The Countryside Comes to Spitalfields for Taste East 2008

A two day free festival of food, fun and entertainment

Following the success of Taste East 2007, Spitalfields Estate are delighted to announce Taste East 2008 which will take place on Friday 7th and Saturday 8th March in the fully covered Crispin Place. Spitalfields will be transformed into a countryside idyll with straw bales, storytelling, spit roasts, a tractor used by arable farmers for cultivation tasks and traditional country crafts demonstrated by a spinner, a wood carver and a felt-maker. Spitalfields City Farm will be giving talks and Bishops Square will home some of their farmyard animals over the 2 days. We will also be creating an inner city allotment planting a mixture of vegetables, herbs, native wildflowers in a totally organic way. Our gardener will be on hand to give tips and show people how little space you need and how easy it is to grow food!

Visitors will have an abundance of amazing produce to sample, eat and buy with over 40 carefully selected quality food stalls of the freshest organic, sustainable and traditionally prepared food and drink, many of which have an East London connection. Free entertainment includes food demonstrations by Simon Wadham head chef from The Rivington, Cryus Todiwala MBE from Café Spice Namaste, Adwoa Hagan-Mensah cooking modern Ghanaian food from Jollof Pot, Timothy Mawn head chef at award-winning restaurant Canteen and butchery demonstrations by Peter Gott from Sillfield farm; food themed drawing workshops run by The Big Draw, stilt walkers, balloon-makers, a glitter tattooist and acoustic music from festival favourites the Cosmic Sausages. Plus Mimbre, a renowned Hackney based state-of-the-art movement theatre/dance trio, will keep visitors spell bound with their poetic agility and immense physical and acrobatic skills.

Taste East is part of East, a 6 day cultural festival championing the best of East London www.findeast.co.uk

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Taste East Free Event:

LOCATION: Crispin Place, E1 6DW (fully covered, off Brushfield Street, E1) and Bishops Square http://www.spitalfields.co.uk/location.php (map)

TUBE: Liverpool Street nearest

DATES/TIME: Friday 7th March (12pm -5pm) and Saturday 8th March (12pm 5pm)

www.findeast.co.uk (EAST festival website full Taste East programme listed)

www.spitalfields.co.uk

Enquiries +44 20 7739 6643

For more information please contact:

Lisa Tel: 07957216444 Email: lisa@ispani.co.uk

Notes To Editors:

Taste East Festival Highlights: Hackney born, Louise Brewood who founded the now hugely successful Broadway Market is working with Spitalfields Estate to select the food traders at Taste East. She was recently awarded the John Carter/Harry Cross Cup by the National Market Traders Federation recognising her promotion and support of market trading beyond the call of duty. Louise champions shopping locally and through her work with Broadway market continues to support local business in east London.

Bishops Square Garden Creating an inner city Allotment Although common-place during the war when Britain was urged to Dig For Victory and many public spaces were used to grow crops, this will indeed be a rare site in our bustling city.

Gardner Paul Pulford who works on a voluntary basis with Spitalfields City Farm, young offenders, The environment Trust and Allens Gardens will be planting a vegetable and flower garden during Taste East in one of the grass patches in Bishops Square he is passionate about gardening and wants to show people and kids how easy it is to grow vegetables and herbs and how little space you need. He will be using a host of containers to grow things, in a totally organic way.

Jollof Pot Founded by Romford based couple Lloyd Mensah and Adwoa Hagan-Mensah, Jollot Pot offers modern Ghanaian food that is characterised by its hearty, tasty stews and soups. Inspired by west African chop bars (street food stalls) Jollof Pots hot food stand will offer spicy aromatic rice dishes, stews and spicy chichanga kebabs. Lloyd and Adwoa recently appeared on Raymond Blancs BBC2 show The Restaurant where they came fourth, they run 3 market stalls including one at Broadway in Hackney and will soon open the UKs first ever mainstream Ghanaian restaurant. www.jollofcuisine.co.uk

Café Spice Namaste This much loved Indian restaurant in E1 was founded by Cyrus Todiwala who was awarded an MBE in recognition of his skill and commitment to the catering industry; his restaurant is one of the only Indian restaurants to win the BIB Gourmand Award from the Michelin Guide. Cryus will be giving a live food demonstrations and their stall will offer some of their acclaimed Indian dishes alongside another stall selling their homemade own brand range of pickles. www.cafespice.co.uk

The Jewish Deli Hot food stall run by old east end couple who started in the rag trade and when they retired decided that they wanted to start a food stall offering traditional Jewish cuisine such as salt beef sandwiches and latkes (potato pancakes).

Some Great British Food from some of the east ends best restaurants who share a passion for British produce:

St Johns Bread & Wine one of the East ends best restaurants, founded by the brilliant Fergus Henderson their stall will be selling grilled ox heart buns.

Canteen, winner of the Observer Restaurant of Year 2007 award and the Best London Restaurant 2007 Which? Good Food Guide award, will be serving spit roast pig with apple sauce and hot spicy cider. Timothy Mawn head chef of Canteen Spitalfields will also be doing a live food demo. www.canteen.co.uk

The Rivington Grill Another much loved and celebrated restaurant in the east end, the Rivingtons menu was originally created by one of the of the UKs leading chefs Mark Hix. The kitchen is now run by head chef Simon Wadham who will be giving cooking demonstrations and the Rivington will also host a hot food stall offering Lamb burgers. www.rivingtongrill.co.uk

Quaffs Beer Founded by beer enthusiast Chris Gill, Quaffs sells beers from across the world including many unusual beers that cannot be found easily in the UK. Chris will also be selling draft beer from his own microbrewery Ascot Ale. Visitors can try his award -winning Anastacia Exile Stout (a dark roasted, creamy beer) or Posh Pooch his flagship bitter. Chris has a regular stall at Spitalfields in Crispin Place, Taste East wil be the first time he has served his own draught beers in Spitalfields. www.quaffs.co.uk

Vietnamese Coffee Vietnamese coffee is hardly drunk in the UK but its delicious! Ca Phe VN are a small family business offering Vietnamese tea and coffee who source their products exclusively from small Vietnamese producers with whom they have been working for some years and who they visit regularly. Ca Phe VN have made a commitment to having their products grown, processed, blended, roasted and packaged in the Central Highlands of Vietnam this way they ensure the most authentic Vietnamese taste and coffee style (not possible to replicate here) and benefit the local Vietnamese people (rather than exporting the raw bulk products). www.caphevn.co.uk

Traditionally brewed Cider New Forest cider is brewed in the heart of the New Forrest made in the traditional way using only English apples from their own orchards as well as cider fruit from Sommerset and Herefordshire. Try some at Taste East served straight from the barrel dry, medium or sweet look our for the New Forest silver airstream! www.newfostestcider.co.uk

TeaSmith is a contemporary tea house in Old Spitalfields Market, founded by tea obsessive John Kennedy and his wife Tomoko Kawase, whose aim is to increase peoples appreciation of real tea and bring the beauty of tea back to Britain. TeaSmith offer a selection of authentic teas, grown and processed in their traditional locations by artisan craftsmen and will be hosting a stall where visitors can learn the art of making the perfect cup and sample some of the finest collection of teas in the UK. They can also hear about the relevance of the tea business to the historical development of the East end. www.teasmith.co.uk

Exotic, Cultivated Wild Mushrooms Who knew a mushroom sandwich could taste this good? Founded in August 2005 when David Robinson and Andrew Gellatly set up a stall specializing in mushrooms - delicious
wild and cultivated mushrooms to the spore-hungry citizens of Hackney, east London. At Taste East their stall will be packed with baskets of tasty fresh picked chanterelles, cepes, trompettes and Japanese mushrooms, and you can also try their famous mushroom sandwich garnished with pecorino cheese and parsley. www.sporeboys.com

Quality Caribbean Food Established for over 25 years Rummanco now have stalls at several markets, come and try their range of spicy condiments all made with natural ingredients and no colourings or preservatives such as Rummanco Mango & Apricot Chutney with jerk spices. You can transform a piece of meat or fish by rubbing in some Rummanco Caribbean
Jerk Rub before grilling or roasting! www.rummanco.co.uk

Cheshire Cheese Specialist HS Bourne The Bourne family has been hand-making fine Cheshire cheese since 1930. Unlike many other cheese makers who use industrial production methods, they use traditional 'hands on' techniques to produce cheeses that have been awarded gold, silver and bronze medals at the British Cheese Awards, prizes at the Nantwich International Cheese Show and Gold and Silver Medals at the World Cheese Awards. www.hsbourne.co.uk

Cheeses from Nut Knowle Farm This family-run farm from East Sussex specializes in goat's milk cheeses made with milk from their own organically fed goats. At Taste East you can sample their popular cheeses such as Sussex Yeoman, which has a distinctive flavour and a moist yet crumbly texture, and the Wealdway, a white goat's cheese log ideal for the cheeseboard.

Cheeses from Ireland SHERIDANS CHEESEMONGERS was founded in 1995 by the brothers Seamus and Kevin Sheridan, when they started selling Irish farmhouse cheeses from their stall at the Galway Saturday market. They offer quality cheeses sourced from specialist farms and producers in Ireland alongside artisan food products and further cheeses sourced from cheese making countries in Europe. www.sheridanscheesemongers.com

Dutch FarmHouse Cheese There really is more to Dutch cheese than Edam and Gouda! 
Boerenkaas is Dutch for farmers cheese it is used to describe cheeses that have been hand-made on the farm using pure unpasteurised milk from the farms own herds. Types of cheese include Wilde Weide (produced by Roos and Jan van Schie on their farm in Warmond, near Leiden, Jans family have been making cheese for over 25 years), Boeren Sluetel Leidsekaas (made with skimmed milk and spiced cumin a type of cheese that has been being made in the Leiden area for 350 years) and Captein Gouda (regarded as the best example of an aged gouda that can be found anywhere, made by Magdalena and Nico Captein on their farm in Zoeterwoude near Leiden from their herd of American red freisian cows). www.dutchfarmhousecheese.co.uk

Wild Beef Richard Vine the owner of Wild Beef divides his time between Hackney and Devon. He will be selling his delicious beef from native breeds Welsh Blacks and South Devons, which are raised naturally on the meadows and moorlands of Devon using traditional grazing methods.

Rare Breed Meets Founded by celebrated farmer Peter Gott Sillfield farm, located in the Lake District, is home to Wild Boar, Rare Breed Pigs, Herdwick sheep and pedigree poultry. All of which are free range. Sillfield Farm produces some of the finest farm products in the country and has received numerous awards in recognition of the quality and taste of these products, with fans including Jamie Oliver and Prince Charles. Their produce range includes wild Boar air-dried salami,
wild Boar dry-cured pancetta,
wild Boar home-made pies,
wild Boar sausage with Chianti & shallots,
traditional Cumberland sausage,
dry-cured back, middle and flitch bacon,
Cumberland Austrian-style speck Cumberland air-dried ham,
Dry-cured honey-roasted ham Westmorland and wonder cheeses. Peter Gott will be giving butchery demonstrations at Taste East alongside his food stall. www.sillfield.co.uk

ChocStar, Mobile Chocolate Van ChocStar is charged and ready to spread some cocoa lurrve at Taste East. What was once an old ice-cream van is now Londons most rocking mobile chocolate van. Founded by Petra Barran who trained at famed chocolatier Pierre Marcolini, Choc Star travels the land busting with chocolate delights which include punchy Venezuelan hot-chocolate shots, chocolate Guinness cupcakes, banana waffles with grand cru Valrhona sauce, real hot chocolate and walnut fudge brownies. www.chocstar.co.uk

Violet Cakes One of Broadway Markets most loved stalls Violet Cakes was founded by pastry Chef Claire Ptak who trained at Chez Panisse, Alice Waters celebrated restaurant in California. Come and try her delicious colourful cup cakes made using organic, seasonal ingredients www.violetcakes.com

Nutmeg Frog This small independently run company is the passion and dream of pastry chef, Daniel Burgess from East Ham. Daniel left the kitchens of 5 star hotels to create his own baking business focusing on home-made freshly baked products using a mix of organic or fairtrade ingredients, free range eggs where each sweet treat is filled with his very own secret blend of special organic spices. Fruit crumble pies, black magic chocolate cake, gluten free lime & polenta cake, muffins, mouth watering brownies, chewy choc chip cookies, fudge brownie cheese cakes and blueberry bars are all specialities and the icing on the cake their take on the classic carrot cake with fresh cream cheese icing. www.nutmegfrog.co.uk

Gourmet Chocolate The Melange Chocolate based in Dalston is run by Isabelle, a professional Chocolatiere who makes very innovative chocolate bars and truffles using only natural ingredients. www.themelange.com

Delicious Fudge Burnt Sugar has been showered in compliments (the worlds best fudge Observer Food Monthly) and deservedly so, this fudge is the real deal. Comnbos include strawberry and white chocolate, dark chocolate caramel crunch alongside their classic original crumbly fudge, chocolate crumbly fudge, coconut ice and butter toffee. www.burntsugar.co.uk

Organic Fruit & Vegetable Farmers Ash Green organics was founded by Mark Temple in 1994 as well as selling organic fruit and vegetable they also produce, from their 16 acres of orchards in Kent, some of the finest varieties of organic apples grown in the UK. The whole orchard is comprised of large half-standard size trees planted between 40 & 60 years ago and are a blend of the following varieties (many of which are uncommon in todays apple production): Discovery, Grenadier, Laxton Fortune, Laxton Superb, Worcester Tidyman, Worcester Permain, Spartan, Russet, Coxes, Crispin, Pearl, James Greaves, Winter Permain, Bramley, Howgate Wonder. Mark will be on hand to give advice and tips on how to best use the more exotic fruits and vegetables. www.ashgreenorganics.com

Specialist Italian Foods Prelibato is an east London based start up company founded by Andrea Scalise and his English wife. They sell a stunning variety of Italian foods their suppliers are small farmers and artisan producers from regions across Italy they are committed to supporting the preservation of local products. Prelibato have developed their own range of Italian food products using age-old recipes and top quality ingredients with no added preservatives or additives the range covers antipasti, pates and pastes, pasta sauces such as Arrabiata (made from organic tomatoes grown in the Amiata Mountain region of Tuscany, with the added kick of a little bit of chilli), truffles, confiture and jelly and fruits in jelly. www.prelibato.com

Villanova Brothers Stefano and Enrico Chessa started selling Sardinian cheeses and cured meats six years ago. They use only organic suppliers or small producers who work in an ecological if not organic way. Their range maintains a balance between the classics; such as their 36 month matured organic Parmigiano Reggiano, numerous Prosciutti di Parma, outstanding Gorgonzola Dolce, sought after 100% buffalo milk Mozzarella di Bufala and the more specialist niche produce; such as the limited production Prosciutto di Desulo, a cured ham from a rare breed free range pig from a small producer in the centre of Sardinia, which is hand-carved at their stall. www.villanovafood.com

The tractor that will be on display at Taste East is a British-built New Holland T7050, an advanced 145hp tractor used by arable farmers for cultivation tasks. Manned by people from New Holland who will be on hand to talk about British farming.

Further Taste East participants include: Spitalfields City Farm, La Bouche, The Big Paella, The French Store, Suffolk Smokers, FlourPower City Bakery, La Tua Pasta, Battersea Pie Station, McCann Brother Oysters (also serving hot hand dived hot scallops), Gastronomica, The German Deli, Pieminister, The Gourmet Candy Station and many many more! Plus 10 lovingly chosen eco / fairtrade non food stalls

Rez Kabir Rez Kabir, professional actor and storyteller has performed throughout the UK and abroad in films, theatre, East London schools and E1s Brady Arts Centre. He writes and performs his own stories in English, incorporating different languages such as Bengali. 
His stories are world based and are from traditional, as well as modern, sources. He will be keeping us enthralled at Taste East using songs, movement, mime and simple puppetry to create a visual treat and a magical experience.

Mimbre A new side to movement arts, quite unlike any other group weve seen. The piece builds dance and acrobatics into a whole where neither side is a token. Theyre renowned among those who know state-of-the-art movement theatre/dance! Bath Fringe Festival Based in Hackney, Mimbre are three brilliant performers who combine dance, acrobatics and athletic prowess they leave audiences astonished by their poetic agility. www.mimbre.co.uk

The Big Draw The Big Draw run annual campaigns to get people drawing, their events take place all over London involving artists, designers, architects, cartoonists, illustrators, scientists. As a special project the Big Draw will be running food themed drawing workshops at Taste East 2008 http://www.campaignfordrawing.org/bigdraw/