Dundee Flower and Food Festival

This weekend will bring us the annual Dundee Flower and Food Festival at Camperdown Park. You can preview an advert about it here and find out tickets, times and access info here.

For some people I'm really just giving a heads up to avoid the crowds at Camperdown but for the foodies and green fingered it's a great chance to experience the best that the east coast has to offer us. Gary MacLean, Nick Nairn and Tony Singh will be providing cooking demonstrations and Jim McColl will be in the Floral Marquee on the Saturday to answer any gardening questions. I tried to find out when the first festival ran and the earliest I can find reference to is in 2004. If you know better please email me!

A big part of healthy eating is celebrating and appreciating our local produce so we're fortunate to have the opportunity to show off when the land is at it's most fruitful* and the food at it's best. The newspapers are filled with scare stories about international competition and farming subsidies in a post EU Britain but here is a chance to see what grows best and can be sourced nearby. From a nutritional perspective, foods that are chilled to travel long distances will lose vitamins and minerals so the healthier option for us and our horticultural neighbours may be to check out the farm shop and plan our meals a little more seasonally.

I'm guilty of looking at the pricetag before the produce but I always feel that foods from the same area are meant to be eaten together. Pigs like to be in apple orchards, tomatoes and basil grow in the same climate and would fondue ever have been invented if cheese wasn't produced next to vineyards? (Stop - I can't think of a world without fondue.) Autumn is a time for soups, stews and root veggies so I won't have to venture far for the best ingredients for my dinner.

Check out the Flower and Food Festival this weekend and see how shopping local can help you enjoy good health.

*I just want you all to know that I decided against the word fecund here because, let's face it, it just sounds rude.