A Taste of Ascot

Through the summer, I’ve been taking Holy Cow Teas to a wide range of festivals. This has included CarFest, Chilli Fest and a Fine Food Festival at Ascot Racecourse. I thought I’d give you a behind-the-scenes taste of what’s involved and why I keep going back for more!

Great Taste at Ascot

My Chic Lady Grey received a Great Taste Awards star. This offers a mark of quality and opens up the doors to several events that are held across the UK. A new one for this year was being part of the Fine Food Festival weekend at Ascot Racecourse, held at the start of September.

Once you commit to a stall, the first challenge is completing all the necessary paperwork. That includes passes for your vehicle and anyone assisting me at the event. Then there is preparing the equipment, stock and all the finishing details that showcase the products and enable us to serve customers.

The previous weekend, I had launched Hot Choffee, a beverage containing cocoa nibs,

dandelion leaves and chilli at Waddesdon Chilli Fest, so I was keen to get more feedback by including this in my tea-tasting selection.

To cater for all tastes, I also decided on the following teas for this event:

• Milk Oolong – a straight Chinese tea, with a mild and creamy flavour
• Fruit Bouquet – a sweet and tangy tisane containing hibiscus, apple and rose
• Road to Marrakesh – a black Ceylon tea blended with a delicate spice mix, which we call ‘a hug in a cup’
• Everyday Chai – A stronger Assam tea and spice blend, which was prepared in the traditional way with almond milk and sugar
• Chic Lady Grey – Our Great Taste bergamot infused Ceylon, with blue cornflower, sweet orange and lime.

Setting Up

With a car full of tables, crates and stock, I headed off to Ascot on Thursday to set up the stand. I’m very grateful to Loretta, who came to give me a hand. Finding the right entrance was the first challenge – thank goodness for what3words!

At this event, we were given a stand, rather than a marquee. This was within a covered area, although open to the elements on one side. It was a wet and windy day, so fortunately the rules about parking the car quite a walk from the venue and transferring stock on our pull-along trailer were abandoned. We pulled up near the stands, unloaded and got the main elements set up.

The wind was strong enough to be blowing the bins over, so we kept the stock in the boxes and hoped everything would still be standing the following morning. I have to say, we’ve experienced every type of weather at this year’s events; often four seasons in one day!

On the way home the engine light came on in the car.

Day One of the Ascot Festival

My son had to catch the train to work, as I needed to borrow his car! This time, I collected Catherine en route, but the change of car meant extra authorisation was needed before we were let in. Fortunately, the wind had died down and everything was still standing, so we set to work displaying our 33 varieties of teas. We included a selection of tea accessories and then prepared teas for tasting. I love seeing the final layout; it looks fantastic!

I’ll be honest, ticket sales on this day were low and the morning seemed especially quiet. However, we did entice some beautifully dressed guests to sample our teas. We enjoy sharing information on the ingredients, origins and health benefits of our teas, as well as answering questions on brewing times and serving suggestions.

Creating Connections

Meeting with other stallholders is a highlight of events. As small, independent businesses they are passionate about their products and I love hearing about what’s gone into the great tastes.

At this event, we sampled some delicious foods including:

• Ruci’s Sri Lanka Chutney
• I am Carnivore Biltong
• Louisa’s Honey
• Sublime Butter
• Before Chocolate
• Pastries’ Pastel de Nata

We also met with Half the Story, a social enterprise organisation that makes melt-in-the-mouth biscuits. Headed up by a chef, they employ people who’ve experienced homelessness, teaching them bakery skills and paying them the living wage. The biscuit packs are supplied to conference venues and hospitality companies. They were looking for bakeries that could help roll out the scheme across the country, as well as buyers and potential stakeholders.

Conversations were also had with a visitor from True Food Kitchen, an Asian restaurant on the Isle of Wight and another from the Women in Food organisation. These are valuable connections that are only made when you get out to events.

Final Race of the Day

We headed outside to watch the final horse race of the day speed past. Then, it was time to pack up and drive home, knowing I’d be back for more the following day. An evening cleaning teapots and restocking ahead, before preparing fresh chai in the morning.

I should get an early night, but that’s not in my nature. Thankfully, my energy supplies are fuelled by premium quality tea!