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Richard set to impress
I INCREASINGLY find myself drawn to anything bearing the words low fat.
It doesn't matter if it's on the shelves of Asda, advertised on TV or in a magazine. If it features those two magic words, I'm there.
I don't know if this makes me a victim of advertising or simply a victim of nature. Visible signs of filling-out weren't something that previous generations lost sleep over. They had corsets, girdles and the like to hold them in.
But now, once you pass 45, it becomes a perfectly acceptable consuming passion. And it doesn't just consume time but lots of money too. There are no end of companies which would have us believe that its miracle product will help us lose weight or get rid of the dreaded middle age spread .
I've tried them all of course, and asked myself, do they work? Well, who knows how huge I'd look if I hadn't?
Having said that I'm never going to be mistaken for Posh, or see a size 10 again, no matter how many low fat yoghurts I eat.
Which is why I like to fall off the wagon every now and again and have a blow out. My next such blow out day is on Tuesday, when I head for the Great Yorkshire Show at Harrogate. It's a highlight of the year for me, but anyone who thinks I go to marvel at the animals or the clothes on the catwalk at the very popular fashion shows, is sadly mistaken.
Over the years I've become addicted to the food hall and come home laden down with every saturated fat and trans- fat imaginable, in the shape of pies, sausages, cheese, crisps, bread, chutneys, pates, oils, terrines, olives, sweets and even the odd curry.
The beauty is you get to taste most of the products before you buy, and it's probably fair to say the vast majority of exhibitors are the cream of the industry. Two particular favourites are The Crusty Pie Company of Halifax and De-bbie & Andrew's Sausages of Bedale.
The Cookery Theatre is also worth a visit this year because as part of the show's 150th birthday celebrations, visitors will take a step back in time when chefs demonstrate a series of recipes written by iconic chef Mrs Isabella Beeton. The recipes are from her famous cook book which was written almost 150 years ago.
Other highlights in the theatre include Lesley Wild, who is a member of the world-famous Betty's family of Betty's Cafe Tea Rooms. Leslie will be demonstrating dishes from her first cookery book, A Year of Family Recipes, which includes some of the dishes served at Betty's.
It will be the first time Lesley has demonstrated her recipes outside Betty's Cookery School, of which she is the director. She will also talk about her working life behind the scenes of the family business.
It's nice to see local talent playing a part this year too. Richard Walton-Allen, executive head chef at Harvey Nichols, Leeds, is taking part in The Master Meets the Apprentice cook-off. Richard, who went to Brooksbank School, Elland, and started out in the food trade as a YTS trainee at Berties, Elland and Lightcliffe Golf Club, will pit his skills against Robert Ramsden who learned his craft from Richard at Harvey Nichols and is now food development director at Delifresh.
I doubt any of the recipes will be low fat but who cares. Looking at the latest lingerie fashion it is plain to see corsets and the like are on their way back so maybe our grannies knew best after all. The show is on until Thursday.
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Weather for Halifax
Saturday 11 February 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: -1 C to 0 C
Wind Speed: 8 mph
Wind direction: South west
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