Mark Diaconodevonfeatures.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/pdf/manor_foods5.pdf · 2015. 12. 1. · PHOTOS: MARK DIACONO F orget any preconceptions you might have of how an allotment should

Sous vide duck egg, squash purée, garlic crouton, peas, chorizo and pea shoots is just one of the beautiful dishes taught at Ashburton Cookery School

MANOR | Late Summer 2015 109

FoodThe allure of the allotment with Mark Diacono | The South West’s best cookery courses

Bites, the latest news and events from Devon and Cornwall’s vibrant food sceneThe Table Prowler

PHOTO: JASON INGRAM

110 MANOR | Late Summer 2015

Mark Diacono is on a mission to transform the way we grow food. With watering can and pot of mint in hand, Anna Turns finds out about his plot-to-plate journey.

The mooli or Chinese white radish

Celeriac is a winter staple full of ‘savoury earthiness’

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Forget any preconceptions you might have of how an allotment should be. Grower, cook and food writer Mark Diacono is turning the concept of the traditional veg patch on its head and inspiring gardeners (and non-

gardeners alike) to simply grow a little of what they’d most like to eat.

Since moving to Otter Farm near Honiton 11 years ago, he has experimented and created a kitchen garden, orchards, a forest garden, vineyard and perennial garden on his 17-acre farm. Mark insists that our view of the traditional kitchen garden needs to move with the times – we all enjoy eating and cooking a multitude of cuisines and flavours, but most of us still envisage a kitchen garden as a place of hard graft where we grow potatoes, carrots and onions. His new way is a far more creative way of growing produce, and one you can adapt to your own garden, tastes and lifestyle.

“Start small and try planting unusual varieties,” he advises. “Above all make the most of whatever garden space you have right now – there’s no time like the present!” He encourages growers not to become overwhelmed by the task in hand: “The usual view of the veg patch is that you have to dedicate all your spare time and energy to it for it to be a success, but it can be lower maintenance if you want it to be. I don’t think people realise there are so many different ways of doing it. And if you are growing something you are looking forward to eating, you’ll no doubt be more likely to carry on nurturing it.”

Mark’s latest book, The New Kitchen Garden, presents a diversity of valid, creative alternatives from which readers can pick and choose. “People are doing things genuinely differently for perfectly brilliant and magical reasons,” he muses. “Check out the different things you can grow as well as all the different ways you can grow them – then build up an idea of what you’d like to do yourself.” More than ever before, people are growing food in urban spaces or tiny garden patios – anything goes, and it doesn’t have to involve growing the usual suspects in rows: “There are so many ways of growing food and I felt this hadn’t yet been reflected.”

The seed catalogue is Mark’s menu. One of the first questions to ask yourself is whether you want to grow the cheap end of the shop or the more expensive one. Mark favours growing more quirky veg or heritage varieties of fruit and herbs that are harder to buy commercially or that taste so much better if you grow them at home. “Small ingredients with big flavours make the biggest impact – plants like chillies, garlic, herbs and Szechuan pepper,” explains Mark, to whom flavour is king and pleasure his biggest driver. “Eating the best food there is, especially when I have grown it, makes me happy.”

For Mark, growing is good for the soul. “I doubt there is anything else in the world that would have the


food

If you are growing something you are looking forward to eating, you’ll be more

likely to nurture it

Mark’s daughter Nell has created her own step garden

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same effect on me. I get so much out of it – from being creative to the physical exercise and enjoyment of the food I grow to being more tuned in to nature.”

Gardening is a powerful way to connect with the environment, engage with the seasons and experience the world around us. “The point isn’t necessarily to be self-sufficient,” says Mark. “I believe the potential of growing some of what you eat to affect your life and community and the bigger issues is enormous, but the reward varies from person to person. It also turns your mind to the whole food world and the nature of carbon and our dysfunctional food system. The more we eat seasonally and locally, the more your pound is working within the local economy and supporting the landscape we live in. And if you grow a little bit of your own food, you’re likely to be more aware and want to take care of the food system a little more.”

Mark’s work at Otter Farm is developing with the building of a new kitchen garden school, due to open in spring 2016. Having previously taught at River Cottage, Mark is all too familiar with the lack of awareness of where food comes from. “It’s perfectly normal for people to think potatoes grow on trees, but if they have come from the inner city, they’d have no reason to know. I wouldn’t understand how life works in the city centre! There are gulfs across different cultures – making those little connections, discovering where food that sustains you actually comes from is quite important. So even just growing a few pot plants can be such a mind-changer.”

He advises to keep it simple and buy foods that virtually grow themselves, such as mint. “It’s easy to

MORE INSPIRATIONAL KITCHEN GARDENERS The Husbandry School, South Devon: Jonty and Carole Williams run cookery and growing courses from their smallholding on a hilltop at Bickington, Ashburton. husbandry.co.uk

Padstow Kitchen Garden, North Cornwall: Ross Geach, Rick Stein’s former head chef, tends 2 acres of land and supplies top restaurants with seasonal produce. padstowkitchengarden.co.uk

grow just a few pots of herbs and, however seemingly small its contribution to what you eat, these few mouthfuls grown rather than bought are likely to ignite a series of positive sparks.” This can also be a great hands-on way of engaging children. Mark’s nine-year-old daughter Nell has created her own step garden, growing containers of the herbs and spices she loves to taste. “She makes tea with the mint or lemon verbena as well as smoothies and fruit drinks. She recognises when to expect Japanese raspberries and she knows that mulberries come into season during the August school holidays.

“By personality and taste preferences, autumn is my favourite time of year,” says Mark. “Autumn is when I get busy picking grapes for wine-making, most of the Schezuan peppers are ready, as well as quinces, medlars, walnuts and chestnuts. It’s a lovely harvest of amazing produce.” And Mark explains that, “It doesn’t matter how you come to grow some of what you eat, what that something might be, nor the scale at which you do it; all that matters is that you do.”

otterfarm.co.uk

Hear Mark Diacono discuss his ideas for kitchen gardening

in more detail and share tasters at Eat Your Words, part

of Dartmouth Food Festival, 1.30pm on Saturday 24

October at The Flavel Church. £5 each. To book go to

dartmouthfoodfestival.com

Eating the best food there is,

especially when I have

grown it, makes me

happy


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Nell harvests trombocino courgettes, one of the more unusual harvests at Otter Farm

MARK’S TOP THREE FAVOURITE PLANTS TO GROW

Szechuan pepperIt’s low maintenance, easy and hugely productive.

MulberrySimply the most extraordinary, gorgeous fruit in the world, it is easy to grow and tastes wonderful. When I first tasted mulberry, I realised that there is so much brilliant produce out there that can’t be found in the shops, so if I wanted to eat it I’d have to grow it myself.

Peregrine peachIf you can pick a heritage variety of peach from your own tree when it is just about to fall of its own accord, it tastes so very different to anything you’ve ever eaten.

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A taste of the bestMANOR’s team of foodie writers has taste tested some of Devon and Cornwall’s best food and drink masterclasses and cookery schools. Each with their own style of teaching, there’s a course to suit all levels of ability and every palate.

PART ONE

Students at work in one of Ashburton Cookery School’s teaching kitchens (opposite); tutor Dave Gardiner (left); spiced crab and smoked salmon tian with lemon and coriander vinaigrette (below)

DINNER PARTIES£165. Tutor: Dave Gardiner. 9.15am-3.15pm. Next courses: 20 September, 4 October. Ashburton Cookery School, Old Exeter Road, Ashburton, Devon, TQ13 7LG. 01364 652784. ashburtoncookeryschool.co.uk

Best for dinner partiesHayley Reynolds cooks up a menu to impress her guests at Ashburton Cookery School .Arriving at the impressive-looking Ashburton Cookery School, I was a little apprehensive. However, I was quickly put at ease by the extremely friendly front-of-house staff member, who introduced me to five ladies and three men sitting around a large table; within minutes we were all chatting over a coffee, and the atmosphere was welcoming. Course tutor Dave Gardiner then joined us to introduce the cookery school’s background, his experience as a chef and tutor, and to give an overview of what we’d be doing.

Ashburton Cookery School was established by Stella West-Harling, who started the business from her house, around the Aga in her kitchen. Previously, Stella had run an organic restaurant and her love and passion for locally produced food was a major influence from the start and continues to be a key ingredient of the course. In 2004, Stella met with Darrin Hosegrove, the chef director. It was at this point it changed from a small home-based business to a much bigger, more professional entity. In 2009, they took over the new premises where all the action takes place today.

Having been put at ease and encouraged to ask as many questions as we liked, we were taken into the kitchen. The kitchen layout was as I had expected: first rate with plenty of work surfaces, ovens, Kenwoods and all the other equipment you could possibly need, as well as a TV screen over the demo area for easy viewing. After a talk on food hygiene and health and safety, we were ready to start.

The Menu of the Day consisted of two starters, two main courses and two puddings, each with intricate elements. With a great mix of demo and practice we worked our way through the recipes, mostly in pairs. The day was quite fast-paced but it was so carefully explained that it was easy to keep up. All the less exciting elements, such as weighing ingredients and peeling potatoes, have been pre-prepped and there were a couple of young staff members busy washing dishes. After a very busy morning, we sat down at around 1.30pm to enjoy our spiced crab and smoked salmon tian, lemon and coriander vinaigrette starter with a glass of chilled white wine. Then we were back in the kitchen finishing off the main courses, before returning to the dining area to feast on walnut-crusted pork loin, cider potato, buttered cabbage and

beetroot glaze. The puddings were peanut butter and salted caramel ice cream and chocolate fondant. All the food was delicious and we were each sent home with the remaining starter, a watercress velouté with lemon and thyme salted cod and poached quails eggs, and a Teriyaki glazed salmon.

In addition to the core element of the course, we learnt a few extras, including how to make fancy chocolate decorations to upgrade the look of your pudding. The knife skills we learnt during the day were also extremely useful. It was also really good to see so many local ingredients being used, including milk from Riverford Dairy and Bell & Loxton Cold Pressed Rapeseed Oil. This course is a superb, fun and very professional day for people with intermediate cooking skills and a love of good food.

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Best for world food Anna Turns enjoys a vibrant foodie tour of Northern India, all from the comfort of Kingswear’s Manna from Devon Cookery School. Last year, Holly and David Jones, owners of Manna from Devon cookery school, spent four weeks travelling around India, immersing themselves in the local cuisine. This one-day course, Inside North Indian Cooking, very much took me and the other three course participants on a sensory journey. With Holly’s vivid descriptions, stories and anecdotes throughout the day, I felt I experienced a real flavour of this culture: from India’s street food to the authentic use of spices, and the whole day was filled with fantastic smells and vibrant rainbow colours as we prepared our feast.

It’s a far cry from what most Brits know as curry. North Indian cuisine is much more delicate, using dried spices, plenty of garlic and ginger, tomatoes and chillies. The main cooking medium is usually dairy, be that cream, milk, yogurt or ghee (clarified butter), and most dishes are vegetarian with some chicken and lamb (but no beef because cows are sacred in the North).

Manna from Devon courses are always small (with six people at the most), resulting in an intimate, casual and relaxed feel. Holly taught the four of us around a large wooden kitchen table with a view across to the River Dart – no stainless steel in sight. None of us had travelled to India before so we were all curious, having cooked basic curries from scratch but nothing more adventurous until now.

Holly introduced the day by talking us through her selection of aromatic spices, from whole turmeric to king cumin, all of which she told us could be bought locally. Holly’s style of cooking was very much instinctive. Quantities were rarely weighed out exactly, but this meant we could each create dishes to suit our individual palates, guided by taste. First up we made a garam masala, a mix of cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, cumin and black pepper, and a paste of ginger and garlic, both of which would be added to many dishes throughout the day.

With a brief demo and then

plenty of hands-on kneading, we made pastry for samosas and dough for naan bread, which we then came back to later, plus we marinated the butter chicken. Next, we used a pestle and mortar to pummel herbs and spices together to make deliciously hot dipping sauces – sweet chilli sauce plus fresh coriander and mint sauce – before cooking up the veggie mix and making our samosas. Other dishes included red lentil dhal, smoky aubergines, spicy Rajasthani lamb kebabs, paneer with spinach and a sweet carrot halva for dessert. Active participation is always the best way to learn and we were all kept busy chopping, mixing, stirring and dibbling (the technique used to thin out the naan dough) throughout the day.

Rather than getting bogged down with timings, cooking schedules and methodology, we all just went with the relaxed pace of the day – not having the eight or so recipes in front of us helped (these were emailed to us after the course). By 3.30pm, we all sat down together on the veranda to share the diverse mix of dishes we had created together – my favourite dish, and probably the most beautiful to look at, was the pineapple chutney, a refreshing fruit salad mixed with coriander and chilli.

None of the technical skills required were complex (novices and advanced cooks would both enjoy the day), but to make all of these recipes on your own for the first time in one day would require a lot of shopping, preparation and organising. I’d probably be tempted to keep it simple at home and replicate just two or three dishes at a time. One thing’s for sure: curry night at my house just got a whole lot more exciting!

INSIDE NORTH INDIAN COOKING£149. Tutor:Holly Jones. 10am-4pm. Next course: 14 November. Manna from Devon, Fir Mount House, Higher Contour Road, Kingswear, Devon TQ6 0DE. 01803 752943. mannafromdevon.com

Enjoying the results of our day course


Best for tea Richard Allsopp takes The Tea School masterclass at Tregothnan.In this nation of tea drinkers it would be difficult to find someone who doesn’t know how to make, mash or brew a cup of tea. With a per-person consumption of more than 2.5 kilos of tealeaves a year and the basic equipment to make a cuppa in every house and home, a day spent taking and tasting The Tea School Masterclass at Tregothnan in Cornwall might seem like a slightly odd choice, but one that comes highly recommended to give an instructive and revealing insight into the history, cultivation, production, brewing and tasting of tea.

The Tregothnan estate, ‘the home of English tea’ and the only working tea plantation in the UK, lies on the quiet wooded banks of the River Fal, a few miles south-east of Truro. Home to the Boscawen family since 1335, collectors of rare plants and botanicals since the late 17th century, the estate was the first place in the British Isles to grow ornamental camellias outdoors. Some 200 years later, in the mid-1990s, the idea of establishing a working tea plantation began to be realized by the current Director of Gardens, Jonathon Jones, who saw the potential of the estate’s cool climate, acid soil and soft waters to grow tea bushes – Camellia sinensis – in the exceptional botanical gardens of the estate. The first crop of Tregothnan Tea was produced in 2005 after seven years of careful preparation and nurturing the plantation.

Jonathon Jones – an infectiously enthusiastic and hugely knowledgeable authority on the growing, production and drinking of tea – hosts our small and international group of tea fanatics in the Tea Room, with its impressive chrome Unilever tea-making machine. The Masterclass has something for everyone – from the legendary origins of tea drinking and preparation in ancient China, to the cultivation of the Camellia sinensis bush, and Jonathon’s own inspiring two-year research journey through tea gardens and plantations in Indian, Japan, Africa and China, via the making of white, green and black teas and herbal tisanes, to the current expanding international tea markets and latest tea-making gadgets.

Fortified with copious cups of tea and with heads full of fascinating details, we set off on foot to the plantation in Himalayan Valley, a beautiful area of the estate leading down past a series of small lakes to the River Fal, where we are given a comprehensive

and engaging demonstration on the art and process of producing leaf tea. The first flush of leaves on the ‘plucking table’ of Camellia sinensis bushes is picked by hand at dawn by taking the top two leaves and a bud. These are laid on bamboo racks to allow gentle withering. The leaves are then rolled traditionally by hand between two surfaces; the more intense the rolling, the stronger the resulting flavour. The next step is oxidation, which involves spreading the rolled leaves on a flat surface and keeping them at a controlled temperature. As the natural liquids in the cells interact, the colour changes from green to brown. The final stage is to dry the leaves to 2% moisture. White, green and black teas are all produced from the same leaves and are only differentiated by the various processes the leaves undergo. All processes are entirely chemical-free and have been sustainable for more than 4,000 years.

Winding back up the valley and through the gardens, we arrive back at the Tea Room for a Cornish lunch, then onto an intensive tea-tasting session that ranges from the lightest of green teas to classic English Breakfast and Earl Grey teas via myrtle, manuka, and lemon verbena tisanes, all produced on the estate. Our palates refreshed, our minds enlivened and our curiosity satisfied, we depart clutching packets of Tregothnan tea and in agreement with A.A. Milne that “a Proper Tea is much nicer than a Very Nearly Tea, which is one you forget about afterwards.”

TEA SCHOOL MASTERCLASS £95. Tutor: Jonathon Jones. Next course: 6 November. The Tea Room, Tregothnan Estate, Tresillian, Truro, TR2 4AN. 01872 520000. tregothnan.co.uk

Jonathon Jones


food

Claws for celebrationFamily firm Favis of Salcombe Ltd is celebrating winning GOLD at the Taste of the West Awards this year for its hand-picked white crab (left).

The family have been fishing the South Devon waters in their crabber, the Emma Jane, since 1972 and have a reputation for excellence in the industry.

After landing the catch at Salcombe’s Fish Quay, it is transported to their nearby factory where it is cooked, handpicked and packed in record time.

They supply some of the top restaurants and chefs in the county and pride themselves on being able to provide the very freshest crab and lobster - getting it from pot to plate in less than eight hours.

For more information please contact the team on 01548 521182 or visit

favis-os.com

Keith Favis with sons Kevin, Nigel and crabber the Emma Jane

The Favis team aboard the Emma Jane


Crab croquettes with mustard and parmesan and a smoky paprika mayo

Panko-coated Salcombe lobster with a chilli, soy and shrimp paste jam, fresh coriander and lime

INGREDIENTS

• 100g white crab meat• 100g brown crab meat• 200g mashed potato• 50g parmesan cheese finely grated• 1 tablespoon english mustard• Salt and pepper• 2 eggs beaten• 1 bowl of flour• 1 bowl of Panko (or breadcrumbs)

SMOKY PAPRIKA MAYO

• 1 cup mayonnaise• 2 teaspoons of smoked paprika• 1 pinch of cayenne pepper• Juice of half a lemon

INGREDIENTS

• 1 live medium local lobster (around 800g is enough for 2 as a main or 4 starters)

• Plain flour • Sparkling water• Panko breadcrumbs

FOR THE JAM

• 50g finely chopped shallots• 20g finely chopped garlic• 30g finely chopped red chilli• 20g finely chopped ginger• 1 cup sherry vinegar• 4 tablespoons dark soy sauce• ½ a cup sugar (palm sugar if poss)• 3 teaspoons shrimp paste

METHOD

1. Mix all the croquette ingredients and form the croquettes into thumb sized portions; then flour, egg and Panko and place in the fridge.

2. Meanwhile, prepare the mayo by mixing the lemon juice, paprika and cayenne pepper into your mayonnaise.

3. Deep fry the croquettes in hot oil for two minutes or until golden brown and serve with the smoky paprika mayo.

METHOD

Put the live lobster into the freezer for 1 hour to send it to sleep, then blanch in boiling water for 2 minutes, then straight into ice water to cool. When cold, cut the lobster in half and crack the claws, remove all the meat and cut into 3 or 4 cm pieces and store in the fridge.

For the jam:Place all the ingredients into a heavy saucepan and half the sugar and cook slowly for 20 minutes, check the consistency and taste and add more sugar to thicken if needed.

For the batter:1. Whisk together the plain flour

and sparkling water to form a thin batter.

2. Place the lobster pieces into the batter then into the Panko crumbs, shake off any excess and deep fry until golden in hot oil.

3. Serve with the chilli jam, fresh coriander, wedges of lime and tempura wild garlic flowers (dip the wild garlic flowers into plain flour then into your thin batter mix from the lobster and deep fry in very hot oil).

Make the most of the region’s superb crab and lobster with these delicious recipes from the Favis family.

food


Bites

A taste of AndalucíaTake a gastronomic tour of Spain with Manna from Devon’s David and Holly Jones, who have teamed up with a hotel called Las Chimeneas in the Eastern Alpujarra Mountains near Granada to host an exclusive one-week Spanish cookery course. The Alpujarras are home to the world-famous jamon serrano and local culinary delights such as honey and olive oil are second-to-none. “Walking and cooking are two of my biggest

passions in life, so combining the two makes for a special course full of adventure in the scenic hills and in the kitchen,” says David, chef and co-owner of Manna from Devon. “To teach Spanish cookery in the remote and authentic area of the Alpujarras in Andalucía – it doesn’t get more exciting than that!” 3 - 10 October. Maximum 16 people per trip. mannafromdevon.com

100% Cornish Truro is gearing up for the largest event anywhere dedicated 100% to Cornish food and drink: The Great Cornish Food Festival, 25 - 27 September. Try your hand at everything from filleting fish to cocktail creativity, with three days of tastings and culinary titbits.

Organisers Cornwall Food & Drink anticipate over 60 producers and more than 40 chefs and food experts taking part, with an exhibitor line-up that includes everyone from household Cornish names like Rodda’s,

Sharp’s Brewery and Furniss, to artisan producers such as South Western Distillery, which produces the aromatic Tarquin’s Gin.

Celebrated seafood chef Nathan Outlaw is confirmed to headline a tantalising programme of masterclasses and demonstrations across two different stages, in company with a host of Cornwall’s top chefs and food experts. 9am-5.30pm. Free. Lemon Quay, Truro. greatcornishfood.co.uk

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Nathan Outlaw at the Great Cornish Food Festival


Lobster & Crab Feast On 6 September, celebrate Clovelly’s famous fare and enjoy seafood platters made with lobster and crab caught sustainably by local fishermen. This event is in aid of the National Lobster Hatchery, Padstow, which will be exhibiting some of its baby lobsters prior to their release into Clovelly Bay at the end of the day.Clovelly Harbour. 10am-5pm. Admission charges apply.

01237 431781. clovelly.co.uk

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Eat the seasons When a hamper or fish box delivery arrives on my doorstep, my heart sinks if the packaging doesn’t live up to the sustainable ethos of the food contents, writes Anna Turns. Not so with Trill Farm’s seasons box – everything arrived in biodegradable packaging, with not a dot of polystyrene in sight.

The box was full of beautifully presented edible treats and handmade products all made with natural ingredients, herbs and harvests grown on Romy Fraser’s farm near Axminster. Trill summer tea brewed in a glass teapot was a pleasure to drink, the blue mallow, pink rose and lemon verbena giving an earthy, grassy flavour with citrus tones. It also tasted refreshing on ice with a slice of lemon. Elderflower and rhubarb cordial was another hit – an unusual take on elderflower, this wasn’t overly sweet, and the rhubarb gives a depth and richness that I hadn’t tasted before in a cordial.

The rustic-looking barley crackers didn’t last long –

these thin, floury crispbreads added texture to a warming bowl of homemade tomato soup, and the caraway seeds livened them up. And the raw, unfiltered honey is a mile away from blended supermarket varieties – it couldn’t be more traceable, with bees producing this scented liquid gold from wildflowers growing naturally on the 300-acre farm. The pot of aromatic salt seasoning was recommended to accompany white fish but I actually used it on the skin of roast chicken, which added an unusual depth to the meat – ingredients unexpectedly included dried blood orange as well as fennel and new season garlic.

Other foodie delights in the box included Trill’s own BBQ sauce, fresh garlic bulbs and a trio of living salad plants: summer purslane, amaranth and flashy butter oak lettuce, which luckily were supplied with growing instructions and harvesting tips. And the box also included body balm, soap and a citronella candle, which fit with the ethos of Trill Farm perfectly – all

adapted to suit the season every quarter. Highly recommended! Try the Trill Seasons

Autumn box: Book now for

delivery on 7 October. £75.

Exclusive products include

apple juice, bramble jam,

chilli and tomato sauce,

hazelnut spice mix and

pumpkin. trillfarm.co.uk

Food on the run The Delicious Drake’s Trail returns this autumn, offering fun-loving foodies the chance to take a unique gastronomic tour of West Devon on foot. Starting at Buckland Abbey, participants will run/jog/walk their way around a dozen different food and drink stops hosted by local pubs, hotels, cafés and pop-up caterers. By the time they reach the finish at the Moorland Garden Hotel, participants will have tasted a mouth-watering variety of local produce including sweets, savouries, cider and beer. Spectators are well catered for, too, with plenty of opportunities to raise a glass to the runners from the comfort of a bar stool or beer garden en route. With a ‘Welcome to the Circus’ fancy dress theme, participants should be easy enough to spot! A food festival at the Moorland Garden Hotel, with market stalls and cookery demos, will also give spectators plenty to try, buy and do while waiting to cheer the runners across the finish line. The Delicious Drake’s Trail takes place on Sunday 4 October in

aid of CHICKS charity. To enter, go to: deliciousdrakestrail.co.uk

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Jesters enjoy a slightly bonkers take on a fun run, eating their way from Buckland Abbey to Moorland

Garden Hotel on the Delicious Drake’s Trail


Boxing cleverDevon-based veg box company Riverford has been named the Ethical Product of the Decade at The Observer Ethical Awards. Decided by public vote, this national award is designed to honour the retailer, designer, brand or shop that makes it easier for people to live more ethically.

Riverford founder Guy Watson (left) was thrilled to be presented with the award by The Observer’s editor John Mulholland and BBC presenter Lucy Siegle at a ceremony at the V&A museum in London. “For almost 30 years, I have aimed to use the business to make the world a slightly better place, one veg box at a time,” said Guy. “Put simply, we want to give people good, fresh, flavoursome, ethically produced food that they can trust, produced and delivered in a way that gives a fair deal to farmers, animals, customers, staff and the environment. As far as we are concerned, the best things in life are shared, and food – good food – is the greatest example of this, and we want it to be available to everyone. It is very rewarding to have had this accolade from the Observer.”

A recipe box sounded like a good way to experiment with vegetarian cooking, so I looked online, saw the week’s recipes – they sounded delicious: aubergine moussaka, roasted pimento peppers with cous cous, quinoa, spinach and egg curry – so i decided to give it a go.

I didn’t need to be at home to collect the delivery. My box arrived while I was at work. When I opened it that evening the butter, milk and so forth were still chilled as they were packed in a returnable cool bag (lined with sheep’s wool). In fact, all the packaging can be recycled.

Opening the box was like Christmas – it was beautifully packed, the vegetables were firm, shiny and squeaky fresh; there are cards for each recipe, and an ‘enjoy with’ sheet offering matching wine suggestions, plus a cheese plate and intense chocolate. All the ingredients were organic and the only ones I needed to reach into my store cupboard for were olive oil and salt.

The step-by-step instructions were straightforward. It’s best (and more fun) with two people – one reading the recipe, while the other

follows instructions. The prep and cook times varied from 35 - 75 minutes.

My favourite of the three recipes was the quinoa, spinach and egg curry with naan bread. Curries can be such a faff to cook, but this was a breeze. It introduced me to new ingredients (I’d never cooked quinoa before). Making it was like being on a cookery course, only at home. My only misgiving was the volume of water to add to the quinoa was too much.

I’m a pretty messy cook. By the time I’ve prepared a meal, my kitchen looks like there’s been a minor explosion. With a Riverford recipe box, everything comes ready weighed and measured (far less washing up). I’m a convert!

Amounts are generous – the recipes are for two healthy appetites, but they could easily be stretched to three. Pretty good value at £33.95.

Three different Riverford recipe boxes are available:

Vegetarian (£33.95), Quick (£39.95) and Original

(£39.95) riverford.co.uk

WHAT’S IN A BOX?Harriet Fitzgerald takes delivery of a Riverford Recipe Box


DON’T MISS...5 SEPTEMBERNourish FestivalNow in its second year, this festival of food, craft and music celebrates with street food and producer stalls. Fore Street, Bovey Tracey. Free. nourishfestival.org

5 SEPTEMBERFishstockThe English Riviera’s renowned urban music and seafood festival is in aid of the Fishermen’s Mission. Fish Quay, Brixham. englishriviera.co.uk

11 - 13 SEPTEMBERNewquay Fish Festival With top chefs including Nathan Outlaw, Rick Stein and BBC MasterChef’s James Nathan, this year’s event focuses on the diversity of sustainable seafood that local fishermen catch. newquayfishfestival.co.uk

12 SEPTEMBERAshburton Food Festival With a cookery theatre at St Lawrence Chapel and 50 artisan

stallholders lining St Lawrence Lane. 10am-5pm. Free ashburtonfoodfestival.co.uk

18 - 20 SEPTEMBER Bude for Food Festival A hive of foodie activity with artisan producers from Bude and Cornwall, plus chef demos. £1.50. The Castle in Bude. #BigUpBude

26 - 27 SEPTEMBERPlymouth Seafood FestivalThe world’s first city to be awarded the Fish2Fork Blue City status for its commitment to sourcing sustainable fish hosts this festival of fresh seafood and fish cookery. Barbican and Sutton Harbour, Plymouth. visitplymouth.co.uk

26 - 27 SEPTEMBERApple & Cider Weekend Taste fresh apple juice straight from the apple press at the pop-up cider bar and enjoy the Westcountry’s much-loved tipple. 10am-4pm. Free. The Shops at Dartington.dartington.org

1 - 4 OCTOBERBoscastle Food Arts & Craft FestivalShowcasing top talent from Cornwall’s finest restaurants – see the chefs in action and get the flavour of what life’s like behind the kitchen door. boscastlefestival.co.uk

3 - 4 OCTOBERPowderham Food FestivalFamily-friendly cookery workshops, demos and activities throughout the weekend, including Exeter’s own Fun Kitchen, plus woodland crafts group Running Deer will be cooking over campfires. £6/£2. 10.30am -5pm powderhamfoodfestival.com

8 - 11 OCTOBERFalmouth Oyster FestivalIn celebration of the start of the oyster-dredging season, visit the last remaining traditional oyster fishery in Europe still dredging by sail and hand punt. Events Square, Falmouth. From 10am until late each day. falmouthoysterfestival.co.uk


North Bovey, Devon, TQ13 8RET: 01647 445000

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Taunton, Somerset, TA3 5NBT: 01823 442500


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Visit www.edenhotelcollection.com to view our Christmas brochure or buy gift vouchers

Get into the festive spirit with Christmas parties at The Greenway Hotel & Spa. Christmas parties include a

three course meal, Christmas crackers and prosecco.

£39.00 per person

The Greenway Hotel and Spa

Celebrate Christmas at The Mount Somerset Hotel & Spa. Christmas parties include a three course

meal, Christmas crackers and a disco.

£39.00 per person

The Mount Somerset Hotel and Spa

Terms & Conditions apply. Subject to availability. Please call to check availability on selected dates.

Christmas parties include a glass of prosecco on arrival, three course lunch or dinner, hire of private

dining room and festive table decorations.

Party Lunch Price from £30.00 per personParty Dinner Price from £35.00 per person

Bovey Castle

Christmas Parties with Eden

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food

Signature dish

Recipe: Shoulder of mutton croquette, part of JP’s assiette of mutton. Serves 6

INGREDIENTS

• 500g of shoulder• 1 carrot diced to 1cm cubes• 1 small leek, finely sliced• 1 white onion, finely sliced• 1 stick of celery, finely sliced• 3 cloves of garlic• Bay leaf• 1 gelatin leaf or 5g gelatin powder• 2 sprigs of thyme• 1 clove• 1 shallot, finely diced• 10g chopped parsley• 70cl of red wine• 50g flour• 2 eggs, beaten• 1 packet of Panko breadcrumbs• Dash of vegetable oil• Salt and pepper

METHOD

1. Pan-fry the vegetables together with a tablespoon of vegetable oil and add the bay leaf. When they start to turn golden, deglaze with a bottle of red wine, and then remove from the heat. Remove the bay leaf.

2. Take another large pan, add a dash of vegetable oil and heat until it is really hot and then sear the mutton for about two minutes on both sides to seal in the flavour.

3. Add to the vegetables and wine, cover and cook in the oven at 170°c for 1hr 30mins. When it is cooked, remove from the jus, shred it and leave to cool.

4. Discard the vegetables but keep the juice. Boil, skim and then reduce this to one third, or 300ml. Take one gelatin leaf (dissolved as per packet instructions) or 5g of gelatin powder, put in cold water and then add to the jus. Leave it to cool, mix in the shredded mutton so that the texture is not too wet and not too hard.

5. Mould into a large sausage about 2cm in diameter, wrap in cling film and leave in the fridge to cool. Then divide into 8cm portions, dip each piece in the flour, dip in the eggs and then cover in Panko breadcrumbs.

6. Pre-heat a deep fat fryer to 180°c and cook for two minutes until golden brown. Place on kitchen roll to drain off the excess fat.

7. Suggest serving with garlic fondant potatoes, pea purée, braised red cabbage and red wine and mint sauce.

TIP: When the mutton is cooked it will flake very easily when you pull it apart with two forks.

Mutton is currently going through a renaissance and it’s back on the menu at The Millbrook Inn at South Pool near Kingsbridge. A huge advocate of nose-to-tail cookery, chef Jean-Philippe Bidart, or JP (right), enjoys cooking this underrated meat in various forms. “Mutton is cheaper than lamb and has a richer, gamier flavour. For hundreds of years, it was a staple meat of every household but it has virtually disappeared over the past 50 years,” explains JP. “There is a misconception that it is tough as old boots and very strong. But cooked in the right way it is delicious with an intense flavour and its texture is far superior to new season lamb.”

Mutton is on the menu at the Millbrook Inn on a regular basis and in doing so this gastropub is supporting local farmers like Rebecca Hosking at Village Farm in nearby East Portlemouth who breeds organic lamb and mutton. “We’ll buy a whole carcass at a time from a local farm and make use of all the meat, usually selecting a two-year-old animal. Mutton is available year-round but is best, and most readily available, from late spring until October.thevillagefarm.co.uk

millbrookinnsouthpool.co.uk



Circa 24, Exeter

Wildebeest, Falmouth

Like many regional cities, Exeter has a plethora of chain eateries, so when a new independent bags itself a sweet spot right in the belly of the beast, the cheer goes up.

Twirling its moustache and twanging its tweed braces, Circa 1924 slides stylishly into the space vacated by Harry’s on Northernhay Place and looks set to make its mark. Downstairs, a moonshiner-inspired ‘speakeasy’ bar, all wooden pallets and corrugated iron, presents a friendly vibe and a tantalising cocktail list. Upstairs is a chic combination of polished walnut and dark upholstery – Gatsby would feel right at home.

And he would simply adore the new menu: in a revamp of the steakhouse vibe, Circa 1924 adds seafood to the mix, plus a bit of international (Asia, South America) fusion for good measure. Happily, none of this is just for show – the kitchen is clearly home to a talented team who are confident to tweak flavour combinations and add their own twist.

We jump right into the sea with silky oysters, which slip down easily thanks to a zippy red wine vinegar and shallot dressing. A purist at heart, I’m less fussed about the fried version, although the other half prefers them (philistine). Scallop ceviche arrives perched atop a bright nubbin of sweet potato, looking like a Miró on a plate – it’s a fresh and zesty pop to the gob. On the other side of the table, thick coils of cured salmon are packed with a satisfyingly nasal-twitching wasabi cream; gems of beetroot purée add

an earthy sweetness that ties it all together better than The Dude’s favourite rug.

For mains we go meaty. My ribeye of Longhorn beef is thick and juicy, a nugget of fat glistening right where it should be. I plump for chimichurri sauce on the side, which packs a hot garlicky punch, but, to be honest, a steak this good needs no adornment. So it speaks volumes that I’m soon gripped by envy over the other half ’s pork belly – it’s the best either of us has tasted. Crispy on top, umami-rich, the flesh succumbs wantonly to the mere suggestion of the fork; a delicate pile of pickled fennel is a stroke of genius. In fact, the only miss-step is the side of tempura veg – the batter is floury rather then flavoursome, adding nothing to perfectly good broccoli and carrot.

The enterprise might have a hipster whiff about it, but there’s no messing about with silly pretentions here – bar one starter, food arrives on plates! Hurrah! – because the product is a winner. With food this good, and supported by a front-of house team brimming with good humour, knowledge and charm, Circa 1924 should keep the cheer going a long while.

circa1924.co.uk

Food 9 | Service 9 | Location 8 | Ambience 8

I am neither vegan nor vegetarian, but I am always curious to try new things, so I find myself in Wildebeest, sitting at a table deep inside the small rectangular restaurant, close by the open kitchen area. As on most nights (except Tuesdays when it’s closed), the six or so tables are fully booked. We order glasses of chilled organic rosé , scan the menu on the blackboard and choose between the three dishes per course on offer – a distinct plus – so it doesn’t take long to decide. To start we both plump for the mushroom har gao (a crystal skin dumpling), which arrives glistening and translucent like some exotic marine creature. It is served with a savoury broth and a smear of sticky garlic and chives. The bite of the dumpling combines faultlessly with the earthy three-mushroom and tarragon filling, offset by the deeply delicious broth.

At Wildebeest, attention is squarely focused on food created and cooked with inventiveness and devotion, and prepared from the best organic produce. The surroundings tend towards the austere: scrubbed wood tables, hard benches, no music (hurrah!), faintly whimsical paintings on whitewashed walls, utility lighting and a smattering of small planted terrariums. Above a narrow bar with high stools is a large blackboard chalked with Wildebeest appreciations, aphorisms and even a vegan joke or two. Yes, ‘beetroot to yourself ’, vegans do apparently have ‘a sense of hummus’.

For the main course, my quinoa salad with avocado,

edamame beans, spiralised cucumber, pomegranate seeds, pickled carrot and a citrus miso dressing is so pretty I hesitate to dismantle it. This is serious crunch with bright combinations and the occasional zing. My companion tucks into fried polenta sticks with sautéed celeriac (small golden cubes of deliciousness), broad beans, a pea and wasabi foam, glazed beetroot, mustard seeds, rocket and a mustard mayo. Is this the vegan equivalent of the seriously good fish and chips readily available elsewhere in Falmouth? He says not a word but piles through every last mouthful.

If you have been tempted to subscribe to the view that vegan cooking is rather worthy – even a little bland and insipid – then prepare to be amazed not only by the tastes and textures of the savoury courses, but also by the richness and intensity of the chocolate espresso torte with toasted hazelnuts, cacao nibs, raspberries and coconut whipped cream. It virtually floats away from the plate. We finish with two serious espressos whitened with something coconutty before picking up a surprisingly reasonable bill for a three-course dinner with wine and coffee.

wildebeestcafe.com

Food 9 | Service 8 | Location 7 | Ambience 7

The Table Prowler

Mark Diaconodevonfeatures.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/pdf/manor_foods5.pdf · 2015. 12. 1. · PHOTOS: MARK DIACONO F orget any preconceptions you might have of how an allotment should

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