20 years of Hot Roasted Chestnts
-20 years of roasted chestnuts Autumn is hot roasted chestnut time and will be the twentieth year that Quentin Jones will be setting up his colorful stall in Stirling village. It all started in 1986 at the Aldgate Autumn Leaves Festival. That first year was a big learning curve and the chestnuts were cooked very, very slowly in a kettle bbq. After a bit of practice the nuts were cooked and a legend was born. The current rotating cooking basket was developed in 1987 over a few beers in a neighbor’s back yard. The basket is ideal because it can cook a lot of nuts in a short time. Over the years Quentin has received much advice from the many nationalities making up our diverse culture. “You have to burn them a bit so they are easier to peel”. This advice was accepted and adds to the color and smell as smoke from the nuts wafts up and down the street. Cars screech to a halt and whole families burst from the doors to purchase their weekend treat. Walkers and window shoppers are also entice...