Taste food festival crowd have fine appetites

Apr 28 2008 by Jane Hall, The Journal

They’ve all got a taste to help local heroes

VISITORS flocking to the festival on Saturday were all united in their love of food and their desire to support local producers.

Foodies of all ages turned out to sample the goods, watch the demonstrations or broaden their cooking skills.

But retired couple Catherine Cowing, 69, and Tom Cowing, 72, from Lockhaugh Road, Rowlands Gill, Gateshead, attended the market to meet their hero Hairy Biker Simon King.

Mrs Cowing said: “We love Simon King. We watch his programme all the time because we love the humour.”

Sheila Weddell, 27, an administrator from St Keverne Square, in Kenton Bar, Newcastle, was there to sample the delicacies on offer.

She said: “I’m just a huge fan of food. I don’t really like cooking, but I love to eat. So the demonstrations are fantastic and I’ve been able to do quite a bit of tasting.”

Stephen Thompson, 34, who is self-employed in construction, from College View in Durham, brought along his wife Jessica and one-year-old son, Harry. He said: “I think there should be markets like this all over the place with local businesses, so you don’t have to travel so far.”

George Smith, 43, a commercial currency exchanger from Sunniside Court, Sunniside, County Durham, was hoping to develop the tastebuds of his two-year-old son Nathan.

He said: “For me it’s the supermarkets who dominate the market and it’s right that our local producers have this opportunity. It’s also quite important that we can make the public aware of the high-quality local produce that is available to them.”