Foodie Events: BBC Good Food Eat Well Show 2015

This weekend the first ever BBC Good Food Eat Well Show was held in Olympia London. I hit the show on Saturday to check it out.

An offshoot of the BBC Good Food Show, which I attended in November last year, the Eat Well show focuses on natural, healthy and nutritious food.

Although this event was set in Olympia’s more modestly-sized West Hall, it was still jam-packed with vendors showcasing their “superfoods”, “wholefoods”, and “free from” goodies. Being health focussed, there was naturally a tonne of vegetarian and vegan goodies to be found.

Alongside the stalls there was a great range of information sessions and entertainment. The Eat Well Forum held discussions on health and wellbeing; the Interview Stage hosted by Suzanne Duckett featured cooks, chefs and nutrition experts; and the Healthy Kitchen stage drew large crowds to see the eclectic line-up of celebrities, chefs and professionals – including Lorraine Pascale, Hemsley & Hemsley and Rachel de Thample to name but a few – in action.

I was thrilled to catch the delightful Natasha Corrett, vegetarian chef, author and founder of Honestly Healthy Food. Though I don’t follow her 70:30 Alkaline diet, I do cook from her cookbooks and stalk her on instagram and twitter. She was very likeable on-stage as she talked passionately about her love for food and threw together a delicious-looking puy lentil & asparagus salad, then whipped up a batch of vegan cashew cookies.

TV personality Davina Mccall made a batch of sugar-free brownies from her recently released cookbook 5 Weeks to Sugar Free. Though I’m not a massive fan of her shows (just not my taste), she was entertaining and endearing on stage and the audience happily got on their feet to join in on her “crowd selfie”.

I spent far more than I should have but it was well worth it! Here’s a few more shots from the show:

And finally, my haul…

I picked up a huge box of nakd bars (my work snack obsession), some Bounce Balls, Chia Pods and Punjabi curry sauces. I also grabbed the official show bag, which was chock-full of samples and goodies (all vegetarian!) and worth well over the £5 charge. I came home with more food than will fit in my pantry but I’m pretty pleased with my haul.

Judging by the turnout on Saturday, I suspect we may see the Eat Well Show return for a second round next year, perhaps even expanding into the Grand Hall.

For more BBC Good Food events throughout the year, check out the Good Food Shows website.