The Truffler

Henrietta Green's Food Lovers' Fair comes to town next Friday until Sunday 5 November. Expect a clash of baskets and much bumping of trugs in Covent Garden Piazza, as visitors squeeze round the 100 stalls of top British produce. As well as the many appetising stalls, this year there's an Eat the View Food Craft Theatre where demonstrations of traditional skills such as sausage making and pig butchering will take place. Form an orderly queue to have any apples growing in your garden identified by a leading pomologist. Entry to the fair is free, but donations to Centrepoint homeless charity will be appreciated. Food Lovers' Fair is open 11am-7pm on Friday 3 November, 10am-5.30pm on Saturday 4 and Sunday 5. Information on 01189 714162.

Henrietta Green's Food Lovers' Fair comes to town next Friday until Sunday 5 November. Expect a clash of baskets and much bumping of trugs in Covent Garden Piazza, as visitors squeeze round the 100 stalls of top British produce. As well as the many appetising stalls, this year there's an Eat the View Food Craft Theatre where demonstrations of traditional skills such as sausage making and pig butchering will take place. Form an orderly queue to have any apples growing in your garden identified by a leading pomologist. Entry to the fair is free, but donations to Centrepoint homeless charity will be appreciated. Food Lovers' Fair is open 11am-7pm on Friday 3 November, 10am-5.30pm on Saturday 4 and Sunday 5. Information on 01189 714162.

Why does an image of Keith Chegwin keep coming to mind whenever I read about the British Sausage Appreciation Society and its forthcoming British Sausage Appreciation Week, timed to end on Bonfire Night? Its range of sausage merchandise is "bound to get all our members sizzlin' with excitement", it believes. John Savident, aka butcher Fred Elliot, is one of 5,000 members of the society, regularly wears his tie on Coronation Street and is supporting the week which begins on Monday ending on 5 November. All 8ft of Mr Sausage and his sidekick Chip will be touring the country. Membership of the BSAS is free. For membership form send an A5 stamped, self-addressed envelope to: Alison Cook, British Sausage Appreciation Society, PO Box 44, Winterhill House, Snowdon Drive, Milton Keynes MK6 1AX.

You mean you're not there? More than 120,000 visitors and exhibitors from all over the world are expected in Turin this weekend for the Salone del Gusto, which takes place every other year. Next week we'll be reporting back on the fair and the associated Slow Food awards given to those who are producing, defending or promoting artisan foods, protecting animals and vegetables threatened with extinction, and generally working against the destructive globalisation and homogenisation of food. In London, Fortnum & Mason is supporting Slow Food - a movement started in Italy in 1986 as an antidote to fast and junk food. Today's the last day Fortnum's food hall is promoting artisan food from the west of England. From Monday, it will move on to a Taste of Italy. On Tuesday morning, there will be a demonstration by Valentina Harris as well as a two-course lunch for £25 (order tickets on 0845 300 1707). On Thursday evening in the Food Hall, cheeses from traditional and artisan cheesemakers from the UK, Italy and France will be available to taste and match with wines from each of the three countries. Tickets are also £10, redeemable against purchases from the Food Hall that evening.