On Saturday evening, 7 March, some 50 people gathered at St Mark’s Methodist hall, Cheltenham, for a Fair Trade cookery demonstration by Leo Guttridge, ably assisted by his wife Beth and various willing volunteers from the audience.

Leo combined his cooking skill with the ability to talk entertainingly and instructively as he prepared the dishes.  We learned about Fair Trade and the range of products stocked in the Rendezvous shop, many of which were on display and available for purchase in the hall.  In order to whet our appetites while we watched and listened, we were all invited to make our own starter, Stuffed Dates.

Classically, the dessert, Mango and Pineapple Crumble, needed to be prepared first.  This was already settling nicely into the oven as Leo prepared Spinach and Mushroom Alfredo.  Excitement mounted as the hall filled with the enticing smell of frying onions, and the slightly more exotic scent of basil from the pesto sauce Leo was adding to this tasty pasta dish.

The high point of the evening came when we were all allowed a sample of each dish.  I am not at all a food critic – to me, a good meal is one I haven’t had to cook myself – but I am delighted to report that both the pasta and the crumble tasted superb.  This dispelled once and for all the myth that Fair Trade products lack flavour.

And I have learnt something new: Cadbury’s will soon be moving to Fair Trade ingredients.  This is great news for me – I do so love chocolate!  Was this why Leo was sporting an almost Cadabra shirt for the evening?  (If you are not sure what Cadabra is, and why I write ‘almost’: it is the registered purple colour that forms part of the Cadbury brand, so no one else may use it.)

For those who were unable to attend on the night, click here for the recipe for ‘Mango and Pineapple Crumble’.

Martin Lockwood