One of the special joys of life here in West Dorset is the annual Melplash Show, held on the Thursday before the August bank holiday.  I’ve always loved flower shows, ever since my father took me to them when I was a little girl. He always won prizes for his gorgeous blooms, and encouraged me to enter the children’s classes.

Melplash, though, is chiefly an Agricultural Show, where farmers compete showing livestock – cattle, sheep, goats and pigs; even their hay is judged.

There are horses and ponies and, in the main ring, showjumping.  Elsewhere there is dog, and ferret, racing; dog training and falconry.  In the Countryside Field there is willow weaving, spinning, dry stone walling and hedge laying. There’s a marquee run by West Dorset Bee Keepers, and a Discover Farming tent for aspiring young farmers!

There is something for everyone, and so much to see that you can’t do it all.  So I concentrated on the Homecraft and Horticultural tents, which bring back happy childhood memories.   There was plenty to be inspired and surprised by: from outsize marrows and onions the size of a football,  to exquisite embroidery –  and even a sardine tin beautifully crafted from felt.! The diligence and creativity displayed in craft classes never ceases to amaze me.

In the wine section there was stiff competition, with wines made from apples, dandelions, rose petals, even potatoes and pea pods.

Over in the Cookery Theatre, though, there were wines to sample. Abigail Hardy, from the innovative wine company Sea Change, offered us wines from France, and explained that everything they sell  supports marine conservation.  Their concern for the environment is reflected in other ways too: labels made from grape waste, natural corks, and no foil or plastic closures.  Just as important though is taste: Abi explained that the French climate, being cool, delivers more citrussy, and less tropical,flavour in a Sauvignon Blanc than the New Zealand style many are used to. A dry Pinot Grigio Rose from Provence and a light red Montepulciano were two more wines inspired by a desire to reduce plastic pollution in our seas.

I was sorry to miss the demo by Machal Trawicki, from Bridge House Hotel although, having eaten there and met him on other occasions,  I can safely say that his cooking is superlative. Happily I was able to watch Chiara and Connor from Half Penny Farm demonstrate how to bone and cook a chicken leg – pasture-raised on their 4-acre small holding in Devon. Connor demonstrated how, unusually, he boned the leg, a technique he learned in Paris; then he showed us how to make the skin really crispy: put it skin side down in a cold (cast iron) pan, with no fat. Weight it down to flatten it and keep the heat in. In about twenty minutes we had a juicy crispy chicken, cooked in its own fat.

This husband and wife team, both former chefs at River Cottage HQ,  exchanged easy banter as they cooked- Chiara teasing Connor over his love of butter, whilst Chiara, being Italian, favours olive oil. Both though enthused on the benefits of animal fats for cooking, and avoid using refined vegetable oils.  “Parmesan and lemon – keys to a Good Life”  declared Chiara, as she prepared a dressing for Caesar salad.

The final presentation by Mark Banham matched wines with cheese. Two Picpoul wines from Languedoc, and a red from Sicily, were enhanced by locally produced cave-aged goats cheese and Cheddar from Ford Farm in Dorset.

Then it was back to the Home Produce Tent to pick up my wine entries which, to my astonishment, had earned me a couple of Firsts! My Dad would have been proud of me. And then to take home some Ford Farm Cheese, for my own wine and cheese tasting, inspired by all that I had learned at The Melplash Show.

© Shirley Booth