Cornucopia Leeds

Cornucopia is an event to showcase the finest food and drink producers in the North of England.  It's situated in the Leeds Corn Exchange, which was completed in 1864, and is a beautiful Grade 1 listed building.

Lisa at The Yummy Yank, is an American who's been living in the UK for the last 14 years.

I could happily have done a hole just just on just her offerings!  Some highlights included this peanut butter cheesecake:

other offerings included key lime pie, pecan pie, butterscotch caramel, triple chocolate brownies, and coca cola cakes:

My next stop was the Harrogate Preserves Company:

who make handmade preserves from local produce, a little bit of love and nothing artificial!  

They're a deliciouslyorkshire finalist 2011-12 for Best Sweet Preserve & Best Savoury Condiment.

The next stand reminded me of my visit last year to the Wakefield Festival of Food Drink and Rhubarb:

This year it's on 24th – 26th February.

Anthony's Restaurant have a permanent presence in the Corn Exchange, with a restaurant downstairs, and had a stand:

selling their bread:

and this Bakewell bread:

which I don't recall seeing when I visited Bakewell!

As it's nearly Valentine's day, Lacey's Cheese:

had a special cheese for lovers:

Simon Lacey, who makes his cheese at Richmond Station, tells me his Olive Mescolate is the only UK cheese to contain olives.

My next visit was to the Pin-ups Pantry:

where this jolly lady was selling Bakewell Tart Cupcakes 

(is this theme developing?) and these pretty ones for Valentine's.

Then it was the Little Yorkshire Pie Company

who I first read about in the excellent Leeds Grub blog.  They are a new company who usually are in Leeds Kirkgate market (I'll do a post about that market soon).   

I had one of their pork, apple and dry cider pies for my tea:

At £1.20 it was an affordable luxury!  next time I'll try a pork and rhubarb pie.

The Famous Fudge Bar:

sells hand made fudge from the Fudge Village in Whitworth, Lancashire and also County Durham.

Chilli Devil Sauces:

are as diverse as the chillies they use:

and come in mild, sweet and hot versions.  There's even an "adult" range of chocolate chilli spreads:

Cafeology specialise in ethical coffees:

and also ethical teas.

The next stand, Be Happy Bakery:

made me smile just looking at their cakes.  I rather liked their carrot cupcakes:

These cakes also look just the job for Valentine's Day:

Bill and Mitch's Munch is what you get when a South African (Mitchell) meets up with a New Zealander (Billy) in Yorkshire:

For instance these Koeksisters:

are a traditional South African syrup coated doughnut in a braided shape.

Pudsey Pickles are made by  Lee and Daryl, who are both professionally trained Chefs:

Their products are made from locally sourced produce and are free from any artificial colours or preservatives, they're suitable for vegetarians, and are gluten free, and believed to be GM free.  They do a 'syn free' tomato ketchup that is suitable for people following the slimming world plan (it's sugar/oil free).

I'd seen Pumpkin Oil for sale the previous week the previous week in Maltby Street market, but thought it was a little expensive.  Having tried some at Pumpkin Oil:

I immediately bought some!  It's got a lovely nutty taste and a little goes a long way.  In case your wondering, it takes 40 pumpkins to make just a litre of oil!

A lot of my readers don't live near Yorkshire, so for them Paganum:

delivers meat from the Yorkshire Dales to your door:

I wasn't sure that the world is ready for lamb bacon:

Until it was explained to me that I should use it like pancetta, as an ingredient, rather than for my breakfast!  This innovate company also sell the award winning Yorkshire Chorizo:

which was available in original and picante versions.

I'd not heard of Laynes Espresso before:

but now I'm a huge fan.  I'll cover their shop in a separate post.

I've put one of my (new) favourites at the end.  Lauden Chocolate:

started of in Leeds Farmers' market and is run by Stephen and Sun (who's a chocolatier from Singapore).  They're serious about what goes into their chocolates and have won a gold award with the Academy of Chocolate:

Some of their flavours have an East meets West style.  There's salted caramel, passion fruit, Mediterranean orange, blackcurrant and redcurrant, lychee and rose, and sour cherry chocolates.

I always approve of free samples, with chocolates of this quality, once you've tasted them you know you'll want to buy some!

So in conclusion a visit to Leeds has been long overdue on my part.  If you want to visit a showcase of the best the area has to offer, in a stunning location, I thoroughly recommend Cornucopia Leeds.

Their next event is a "Good Food Friday" on the 6th April 2012.  Put it on your diary now! 

Web: www.cornucopia-leeds.co.uk