BBC Good Food Show - Supertheatre

Can't say I was mega excited at the thought of seeing a celebrity chef but, for the sake of £3 for the ticket it seemed churlish not to – you could hardly call it expensive especially compared to the cost of the bottled water! I promise I won't say another word on the subject – for the moment.

Booking ahead and as early as possible will get you the chef you want at a time to suit you. We went on the day the show opened and to the first session at 11.00 a.m. Tom Kerridge was the man and before I go any further I have to say it was the best £3 I've ever spent. A really nice guy, together with his partner in cooking – also lovely – together with the funniest cameraman I've ever seen. It matters not where you sit since there's a big screen above the stage.

The banter was entertaining and when Mr. Kerridge mentioned Paul Hollywood's name there was more than a murmur from the audience. You can imagine what the reaction was like, when a few minutes later he came striding onto the stage and took part in the “question and answer” audience participation element. Much as it pains me to say this, since I am not a Paul Hollywood fan, I have to give credit where it's due – he was great and didn't try to steal Tom's thunder.

There's also BBC Good Food Stage (sponsored by Lakeland) which gives a combination of interviews and demonstrations from lots of celebrities starting at 10.30am and the latest spot begins at 4.30pm. There are no tickets, so free – it's a first come, first served basis.

Timetables of both the Supertheatre and the Food Stage were available and I'd imagine it will be a similar format for the November Show.

Never let it be said that I don't keep you fully informed – the next BBC Good Food Show is 24-27 November at Birmingham NEC.

On Tom's demo menu was

Blackened Cajun redfish

Pork & feta burger and cucumber and olive salsa

Tray bake chicken

Three dishes in 30 minutes or so is not bad going.

Guess what's coming next!