smoked chorizo and parsley.

We set down to our meals, both impressed by the food before us. The portions were large but the quality wasn't skimped. Sampling a Birdie and a Fish ball, both were very tasty, light and fluffy, but also filling and flavoursome. My gravy was nice and fresh with a good consistency and was lovely with the roasted vegetables and yorkshire pudding.

We couldn't leave without trying a dessert, and with three desserts on offer we couldn't decide on which one to go for. Gareth kindly said he'd give us a selection of all three desserts as a portion. We had Brownie Balls and Cheesecake Balls but my favourite by far were the Profiter Balls which oozed with a delicious lemon curd and were drizzled with caramel.

Overall a really lovely dining experience and meal at the Yorkshire Meatball Company. I also had the pleasure of having a chat with David and Gareth about their business and you can see that a lot of love has gone into its creation.

A must-visit if you are in Harrogate and want a meatball experience in all manners of forms! It is highly reasonable and offers good quality food and portion sizes. I look forward to my next visit.

OUT AND ABOUT | BALTZERSENS

After hearing great things about Baltzersens and sampling some of their food at a recent coffee event (see my post here), I knew I had to make a visit to the cafe when I was in Harrogate on the weekend.

A Scandinavian meets Yorkshire cafe based on the foundations of Nordic values - family, food, health, simple functional design and a laid back effortless cool.

Using locally sourced Yorkshire ingredients where possible, their menu is prepared with Scandinavian influence and offered in a relaxed and unpretentious environment.

Upon entering we waited about five minutes for a table as the lunch time rush was finishing. Once seated, I went up to the counter to take our order and managed to get my mits on the LAST cinnamon bun (still feeling very jammy about this!).

A cappucino with a dusting of cinnamon and a cinnamon bun to match were brought to our table and we tucked in. A moist and delicately sweet dough, laced with a cinnamon swirl and drizzled with icing - this was a delight to eat and at a bargain of only £1.50. 

After seeing the cafe menu and the food being served around me I could not hold back from trying one of their sandwiches. With hot and cold open-faced sandwiches to choose from, available in half portions too, my friend and I opted to share a half of the smoked mackerel, sliced potato, capers and fresh horseradish sandwich on dark rye, complete with Nordic inspired salads in the side.

The plate arrived and was a lot bigger than I had expected for a half portion. A generous serving of toppings to compliment the dark rye bread impressed me too.

The smoked mackerel was firm and not too flaky, it had a good smoky taste and was nice and peppery. Potato's and bread might seem a bit of an odd combination to some but with the delicate refreshing flavours of the salad and the heat of the horseradish it worked very well.

To finish we enjoyed a pot of their loose leaf Earl Grey Lady Blue tea which was a nice palate cleanser to our meal.

I highly recommend visiting Baltzersens - the atmosphere and food were so inviting and welcoming and at an extremely reasonable and affordable price.

Two drinks, a cinnamon bun and a half open-faced sandwich came to a total of just over £10. It is definitely a cafe where I feel I could frequent regularly by myself and spend two or three hours there at a time without feeling burdened to leave.

A heads up also to their new Scandinavian dining concept Nord which will be launching on the 4th April and serving on a Tuesday to Saturday night every week. It will be based inside Baltzersens and provide a new addition to the Harrogate restaurant scene.

I will be attending a preview taster session next week so watch this space!