Upon entry to the recent Foodies Festival,
I was in a bit of a grump. My so-called VIP pass transpired to be
eligible for redemption at only a small number of restaurant tents. I
made a beeline for Jamie Oliver’s Barbecoa,
only to be told that, instead of the two-course meal that the pass
promised, my ticket was valid at the tent for just £2.50 and I must pay
the difference. Apparently, there had been some miscommunication between
the organisers and the restaurants. Not a great start.
Doing away with all pretence at frugality, I went ahead and ordered at Barbecoa anyway: a juicy pulled pork roll with a smoky barbeque sauce and a light, fresh coleslaw with red cabbage and spring onions. The sort of sandwich that sets an impossibly high standard for all other sandwiches and makes you look down at your empty plate with nostalgia and longing.
It
was on my second trip to the Barbecoa tent (the first sandwich had been
shared and I felt it necessary to right that particular wrong) that I
met Paul from Donostia Social Club,
a Basque-inspired street food van and pop-up restaurant. He was
bringing a few of his dishes for the Barbecoa staff to sample. Eying a
generous confit duck roll, a shout of: “Where’s that from?” escaped my
lips before I even had the chance to contemplate any introductory
pleasantries. This was followed by enthusiastic urgings from the Jamie
Oliver staff to try DSC’s Iberico pork cheek. The dish in
question: succulent pork cheek sourced from Salmanca, Spain, braised in
rioja for 12 hours and served with celariac puree and seeded artisan
bread. The dish was so popular that I just caught the last serving of
pork and, unfortunately, there was no celeriac puree left. But the pork
and bread alone were a delight.
Unlike
other street food vans relying on a high turnover and fast-food
service, the atmosphere at DSC is relaxed and welcoming. I was
encouraged to pull up a pew, sip on a glass of rioja and talk food while
they cooked. Chatting about the origins of the restaurant, the
enthusiasm of DSC for good produce and Basque cuisine was clear. The
quality of the ingredients shone through in the dishes: vegetables are
British and organic, the prawns are MSC-approved and duck is free range
from northern France. After the farce of the VIP pass, my mood post-DSC
was markedly improved!
On the whole, it was an enjoyable festival. The chef demonstrations were great addition and seeing Mike Brown of Daphne’s whip up a super quick squid ink pasta with a food processor was a bit of a revelation. There were a few samples available throughout, but not as many as I’d hope for in a setting of this sort. When I asked if I could taste some fudge before buying it, I was told that that particular flavour was ‘not on sample at the moment’, before the vendor turned away from me. In the world of fudge, where treats are purchased by weight, this refusal left a bitter taste.
On the whole, it was an enjoyable festival. The chef demonstrations were great addition and seeing Mike Brown of Daphne’s whip up a super quick squid ink pasta with a food processor was a bit of a revelation. There were a few samples available throughout, but not as many as I’d hope for in a setting of this sort. When I asked if I could taste some fudge before buying it, I was told that that particular flavour was ‘not on sample at the moment’, before the vendor turned away from me. In the world of fudge, where treats are purchased by weight, this refusal left a bitter taste.
My recommendations? If you go to another Foodies Festival this summer, certainly don’t bother with the VIP pass; Barbecoa is well worth checking out; and do try to catch Donostia Social Club somewhere near you. It could brighten your mood too.
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