Come and join the rest of Birmingham’s merry food lovers in this year’s BBC Good Food Show Winter 2015! This year the show has come to the Birmingham NEC! From putting a stop to dry Turkey, to experiencing new and innovative ways of creating your festive favourites, learn from the best culinary talent the UK has to offer. The BBC Good Food Show Winter will take place from Thursday 26^th – Sunday 29^th November 2015. Doors open from 9:30am – 6pm on Thursday and Friday, 9am – 6pm on Saturday and 9:30am – 5pm on Sunday.

Be Entertained

Be part of the electrifying atmosphere in the Supertheature and learn some exclusive culinary tips and techniques from the professionals. Paul Hollywood, Mary Berry, Michael Roux Jr. and James Martin are only a few of the experts who will be entertaining and educating throughout the weekend. The audience will also get the chance to interact and pose their cookery questions to the stars.

Get Motivated

Hundreds of exhibitors from up and down the UK will be joining the BBC Good Food Show Winter this year. Uncover new brands, digest some of their expert culinary tips to use at home and, of course, taste their delicious produce on your way around the show.

Get the Star Treatment

If you fancy being pampered and treated like a celebrity for the day, why not choose the VIP Package experience for your visit. You will have your choice of the gold seating in the Supertheatre as well as exclusive access to the VIP Lounge which features talks, tastings and demos throughout the day. If that’s not enough, you also get to indulge in drinks, snacks, goody bags and much more!

Advanced tickets start at £21.75. Find yours online here or call 0844 581 1360. Tickets are available at the door – but for some amazing deals see the BBC Good Food Show Winter website.

Merry cooking!

Who is your favourite celebrity chef? What is your favourite recipe? I have a bit of a thing for meals served on wooden boards like this:

Fish and chips with pea purée and tartare sauce

Sometimes the simple classics are the best.

Take your time to get this right and you will have a world-class dish! Halibut is the ideal fish to use, but any good quality white flat fish will be fine. You need the best quality brand of frozen petis pois for this recipe. Anything else

will give a grainy texture – so don’t skimp on your peas! At my pub we always serve our fish and chips with round chips simply because they look more interesting.

Serves 4

4 halibut fillets, about 180g each

sea salt flakes, to taste

table salt, to taste

lemon wedges, to serve – wrap them in muslin if you

want to posh this up

For the chips

4 large potatoes for chipping, such as Maris piper

vegetable oil for deep-frying

For the tartare sauce

3 egg yolks

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

4 teaspoons white wine vinegar

500ml vegetable oil

2 hard-boiled eggs, shelled and grated

1 shallot, finely chopped

2 tablespoons finely chopped gherkins

2 tablespoons capers in brine, drained and finely

chopped

2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley leaves

For the beer batter

2 egg whites

240ml beer or sparkling water

350g self-raising white flour

large pinch of bicarbonate of soda

For the pea purée

25g butter

1 shallot, finely chopped

1/2 teaspoon sea salt flakes

100ml chicken stock

1 tablespoon finely chopped mint leaves

350g frozen peas, defrosted

4 teaspoons caster sugar

• To make thick chips, top and tail each potato, then use an apple corer to cut out the centres. Remember, we are making round chips here. Bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil over a high heat.
• Add the potatoes, return the water to the boil and boil for about 5 minutes until tender, but still holding their shapes. Use a slotted spoon to remove them from the water and leave them to drain. Dry well on a wire rack.
• When the potatoes are completely dry, heat enough oil for deep-frying in a deep-fat fryer or heavy-based saucepan until it reaches 140°C. Add the potatoes and fry for 8–10 minutes until the oil stops bubbling, which means all the moisture has been removed.
• Use a slotted spoon to remove the potatoes from the oil, return them to the wire rack and leave to cool completely.
• Meanwhile, make the tartare sauce. Place the egg yolks, Dijon mustard and white wine vinegar in a food processor and blend until smooth. With the motor still running, slowly add the oil until the mixture emulsifies and thickens. Stir in the remaining ingredients and season. Cover and keep in the fridge until needed.
• To make the pea purée, melt the butter in a saucepan over a low heat. Add the shallots and sea salt and fry, stirring occasionally, for at least 5 minutes until softened, but not coloured. Add the chicken stock and mint and bring to the boil. Add the peas and sugar, return the stock to the boil and boil for 5–6 minutes until the peas are tender. Strain the peas and shallots over a bowl to catch the liquid, then transfer them to a blender. Add 2 tablespoons of the cooking liquid and blend until smooth, but not too thin. Adjust the seasoning with table salt, if necessary, then set aside and keep hot.
• To make the batter, mix the egg whites and beer together until fluffy. Mix the flour and bicarbonate of soda together in a large bowl and add the egg-white mix.
• Just before you are ready to fry the fish, fry the potatoes for a second time. Reheat the oil to 180°C.
• Add the potatoes to the fryer again and fry for 2–3 minutes until crispy and golden brown. Drain well on kitchen paper, sprinkle with salt and keep hot in a low oven.
• Reheat the oil to 180°C, if necessary. Dip the fish into the batter, letting any excess drip back into the bowl, then add to the oil and fry for 3–5 minutes until crispy and golden brown. Drain on kitchen paper.
• Keep the fried fillets warm in the low oven until they are all fried, but do not cover them with kitchen paper. Sprinkle with sea salt flakes and serve immediately with the chips, pea purée and tartare sauce and lemon wedges for squeezing over.

Extract taken from Proper Pub Food by Tom Kerridge (Absolute Press), £20.00, Hardback

Photography © Cristian Barnet

Now it is your chance to WIN a pair of tickets to this fantastic show – just enter the easy widget below. The winner gets a pair of tickets for the day of their choice EXCLUDING the Saturday – no travel or accommodation included.

Win a pair of tickets to the BBC Good Food Show at the NEC