Get set to tuck in at Cowbridge Food Festival with Frances Donovan

I got involved in the first year of the  festival as my good friend and  presenter Claire Summers and I  were competing in the cook-off  competition. We had a lot of fun doing  the cook-offs. She was definitely a  cleaner cook than me, my work station  looked like a bomb had hit it. I think  she was the Heston Blumenthal to my  Keith Floyd!

I’m worse than useless in the  kitchen, but enjoy taking  inspiration from the chefs’ demos. They offer a real mix of expertise, from  Asian to vegan cuisine. I host their  sessions and chat to the chefs, as well  as involving the audience. Because I’m  not an expert, I probably ask the  questions that people want to hear. I  don’t know my blind baking from my  blanching, but I’m don’t mind looking a bit stupid with my questions, as I’m genuinely curious.

I’m a bit of a foodie, in that I  appreciate good food and I’m lucky  that my husband is a great cook. I  love great Welsh cooking but I’m also  pretty partial to a bit of Greek cuisine,  too. I love the dolmades, the olives, all  the great Greek cheeses and Baklava is  my weakness. My husband will tell you,  I ate my own bodyweight’s-worth of the  stuff when we were in Kefalonia  recently – I can’t get enough of it. That  combination of pastry, honey, pistachios  and almonds – honestly, you can keep  chocolate, good Baklava is the food of  the gods!

I love seeing the same chefs year  after year at the festival, as well as  meeting new ones. With those who  have been at the festival several times, I  enjoy seeing what they’re cooking nowand seeing what they are up to.  Wayne Thomas from Cardiff’s Canteen  on Clifton Street has become a  favourite with me, as I’m a vegetarian  and he amazes me with his creative use  of ingredients and techniques. Another  highlight was Massimo Bishop-Scotti  from Zucchero in Pontyclun, making  the most memorable, delicious  pudding with salted caramel and  chocolate and talking about the  puddings he created for M S.  Massimo is exhibiting again this  year and I can’t wait to see what  he has up his sleeve.

I suppose it is not surprising  that  the festival has grown  and evolved over the last  10 years, in terms of attendance, but then it’s not that surprising how much it has grown when you think of  all there is on offer. People  travel from far for the  festival because of the great  chefs, fantastic food  exhibitors  and quality  produce on offer. There is really no need to travel to London anymore or anywhere exotic for truly fantastic food. Every  year, I come to realise a  little bit more just how  good Welsh produce is. It is great seeing people coming back year after year.

Polly Wilson, who  organises the  festival, is  extraordinary in  the way she makes the whole event  come together and run like  clockwork. The cooking, produce,  temperamental gas, thousands of  people, hundreds of vehicles and the  elements could send everything   pear-shaped – but it never does and  that’s down to Polly and her great team.  She’s like Boudicea with a walkie-talkie  sweeping through Cowbridge!

Of course, the festival is always that  much better if the weather is dry. In the early days, we used to host the food demos from a display wagon behind the Town Hall. When the wind whipped up, it really was a case of, ‘we are going to take off in a minute!’ Although even then, with decent food and a captive audience of people looking to develop their own cookery skills, we had some great times. For me, the festival marks that lovely  sense of the beginning of autumn when  it’s getting cold and you can pick up all  sorts of goodies to take home to hole  up with friends and enjoy over a glass  of wine.

It has been a busy time for me with  sports presenting from the BBC in  Salford for BBC Breakfast, BBC  World and the news channel and  working on football coverage for  IMG. I’ve also been thoroughly enjoying recording ITV’s monthly In Touch programme which combines sport with conversation and so is right up my street. So after a hectic couple of  months, I am really looking forward to  Cowbridge Food Drink Festival. It’s always one I look forward to.

Cowbridge Food and Drink  Festival runs from 9.30am to  5.30pm next Saturday (October 26)  and from 10am to 4pm on Sunday,  October 27. Tickets are £5 for a day  pass, £8 for a weekend pass, and  under-12s  have free entry. Tickets  can be bought on the day. For more  information visit  www.cowbridgefoodanddrink.org