Organic food festival - 08/29/2006

Interviewer: Kirstie Royce, you work for the Soil Association, organising some of its most prestigious events. Could you tell me about the Organic Food Festival?

Kirstie: Absolutely, the Festival kicks off on the 2nd and 3rd of September at Bristol Harbourside. And we've got over 150 stall holders offering tempting and tantalising, fantastic organic products for us to taste, sample and also to purchase. We've got a phenomenal Arts Fringe, headlined by the Cirque de Poulet who will do an aerial acrobatic extravaganza over the Bristol Harbourside. We've got a jam packed programme of Talks and Tastings including 'Shake your Udders' and 'How Green are your Knickers?'. And once again, the Demonstration Kitchen has attracted celebrity chefs such as Sophie Grigson, Darina Allen and Raymond Blanc's top chef will be coming along as well. So a wonderful opportunity for the public to interact with these chefs and also learn a bit more about simple, basic recipes.

Interviewer: Okay, and how much does it cost and is it free for Soil Association members?

Kirstie: The event is free for Soil Association members and they do need to bring their membership card, so don't forget that. And we are charging this year. It's one low cost rate for all. It's £3.50 for every adult, and also children under 16 are free.

Interviewer: That sounds fantastic, but what about the people who don't live near Bristol? Is there anything for people in the rest of the country?

Kirstie: Yes, we've got an Organic Food Festival happening up in Glasgow at the Old Fruitmarket on the 4th and 5th of November. So once again, we've got our celebrity Demonstration Kitchen, we've got fantastic stall holders with tantalising products, Arts Fringe and a Talks and Tastings programme up there too. So, come visit in Glasgow, 4th and 5th of November.

Interviewer: Where will people be able to find that information? Is it on the website?

Kirstie: It is – it's on www.soilassociation.org/festival.

Interviewer: The other event that you're involved in are the Soil Association Organic Food Awards. Can you tell us something about that?

Kirstie: Absolutely, the Organic Food Awards have been running for about 19 years now, and they're an opportunity for producers, small and large, from the length and breadth of the country, to showcase their top products. We had food coming from the outer isles of Scotland, from Cornwall, Norfolk, the North East and the North West and over 950 products came in to be judged.

Interviewer: Okay, and tell me about the judging process because it's so subjective, isn't it? What are the judges looking for?

Kirstie: The judges will be looking at taste, appearance of the product, texture. All our products are tasted blind, so they are unaware of who actually produces the cheese or who actually makes the sausage, so everything is blind. This year it was great to welcome Giles Coren, from Gordon Ramsay's F Word, along as a judge, along with Raymond Blanc who judged the beef, Darina Allen, Sophie Grigson, but also a number of other food experts within their own right. They may not be celebrities but they know their stuff and they know their subject and there's some hot debates that go on on those category judgings.

Interviewer: This sounds amazing and I know it's a glamorous event, but what I really want to know is how does the Soil Association manage to fund it? I mean does the money come from the membership purse?

Kirstie: No, as with all of the events programme that the Soil Association puts on, we do need to look for sponsorship. For this year, with the Food Awards, we're working very closely with Highland Spring. They've given tremendous support to actually put on the Food Awards. And with the Food Festival, for example, Yeo Valley Organic have been tremendous supporters and they will be supporting for a three year term. So, it's wonderful to be engaging with our licensees. Not only are they donating money to support the events programme, but they're actually taking a proactive interest within the events programme.

Interviewer: Okay, and for us consumers, do we get a chance to try these amazing products that have been endorsed by these experts?

Kirstie: Absolutely! You just need to look on the shelves and check out for the Soil Association Organic Food Award logo. If you want to have a look at that, you need to check out www.soilassociation.org/foodawards. The logo's on there, and also on the 1st of September, there will be announcement of the winners in delicious magazine, and also on the Soil Association website we'll have a listing of all the winners.

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