I write this is a slight haze of Melton Red (real ale in case your wondering) as I’ve just returned home from the East Midlands food and drink festival.

I got to see some amazing food producers and speak to some great people throughout the day, but as I worked my way through the narrow walk ways of the cattle market and squeezed between people grabbing at what ever free samples they could, I noticed that actually I didn’t notice anyone!

I live in a town that on the sign on the way past the boarder reads “Melton Mowbray, The rural food capital of England” but as I walked round the event I noticed that there wasn’t really that many people from the town at the event? Yet it’s been hosted in their town.

I met 2 people today that I’ve had twitter conversations with for the last few months and we spoke of this lack of attendance from local people. Celia Lacey who moved hear a year ago from Lincolnshire made the same observation, if someone who has been in the town for year is saying this how are the people who live hear feeling about it?

As you know I run a community grow your own project yet sometimes it doesn’t feel like there is a sense of community about it at all more a lack of understanding from these people, now I know that this isn’t your fault but it got me wondering who’s to blame for this? Me? Celia? The food chain company’s that move into the town? No, and at risk of angering the people who gave me the land to grow on in the first place unfortunately the blame has to lie with the council officials who make all of these decision and it lies with them and them alone.

They make the rules, they give the green light on what shops and business open in the town and what they want to see. Why is it down to them? Why is this decision not given to the people?

We need to see more and more people in the town who love food and want to be involved in food make a stand, if you want to make a change then make it, don’t let them tell you no! I didn’t and now I have the chance to help a lot of people and families in the way that they see their food.

The conversation that I had today has given all of us a great idea to help turn this around so please stick with us and follow myself and Celia Lacey (twitter @CeliaLacey) and Great Food Mag (Twitter @greatfoodmag) over the coming months to see if there’s a way that we can make a change and bring the love of food back to the people who love it

Saturday the 22nd of September was the very first Pie Festival in Melton Mowbray, That’s right a festival about pie what’s not to love!!

People had the opportunity to enter the pies to be judged earlier in the week by a selected group of foodies and pie lovers from the local area and then sell them over the weekend on their stalls.

Now with it been the first one I wasn’t really sure what to expect, would the town be full? Would it have one stall with a little old lady peddling a really old pork pie? But when I got there I was pleasantly surprised with what I saw, there were about 15 different stalls all set out exhibiting and selling what they had entered into the competition earlier in the week. Everything we saw was fantastic it really was a great showcase of what this pie making town really had to offer.

There was a really good mix of people at the festival it wasn’t just for foodies , it brought families into the town to really join in the fun and the children’s pie making stand really gave kids the opportunity to learn about food, how to make food and where it all comes from, in the last 2 weeks were school dinners have been pushed into the spotlight again and questions have been asked of children’s knowledge of food this really showed signs that this is a town that wants to change that way of thinking and get them involved.

We ended up purchasing 3 savoury and 2 sweet pies to bring home and we weren’t disappointed with what we had.
My favourite was one made by a little tea room in the town Miss B’s of Melton, they had a foraged hedge row pie on offer and it was stunning, the pastry was so crisp and crumbly and really buttery but its what’s encased that really made me smile, it was this sweet sharp filling with apples and blackberries that made you purse your lips when you bit into it finished with a spoonful of clotted cream there isn’t anything else that you could ask for.
If your visiting the town then make sure that you stop by and see if you can get one because you can really see why they won an award over the weekend.

It’s going on again today and I’ve just been through the town and again its packed out, This is the first Pie festival in the town but it will not be the last by a long shot!

Food has always been and will always be a love of mine, it brings back memories and evokes emotions in me in the same way a film a picture a pome or a song does in someone else.

When I first had this dish it reminded me of all of the cooking shows I’ve ever seen about Mexico and the passion that they put into their food and I wanted to share it with you

Serves 4

50g of pumpkin seeds
1 Serrano (hot green chilli) chopped
A large handful (about 25g) of coriander leaves- If like me you don’t like coriander parsley works just as well
2 garlic cloves peeled
150ml of sunflower oil
The juice of 1 lime
2 spring onions chopped
7g of Parmesan cheese, grated
16-20 cleaned kind scallops or 32 queen scallops in the shells
25g of melted butter

Step 1- For the sauce put the pumpkin, seeds, chilli, coriander, garlic, oil, lime juice, spring onions, Parmesan cheese and half a teaspoon of salt into a food processor and blend to a smooth paste

Step 2- preheat the grill to high. Put the scallops onto a baking sheet brush each one generously with melted butter and season with salt and pepper. Grill the King scallops for two minutes or Queens scallops for one minute

Step 3- lightly spread about 1 teaspoon of the pumpkinseed sauce over the scallops (about half a teaspoon for the Queens) and grill for a further 1 to 2 minutes (one minute the Queens) until they are cooked through and the source has just started to colour. Place on four warm plate and serve immediately.

I hope you enjoy this as much as I do, it’s great with a cold beer or glass of white and even better shared with friends