Coming into the thick of September now, it’s suddenly become bloody freezing in York, and it truly feels like autumn is upon us and summer is over. Whilst I am disappointed to say goodbye to all the amazing food that summer has to offer, I’m looking forward to some cosier recipes and, dare I say, some colder weather. And, although it is ridiculously early, Christmas isn’t all that far away!

Anyway, I’ve actually had a very foodie couple of weeks, so I wanted to talk about some of my favourite bits.

For example, at the end of August I went to the Harrogate Food Festival with my parents and sisters, and I had so much to eat. Oh my god, it went on and on. Starting with Venezuelan food, we had the ‘Miss Caracas Arepa’, which was a really spongy and soft flatbread filled with a cold pulled chicken salad mixture, topped with guacamole and fresh coriander. It was so light and flavourful, especially with the garlic dip on the side definitely one of the highlights for me. At the same time, we got Buffalo-loaded fries from the Yorkshire Cheese Grill. These were good but nothing life-changing.

My favourite thing we got was probably the bao buns from Super Bao. We tried the Peking Duck, Korean BBQ and Sticky Chicken, the perfect balance of sweetness and spice. Then we had Foeyams Gambian Food, which I was most excited for as I’d never tried Gambian food before. We had a lamb curry, a goat curry, jollof rice, and rice and beans. It was all really flavourful, but honestly, I wish we’d ordered everything separately because I felt I couldn’t properly enjoy each dish with so much going on. Very tasty, though, and I would definitely go back if I saw them again.

When we were already super full, we still managed Birria tacos from Birria Bandits. These were nice but lacked a bit of flavour. To be honest, I felt they were missing the richness I’d normally associate with birria broth. Regardless, they were tasty and I’m glad we tried them.

Strangely, one of my absolute favourite things I had at the festival was the drinks. We tried a few different ones a Sicilian Lemon Tom Collins, a Mango Margarita, and a Berry and Basil Smash. All three were absolutely lovely, and Gilli’s Gin Tin (where they came from) was beautiful. It would look gorgeous at a wedding.

Ultimately, we had a fab day out on one of the hottest days of the year: lovely drinks, amazing food, and good entertainment too! I’d definitely go back, and I’m looking forward to the York Food Festival in a couple of weeks’ time.