I recently went to the BBC Good Food Show Winter in Birmingham and had a great time trying all the different food and drinks, watching some of the shows, meeting people and learning about their businesses and products. This was my first time going and I wanted to share my experience with you as well as some tips for visiting.
This blog post is in collaboration with BBC Good Food Show and the tickets were complimentary, however all opinions stated in this blog post are my own
How to get there
There are a few different ways to get to the venue. You can get the train from Birmingham New Street Train Station to Birmingham International which costs around £3.20-5.40 return and the journey lasts for about 10 minutes. When you get there, follow the signs to the NEC and then to the BBC Good Food Show. You can also get the X1 Platinum bus from the city centre to Arden Hotel which takes around 40 minutes to get there and from there walk to the NEC. If you are going by car, there is plenty of parking spaces available and you can either prepay or pay on the day of your visit.
What to bring with you
A reusable water bottle and coffee mug - you will be walking around a lot and will probably be really thirsty after trying all the food samples, and therefore a water bottle is a must. There are water stations in the lounges where you can refill your bottle. If you are a coffee or tea drinker, you can bring your reusable coffee mug too, to avoid single use cups and help cut down plastic waste.
A backpack - from food containers to bottles of gin and rum, you will probably end up with a lot of stuff and a backpack will definitely make it easier for you to carry, especially if they are heavy. A lot of people also bring a wheeled shopping bag, which is a great idea especially if you end up buying bulky items such as new pots and pans and foodie advent calendars.
Breath mints - you will be trying so many different food and drink samples, you might need to have a breath sweet after.
Layers and comfy shoes - if you are visiting the winter show, it will most likely be freezing on your way there. However, after walking around for hours, you might get a bit too hot in your coat and jumper. So make sure you wear layers so you can take some off when you get too hot inside. There is also a cloak room near the entrance where you can store your jacket. Comfy shoes are also recommended as the space is huge and you will be walking a lot.
Your covid status - before you go in, they will ask to see your COVID-19 status. If you don’t have proof or you are exempt, you can take a lateral flow test on-site which costs £12.
Things to do
When we got there, we started from one end of the hall and worked our way through the different stalls. I was overwhelmed by all the different tasty options and was pleasantly surprised by how many vegan options there were. As we walked around, we got to try dozens of food and drink samples and chat with the business owners where we learned more about their businesses and products. There was a mix of startups and big companies, with a huge variety to choose from. From Greek souvlaki and wine to vegan breakfast shakes and gluten free baked goods to premixed cocktails and scotch whisky, there was something there for everyone. Some stalls had a big queue, however they were going quite fast so we didn't have to wait long to get served and some of them had samples that you can help yourself to. There were also stalls that sold non-food items such as candles, jewellery, and scarves.
Some of my favourite stalls:
Jack Berry, where I got to try vegan honey. It tasted so good and exactly like real honey!
Aagraz where we tried some of their Indian curry sauces and spice blends.
Alpro, one of my favourite plant milk companies. They made me a coffee with their Barista range and it was so good.
Mixtons, where we tried their premixed cocktails. We ended up buying the Cheeky Peach and Candy Pants.
Beanies, where I bought their Decaf Chocolate Orange coffee.
There were loads of different shows and workshops on that day such as Maunika Gowardhan and Rachel Green in the Festive Kitchen, Stacie Stewart, Suzie Pelta and Becky Excell at the Get Baking Stage, the Hairy Bikers ands Nadiya Hussain in the Big Kitchen and so much more. Some of the workshops included Macaron Basics by Liberty Mendez, Cocktail Hour by Tom Surgey, and wine tasting by Kate Hawkings at the Olive Wine Theatre.
After wandering around for a few hours, I had some loaded fries with vegan chicken popcorn from the VFC food truck and they tasted amazing. My partner who is not vegan also enjoyed them very much.
Some more fun things that we did was spinning the wheel at the Go Puff stand where I won some Candy Kittens vegan sweets and James won a pack of Andrex toilet rolls which I found quite funny.
We also took part in a raffle led by OXO. Unfortunately we didn’t win but it was worth a try.
On our way out, we stopped to get our Show Goody Bags which had lots of lovely things in them, such as PG tea bags, Mentos, Real Handful peanuts, Alara muesli, and Zoflora.
I had a great time at the BBC Good Food Show Winter and I would love to return for the summer one. You can find more photos and videos on my Instagram @marisa.vogiatzi
Would you like to visit the BBC Good Food Show? Let me know in the comments below :)
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