Hi folks! Hope you all had a lovely weekend! I had a great time at La Dolce Vita event in London, did a 4.8 mile run and fitted in my food shop! Geez, it went quickly. I’m even more excited for next weekend because it’s St. Patricks day and my friends are coming to visit!
This weeks food shop came to £21, it’s getting cheaper every week!
In my basket this week was;
Muller vitality yogurts x2, Dole fruit jelly pots (so in love!), peppers, lettuce, chopped tomatoes, spinach, cherry tomatoes, carrots, seed mix, eggs, sweetcorn, chickpeas, butter beans, frozen salmon, onions, frozen veggies.
Combined with some staple things I’ve already got this week I’m hoping that will last me lunches and dinners for the week!
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As I mentioned previously, on Saturday Ryan and I went to La Dolce Vita show in Islington at the Business Design Centre. The tickets were relatively cheap at £6 each, plus an extra £4 each to watch a cooking demonstration. Unfortunately the demonstration for Gino D’Acampo was sold out, so we got tickets to watch Valentina Harris, who after a bit of research, turns out to be quite the important Italian chef. When we arrived at the show around 10 am-ish, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. It was relatively quiet (although early), and I have to be honest that I was a little disappointed at first.
However, once we made it through the second set of doors things began to change. The first stand that caught our eye was for the restaurant Fratelli Bufala. It’s an Italian chain that I’ve visited in Naples that is opening up it’s first restaurant in London on the 27th March I believe. When I went to the one in Naples I had the most delicious salad, and the mozzarella really was incredible. At the exhibition it was no different. The mozzarella was creamy and rich, not like the stuff you can buy in the supermarkets here which is so watery! Let’s just say that I will definitely be hunting down their Shaftsbury Avenue restaurant in the very ,very near future.
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Upstairs there were more food and drink vendors, as well as crafts, fashion and information stands. Ryan and I weaved around all the different stands, tasting the various freebies of cheeses, cured meats and dips. It was all so delicious! At 11.15am we got given our first free beer – result!
We also found a stand that was selling my favourite cocktail of all time, The Spritz. I’ll save the details for another post, but a true Spritz is bascially 1 part Aperol with 2 parts Prosecco and a slice of orange. The most delicious drink ever, although not all my friends like it!
At 12pm Ryan and I took our seats to watch Valentina Harris. We got more free food in the form of cheeses and meats, and yes, more free beer! Valentina was very entertaining to watch, and I really liked the look of the two recipes she made. There was a blue cheese, pear and rocket salad and a tomato and mozarella pasta dish. Mmmm!
After the show Ryan and I were on the look out for Gino D’Acampo. We were lucky enough to spot him hiding away in the press area up on a balcony, and with a lack of security, walked right up there! Gino D’Acampo was so lovely and friendly, and charming. I have to be honest, I expected him to be a bit arrogant and rude, but he was the complete opposite. He seemed truly happy to be there and was more than happy to have my photo with him. I got a bit star struck (and tipsy…) though and was jabbering away at him in a mix of Italian and English. Bit weird really….
We decided to stand behind the roped off area to watch Gino’s demonstration, which was very funny, where we got, you guessed it, more free beer! I was seriously starting to get well on my way at this point! I don’t think my hand was empty for nearly the whole time we were there!
After watching Gino’s demonstration Ryan and I wondered round the rest of the stands trying more samples, and even buying things! We bought some red wine from a producer in Benevento, Southern Italy and some delicious hazelnut liquer that I have been wanting for ages! We also got some great tasting pestos, a cup of ice cream and I convinced the man at the Spritz stand to sell me two gorgeous glasses. Speaking Italian has its uses 
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All in all, it was an absolutely great day, and I would definitely go again without a shadow of a doubt! It’s really got me in the mood for the Vitality show that I’m going to in a couple of weeks!
Have you ever been to a food festival/show or watched live cooking demonstrations?
Before I forget….
Laura @ Keeping Healthy Getting Stylish is having a giveaway!
Jemma @ Celery and Cupcakes is having a giveaway!
Stripes and Snapshots 
