British Food Fortnight Challenge - blogging event and competition

I am very excited (...and somewhat nervous) to announce that I am hosting my first ever blogging event! I hope you will consider joining me by entering a dish that celebrates the very best of British food.

The 20th September sees the start of British Food Fortnight. This event, now in its seventh year, is a celebration of the fantastically diverse range of foods produced in Britain. It is also the largest volunteer movement educating children about food. Much maligned in the past by our European neighbours, Great Britain is today a nation of top-quality produce and exciting food: we should be proud of this!

British Food Fortnight offers a great excuse to remind ourselves of the pleasure of eating quality seasonal, local produce.

Fish and chips

Not only do I think we have some of the best produce around, I also think that Britain has a wealth of wonderful national dishes. From Lancashire hot pot and Welsh rarebit to Sussex pond pudding and apple crumble, our culinary heritage is rich in delectable goodies. The challenge for British Food Fortnight is to create a thoroughly British dish from (where possible), locally-sourced ingredients. I very much hope you will consider taking part, even if you have never entered a blogging event before. Everyone is welcome!

You can cook absolutely anything - sweet or savoury, starter, main course, pudding, sweets, cakes, jams, chutneys. All are encouraged! The only stipulation is that the recipe must be something which is typically British. If you can find out a bit about the origin of the dish, then do share the details if you have time.

Cottage Pie

As far as possible, please use British produce to create your dish. Obviously this is not practical for every ingredient but meat, dairy, fruit and vegetables should be British and preferably locally-sourced.

Whilst this event is obviously rather geared towards British-based bloggers, anyone is welcome to join in. If you do not live in Britain, use produce local to you but please come up with a traditionally British dish.

Summer Pudding

If the thought of a spot of thoroughly British cookery wasn't enough to get the creative juices flowing, I am also offering a prize for one lucky participant. All entrants names will be put in the hat and a winner picked at random. The winner will receive a copy of Marguerite Patten's 'Century of British Cooking'; a fascinating guide to the history of British food packed with interesting and nostalgic recipes.

I really hope you will join me in this celebration of the best of British!

Here are the guidelines..

1. Please post your thoroughly British dish during British food fortnight - 20th September to the 5th October.

2. In your post, please include a link back to me and also to the British Food Fortnight website.

3. You are encouraged to use the British Food Fortnight logo in your post, but this is not essential.

4. Once you have posted your dish, please email me by Sunday, 5th October at abitofafoodie [at] gmail [dot] com with the following information -

-Your name

-The name of your blog

-Your blog's URL

-The name of your dish

-A link to your post of the dish

-Please attach a photograph of your dish

Rhubarb Crumble and Custard