Food, Roti and a Chocolate Kitchen at Hampton Court

After a lovely, long and very sunny summer holiday, we took a family day out with a trip to the Hampton Court Palace Food Festival.

With over 150 stalls, there was so much to look around (and obviously plenty to taste!). We chose a Korean food van for lunch and sat listening to the live music while we ate. Such a lovely atmosphere and a very easy way to spend an afternoon.

I couldn’t go to a food festival without coming home with a few purchases…

I’ve wanted to try a HexClad pan for ages to see if they really live up to the hype, so when I spotted them there I finally gave in and bought the crepe and bread pan. That evening I made a roti for dinner and it came out beautifully fluffy with a lovely crispy outside. The pan worked like a dream, so a very good first impression!

Possibly the most delicious purchase of the day though was a bottle of cherry liqueur. I’m already planning to experiment with it in a Mezcal Margarita, but so far I’ve simply had it over ice and it is absolutely delicious.

My son headed into the famous Hampton Court maze and we explored some of the palace itself. There is so much to see that we actually completely ran out of time.

One of our favourite discoveries was the palace’s chocolate kitchen. My son and I quickly decided that we would quite like our own chocolate kitchen at home. How indulgent would that be?!

I would definitely recommend the festival for a family day out. There was plenty for everyone, a lovely atmosphere with the live music, loads of food to discover and the palace itself to explore. My biggest tip would be to arrive as early as possible if you want to fit everything in — we certainly could have done with a few more hours.

Another day out that has left me with a new pan to play with, a bottle of cherry liqueur to experiment with and, apparently, plans for a  chocolate kitchen!