What a festival weekend and the winner is

Cheeky Food Critic, Tam Cowan hosted the feastRen Festival Awards Ceremony at Eastwood Park Theatre on Sunday night!

Article Source: East Renfrewshire Council
Last Updated: 11 September 2012 21:44

feastRen Festival Weekend, the centrepiece of the Festival fortnight saw 3,000 in and around Eastwood Park which was packed with live demos, theatre shows, superb live band Velvet 5, busy Whole Foods Market craft beer tent and feastRen Producers Village Market. The Cook School Street Food Market dished up salt beef sandwiches and while Tom Lewis created a riot with kids bread baking sessions. Other popular attractions were the highland cattle and piglets, The Crafter’s Co-op, Snooks BBQ stand and Dick Lewis’s Fish and Chip Van!

Handsome Michelin Star chef, Martin Wishart demoed a stunning salt crusted pastry seabream and scrumptious rum baba whilst sharing top tips on how to become a top chef along with host Jacqueline O’Donnell who interviewed Martin and took questions from audience in Eastwood Park Theatre on Saturday night.

Cheeky Food Critic, Tam Cowan hosted the feastRen Festival Awards Ceremony at Eastwood Park Theatre on Sunday night presenting Champagne and feastRen aprons to award local businesses who had the highest public votes in the each of four public nomination categories:

Best Newcomer Pane E Vino, Giffnock.

Best Eatery Il Pavone Sud, Newton Mearns.

Best Producer The Wee Fudge Company, Clarkston.

Best Food and Drink Retailer Whole Foods Market Giffnock.

Tam summed up saying, ”East Renfrewshire is spoiled rotten with so many great restaurants, both in terms of high standard and diversity.”

Best of the Fest - the feastRen organiser's award went to Chef Jacqueline O’Donnell for her own chef demo with Phil Lewis on The Thursday and for hosting the Celebrity Cook Off with Waterloo Road stars Melanie Hill and Philip Martin Brown with chefs Guy Cowan and Ryan James on Friday night and then the ehadline event with Martin Wishart on Saturday night, all at Eastwood Park Theatre.

Piero Sarti from Pane e Vino was delighted with the award and told Tam Cowan that he had retired from running busy restaurant kitchens and was thrilled that his Deli and Wine Shop had been made to feel so welcome in the area and joked that “Whole Foods Market…watch your back, am coming after you!”

Best Eatery award went to Il Pavone Sud at The Avenue Shopping Centre in Newton Mearns. Tam Cowan joked that the three handsome waiters who collected the award looked more like boy band contestants from the X Factor. The three handsome lads were delighted with their win and said ”We are really passionate about good food and we have really appreciate the support from all of our regular customers.”

Whole Foods Market Store Leader Darren Campbell was teased relentlessly by Tam Cowan for his Texan accent but said, “I have to thank all the traders and organisers for a great weekend event.”

Wee Fudge Company owner explained, “We ran a cheeky Twitter campaign over the weekend and sold out all stock. Winning this award is just the fudge sauce on the cake for us!”

Executive Director for Economic Development and Events, Andy Cahill said,"This has really been an extraordinary weekend."