Taste Testing with Ben Tish and Discover the Origin

Some days, Lunch can’t quite seem to come round soon enough. But last Tuesday afternoon, Kitchen Table Projects got to chow down on some tasty treats at a food tasting hosted by Ben Tish from the Salt Yard. The tasting aimed to promote the ‘Discover the Origin’ campaign, a Europe-wide programme designed to raise awareness around five Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) products. The scheme aims to protect the heritage, character and reputation of precious food and drink by ensuring that imitation and often inferior products can’t be reproduced under the same product names. At Kitchen Table Projects, we love to support artisans and their unique crafts- so thought we’d pop along to find out a little bit more about this great programme.

Hosted by Ben Tish, Tapas expert and Head chef at The Salt Yard, we were given samples of Parma Ham and Parmigiano Reggiano (Parmesan to you and I) cheese to try, washed down with tasters of specialist Port, Bourgogne and Douro Wines. Ben explained to us the history of these products and talked us through the specialist nature of their production origins and the different quality standards assigned to each specialist product. He also discussed with us the production processes of each product, and it was amazing to hear how much skill, effort and genuine care goes into making each and every one of these products. And boy do these artisans have something to be proud of! The two types of Parma Ham that we were given to try were much more subtle and less greasy than similar products that you would find in the supermarket, and Ben showed us how the age of the parmesan cheese could really change the uses and flavour of the product.

The session was really interesting and informative, and the samples were really delicious. It was great to get to understand a little more about the heritage and production processes behind these delicious products, and support a worthy cause that aims to promote Artisans across Europe. More than anything, it was great to meet Ben and other like minded foodies who are just as passionate about where their food comes from as we are.

If you're keen to find out a little more about Discover the Origin, then take a little look at their website here. For now, here's a video of Ben appearing at London's recent Taste of London Festival to whet your appetite...