Features
Carnival is over so get creative
22-02-2010
I’M SURE you all know that the word Carnival – the feast which marks the start of Lent – means “goodbye to meat”. It’s from the Latin, carne vale. Of course.
The reason I’m thinking about vegetarian dishes right now is twofold.
First, it is now Lent and a time to think about eating food that is less rich and indulgent than usual. Though for my part I’ve given up cake, not meat (and it’s killing me, but that’s another story).
But the main reason is that I wanted to find some great vegetarian dishes for my colleague here at the Western Morning News. Emily Whitfield-Wicks is a truly wonderful food photographer – and doesn’t eat meat.
Just lately I’ve forced her to take pictures of duck terrine, ham hock, lamb’s sweetbreads and stuffed hearts. Ever the professional, she always makes a dish look completely delicious, even though she wouldn’t dream of ingesting it herself.
At the end of every shoot I tuck in to the food with gusto – well, I’ve got to know how it should taste, haven’t I? – while Emily makes do with coffee and a biscuit, if she’s lucky. She doesn’t even eat fish.
So this feature is for you, Emily. It might also prove useful for those of us meat eaters who, realising we have a vegetarian coming to dinner, go into a flat-out panic, then cook a cheese omelette in desperation.
To find some great meat-free recipes, I’ve turned to one of our region’s most exciting and experienced chefs, Jane Baxter of Riverford Farm’s Field Kitchen near Buckfastleigh. With unlimited access to all the fresh produce grown at Riverford, she certainly knows how to get the best out of a vegetable.
Jane, 47, won two Guild of Food Writers awards last year for her Riverford Farm Cook Book. She started her career at the Carved Angel in Dartmouth and has cooked at top London restaurants, including The River Cafe, where Jamie Oliver started out.
Now she’s happy to be settled back in Devon – especially because working at Riverford, which is open mostly at lunchtime, allows her to be a mum to her son David, seven, in the evenings.
“I’ve chosen the pastry turnover because it is a substantial dish that really shows a vegetarian you have made an effort,” she explains. “If you’re in a rush, you can use ready-made pastry. But this almost-puff recipe is really good.”
Her other main course involves cooking Jerusalem artichokes in a paper parcel. You unwrap the paper at the table which, as Jane says, gives a sense of occasion and excitement to the dish.
“For ages I faffed about trying to make sealed paper parcels to cook this. Now, thanks to a tip from a friend, I just use an office stapler and it works brilliantly.
“And for a dinner party, a drizzle of truffle oil makes this dish taste extra special.”
Jane is basking in the happy glow of a truly outstanding review from restaurant critic Giles Coren, of The Times. He ate at Riverford last autumn and called it “the lunch of my life” and “stunning value”, giving it a score of 9/10.
Little did he realise the drama going on behind the scenes at the time, says Jane.
“Of all things to happen that day, as I was cooking fennel I managed to splash hot oil in my eye. So I was rushed off to Accident and Emergency. I left a really quite inexperienced team to send out the lunch. And then he came in, totally unexpectedly.”
Luckily, Jane’s recipes are so good that they carried the day, even in her absence.
The Western Morning News Think Local campaign is sponsored by
independent financial adviser Worldwide Financial Planning.
Pub grub’s now raising the bar
22-02-2010
TIME was when you really did take your chances ordering pub food across the bar. Chicken in the basket, scampi and chips, packet soup. Many pubs got by on microwaving and deep-frying, with a scattering of cress over the top to cover a multitude of sins.
I should know, I worked in several pub kitchens when I was a student. And just about the only cooking I learned was the cress trick.
All that has, mostly, changed these days, much for the better. There’s even a national award scheme to recognise great pub cooking – The Great British Pub Food Awards. And this year not one, but two, chefs from the Westcountry are through to the national finals in London on March 11 this year.
One is Jean-Philippe Bidart from the Millbrook Inn in South Pool, near Kingsbridge, whose mix of rural French with British cooking is much appreciated by the locals there. The other is Ross Tregidgo, 24, from The Harris Arms in Portgate, just off the A30 on the Devon-Cornwall border.
Ross has dreamed up a main course based around tender, slow-cooked pork belly which went down a storm at the semi-finals in January. He’s still practicing hard at getting it just perfect, so I was lucky enough to try it last week. As a dish, it is completely wonderful and the ultimate winter pub food – cosy, comforting and just right for eating by the fire in a bar, alongside a pint.
“I’ve chosen a dish that is really warming and nice for a winter’s lunch after a walk to the pub. But it’s also great for a more formal evening meal,” he explains.
“The meat is local from Warren’s butcher in Launceston and the vegetables are local and seasonal too.”
Luckily, Ross has agreed to share his recipe with us, as it’s a great dish to cook at home too at this time of year. He’s also thrown in a starter and dessert for good measure, all based round the idea of pub food you can cook at home.
And if you don’t fancy cooking yourself, the food is a very good reason to make the journey to The Harris Arms. The pub is now in both the Michelin Red Guide and the Michelin Eating Out in Pubs Guide for 2010. And Ross’s aim is to win a Michelin Rising Star award, which is given to establishments considered likely to win a Michelin star in the future.
For all that, The Harris Arms is still very much a pub, not a restaurant.
“We don’t want to lose sight of the fact that this is a community venue where people want to socialise,” says owner Andy Whiteman, who has run the pub with his wife Rowena for the past six years.
“You can eat the same menu either in the bar or in the dining room, depending on how formal you want to be. And it’s totally fine to just come along for a half and a packet of crisps, too, if that’s what you want.”
There is, however, a wine list of more than 100 choices, enough to put many a “proper” restaurant to shame. The reason is that Andy and Rowena were formerly winemakers, living in New Zealand and France.
“We know the wine list is a little over the top,” Andy jokes. “But it is a passion of ours and we love recommending really great wines to go with Ross’s food.”
The couple even have 20 or so grapevines planted in their pub garden, next to the pub’s chicken run.
“It’s for old times’ sake really,” says Rowena. “Sometimes we think about making some champagne here, even though this winter’s weather has probably finished them off, poor things.”
Be that as it may, there could well be champagne corks flying on March 11 if Ross’s dish wins at the Great British Pub Food awards in London. Here are the recipes for you to try at home – or you could always pop along to the pub to try them, if that’s easier. I can guarantee there’s not a packet soup or piece of cress in sight.
The Western Morning News Think Local campaign is sponsored by
independent financial adviser Worldwide Financial Planning.
Hands-on approach to making unique, funky footwear
17-02-2010
MAKE your own shoes! What a fantastic idea. When the invite came to take part in a workshop at Green Shoes, in their cosy premises in an old mill building beside the tumbling River Dart, I jumped at the chance. And it proved to be just the thing to chase away the January blues.
Green Shoes make shoes to love and keep for a long, long time. And as the tide turns away from throwaway clothes and shoes, the mainstream fashion industry is embracing what Green Shoes have been quietly doing for years. Each pair of their shoes is made by hand at their premises near Buckfastleigh, with customers individually fitted, and given a choice of styles and colours. You can have your shoes in leather, eco-leather or vegan suede and leather lookalikes, in a variety of styles. Comfort is everything, but they are also chic, in a homespun kind of way.
Today we are making them from scratch, ourselves, under the patient supervision of shoemakers Steph Crutchley and Becky Marshall.
The shelves in the workshop are crammed with rolls of leather in enticing colours – pink, purple, lime green and gold, red and a rich mustard suede – alongside cutting-out tables and sewing machines used to stitch the shoes and boots. On the shelves are the finished article. Red shoes, gold sandals, brooches, bags and belts, hearts and stars for key rings and cute bar shoes for little girls, made of yellow leather and tied with ribbon.
We are invited to try on shoes, flick through enticing books of leather, and vegan leather, swatches, and choose our fantasy shoe. The air buzzes with possibility. That old childhood excitement of “new shoes” bubbles up in me.
I’m completely smitten by a rich gold leather made up into gladiator sandals. I just love the colour, but I think a simpler style might be more achievable. Then I spot another woman trying on an elegant slingback with an ankle strap. Could I make it in the gold leather? Of course, say Steph and Becky.
They encourage all the others’ ideas too. Black cat motifs on the back of a pair of pumps? Fine. Fringed ankle straps, in vivid kingfisher leather? Give it a go.
We start with measuring our feet. As well as gauging length and width – just like in the shoe shops of yore – Steph and Becky draw around our feet on paper, and alter the template to exactly fit our feet. Everyone’s feet are different; mine are wider than the template at one point.
Making shoes is a bit like dressmaking, with a lot of cutting and stitching. There’s also plenty of sticking. Glue is used to hold pieces in place, but the shoe’s strength comes from the stitching; every bit is hand-stitched in the workshop on heavy-duty sewing machines.
We use a special, very sharp knife to score around the templates which are placed on the leather, to cut out the upper, insole and the two straps. The templates include guide points on the leather which are used to exactly match up the different parts of the shoe.
The leather is quite thin, so I find I need to press down hard on the template to stop it moving about. It is easier to lightly score around the template, then remove it, and then follow around the score-line to cut the template out. We are reminded to turn the template over to cut the second pair of each, to avoid ending up with two left feet!
An iron is used to fuse a piece of stiffener on to the back of the toe of the pump, which will help create the shoe shape once it is finished.
The gorgeous gold-coloured leather is quite fine, but the shoe uppers are given extra strength with a pigskin lining, cut out to the same templates, and then glued on to the back of both the upper and the strap.
I glue the strap into the upper, taking care to line it up, and Steph stitches it all into place. We have the option of doing this ourselves if we want, but although I’m not a novice on the sewing machine, this is a more powerful one than I’m used to.
After pressing down on the foot pedal, and the machine steaming away like a runaway horse, I am pleased to let Steph stitch them very neatly in place. Some of the others are braver, one person even top-stitching a motif on to the front of the shoe.
The workshop’s heavy-duty hydraulic press is used to stamp out the templates for the crepe soles, and to imprint the Green Shoes logo on to the innersole.
The leather is then stuck to the crepe innersoles, made from natural rubber, which are cut out by Steph.
I stick the shoe on around the edges of the innersole, pressing evenly around the edge of the upper to ensure it is fixed smoothly.
Then comes a fun – and easy – bit, punching the holes to which you attach the strap and hand-stitch on the buckle.
The innersole is then glued on to the sturdy crepe base of the shoe, and then hit with a hammer along the edges, to ensure it is well stuck.
It is then stitched down, on the most heavy-duty sewing machine, which drives the needle through all the crepe and leather layers.
The next piece of hi-tech equipment is a kettle! We press the “on” button, and angle the toe of the shoe over it, taking care not to get the steam on the outside, which could damage the leather.
The steam softens the shape, which is then moulded by pushing a special last into the shoe, and whacking it forcefully with a hammer!
Becky does the first one, then hands me the hammer.
A shoe has magically appeared, and the only thing left to do is to smooth the raggedy edges, which Steph and Becky do with an industrial grinder, door shut on the clouds of dust and a face mask to protect their eyes.
And bingo. I’ve got a pair of shoes to sparkle on my feet all summer, when it finally arrives.
We all agree we’ve had a great day. With just four participants to two shoemakers, there’s plenty of individual attention, and there’s a special satisfaction in making your own shoes to take home and wear.
“It is really nice because people are really creative, even those who don’t realise it. They will come up with different colour combinations and new ideas,” Becky says. “You get as many designs as you will people.”
The Western Morning News Think Local campaign is sponsored by
independent financial adviser Worldwide Financial Planning.
Top chefs help to mould a new career for James
17-02-2010
By Louise Vennells
SINCE James Nathan cooked his way to the televised title of Masterchef 2008, his career has been kneaded into shape by the influence of two of the Westcountry’s most influential chefs.
Celebrity chefs Michael Caines and Rick Stein have both taken the former barrister under their wing, each passing on crucial tips about their own styles of cooking.
Michael Caines first spotted the 36-year-old when he was a guest judge on the BBC cook-off.
He later took him on at the Bath Priory, where the father-of-one learned the finer points of producing Michelin-standard food.
Now Mr Nathan and his wife and child have moved to Penrose, near Padstow, Cornwall, where he is working in Rick Stein’s seafood restaurant.
Unlike some other Masterchef winners, Mr Nathan has shunned offers of TV work to roll up his sleeves and get stuck in to the hard slog of being in a top kitchen.
“Right from the start, I always said I wanted to put in the graft and be taken seriously in the industry. There are lots of very talented chefs in kitchens across the country who go unrecognised.
“I wanted to get in at the dirty end and learn how to cook properly.
“Eventually, I would be open to doing more TV or a book. I want those things, but I want them to have gravitas.”
He said working at the Bath Priory was “extremely demanding”, but had stood him in good stead to take on any challenge in the world’s best kitchens.
Mr Nathan and Mr Caines will meet again at April’s Exeter Food Festival, where both will give cookery demonstrations.
Mr Nathan said the event, spearheaded by Mr Caines, was “extremely impressive”, rivalling any food event in the country.
Mr Caines said he was “very proud” that his protege was doing well, and said the fact that two Westcountry chefs had played such a key role in shaping Mr Nathan’s career was a tribute to the culinary culture of the region.
“It says a lot about the lifestyle people want to achieve. The South West offers an ideal balance between great food, a wonderful rich heritage and culture and, of course, the fantastic scenery.”
In Padstow, Mr Nathan said he was learning “pure simplicity” from Mr Stein: “I had a tendency to massively overcomplicate things. Rick’s very good at unfussy eating, and that’s something I can really learn from him.
“The number of covers the restaurant turns around is legendary – the organisation it entails is amazing.”
Mr Stein said Mr Nathan was “really nice”, as well as talented: “When James arrived as a winner of Masterchef, we thought he was going to be too cool for school, but not a bit of it – he’s a valued part of the brigade and works very hard.
“He enjoys cooking seafood and says he’s learning a great deal.”
The Western Morning News Think Local campaign is sponsored by
independent financial adviser Worldwide Financial Planning.
Chefs team up to cook tasty treat for judges
16-02-2010
By Jane Labous
OYSTERS, prawn bisque and rum truffles were just some of the dishes which wowed the judges at this year’s Cornwall Catering Excellence Challenge.
The masterminds behind the menu were head chef Colin Hankin, from St Agnes, and party chef Aaron Rawlings, from Threemilestone.
The two chefs from the Rose- in-Vale Hotel in Mithian, near St Agnes, worked as a team with two chefs from Restronguet’s Pandora Inn, near Falmouth.
They beat off intense competition to scoop first prize.
Mr Hankin said: “Dale McIntosh, who is head chef at The Pandora, asked me if I would help him create the menu for the competition.
“I’d come second and third in the event some years ago and was keen to take part.”
Mr Hankin previously worked at the Greenbank Hotel in Falmouth and for Kevin Viner before joining the Rose-in-Vale in October 2006.
The cooking was shared between the team.
Mr McIntosh created a Cornish native oyster set in a Camel Valley jelly, while Mr Rawlings put together dishes including a dark chocolate delice with rum truffles, and a blood orange sorbet.
Mr Hankin created a shellfish and tarragon ravioli with a fresh Restronguet Creek prawn bisque, as well as a Cornish lamb main course.
James Evans, owner of the Rose-in-Vale, said he was delighted with his chefs’ prestigious first prize award.
“We pride ourselves on providing top quality locally produced food for our guests in our Valley Restaurant,” he said.
“This accolade, delivered by a judging panel made up of Michelin Star chefs, lecturers, restaurant owners and food critics, is proof, if proof were needed, of our chefs’ enormous expertise and professionalism.
“I congratulate them both and look forward to welcoming even more visitors to our restaurant where they, too, can sample some of the most creative, best-cooked dishes in Cornwall.”
The Western Morning News Think Local campaign is sponsored by
independent financial adviser Worldwide Financial Planning.
Here’s smoke without fire
15-02-2010
I’M FASCINATED by the TV chef Heston Blumenthal, who cooks with liquid nitrogen and has oddities such as snail porridge and bacon ice cream on his menu.
His restaurant, The Fat Duck, is rated as one of the best places to eat in the whole world. Unfortunately, it’s in Berkshire, somewhat out of our area here at the Western Morning News.
However, I’ve recently discovered a young chef in the South West who has moments of being just as experimental – and is definitely one to watch for the future.
Angus McCaig, 34, cooks at The Holt in Honiton, which has just been awarded the Taste of the West Gastro-pub of the Year award.
Angus isn’t quite so wild in his menu choices as Heston Blumenthal. “We’ve got to bear in mind that we are in a traditional Devon market town, so there will always be people who simply want a great steak,” he explains.
But just lately, Angus has set up a sideline called Smoking Jacket Foods which allows him to be really creative and try out wild and wonderful new ideas, many of which make their way on to the pub’s menus.
His current obsession is with smoking and curing foods. Recently he sent me a box of his foodie inventions to try – and they were certainly unusual.
There was smoked butter (great in mash), smoked chicken and duck, smoked apricots, smoked cheese, and even smoked chilli peppers and vanilla pods.
You may also remember that in a previous feature on these pages, Angus’s “home bacon-making kit” (just £8 for his own recipe cure) was tried out by my colleague Martin Hesp. Martin declared it “the best bacon ever”.
But bacon is not even half the story at Smoking Jacket Foods, so I was intrigued to go along to find out more from Angus himself.
Curing is the process of marinating meat or fish in salt and sugar, which breaks down the proteins and preserves the food.
Ham is made this way and it is, of course, a very ancient technique for safely keeping foodstuffs.
“But curing is still hugely valuable in cooking today, even though we have fridges and freezers,” Angus says.
“The process changes the texture of food and imparts deep flavours. I love the difference that it can make to an ingredient.”
To illustrate, Angus takes two pork chops, cures one, and leaves the other untouched, so that I can taste the difference.
The cure is simply rubbed on and left to work – a 50:50 mix of sugar and salt, with added garlic and fresh thyme.
When it came to the taste test, the cured chop was sweeter and had a deeper flavour.
It was also much more tender and, as it grilled, formed dark, tasty, crunchy bits on its surface. Delicious.
“For each 100g of salt and sugar cure, include a 5g mix of ground herbs, spices or flavourings,” Angus says. “It’s great fun to experiment.
“With pork and paler meats like chicken, I like flavours such as chilli, thyme or lemongrass.
“With darker meats like duck, rabbit or venison, I try combining juniper, bay, cloves, star anise and black pepper to the cure.”
After curing, Angus also smokes a lot of meat and fish himself, to give a tangy, mellow flavour and to preserve and “cook” the food.
You can buy large professional smokers for many hundreds, if not thousands, of pounds. But the American company Camerons make small ones for home use which are much more affordable, starting around £35.
Husband and wife team David and Alyson Murray from mid Devon import them and sell a wide range of smokers on their excellent website Useful Stuff (08700 117883 or www.usefulstuff.co.uk).
They can also give advice based on first-hand experience about what to choose.
When smoking food, Angus says the vital thing is to use seasoned wood chips; you can buy them, specifically for smoking food, online. Green wood gives a bitter flavour.
“Heat the wood chips to the point where they are only just alight, not billowing out smoke,” he says. “It’s a subtle process.”
When smoking meat, it’s important to make sure it is cooked through.
For this a meat thermometer is a must – they are reasonably inexpensive at about £15, and can be bought in cookshops and online.
We tried making hot smoked salmon, which was outstandingly delicious and very simple to do. And the smoked duck cured in cloves and juniper was sensational.
The Western Morning News Think Local campaign is sponsored by
independent financial adviser Worldwide Financial Planning.
Melt the heart of a Valentine
08-02-2010
SHAKESPEARE once suggested that music was the food of love. But what did he know? He was, after all, writing around 50 years before chocolate came to this country.
For many of us, me included, there is nothing quite so romantic, so delicious, as a bar of the very finest.
And this year, I truly do think that I’ve found the answer to the ultimate Valentine’s Day gift. You can actually make your own – from chocolate.
Sadly, I can’t claim to have come up with the idea myself. My inspiration comes from mum and daughter team Kim and Aisleigh O’Neill who run the fabulous Chocaccino café and chocolate shop on the quay in Plymouth’s Barbican.
There, they spend their days making the most wild and wonderful creations, all from chocolate.
For Valentine’s Day, they specialise in making beautiful white, milk and dark chocolate hearts. You can order one with your loved one’s name on it. Or just an enigmatic message if you prefer to be mysterious.
“They are very popular, as they’re around £3 or so, no more than a fancy card. But they are also reasonably simple to make yourself,” says Aisleigh, 24, who runs chocolate- making workshops at the café.
“It can be a lot of fun to do. Just let your imagination run wild.”
To that end, I went along last week to Chocaccino to try to create something for my sweet-toothed husband John. I was a bit nervous as I can be a little cack-handed. But it couldn’t have been more straightforward – and very enjoyable.
First things first, you need to melt some chocolate. Aisleigh and Kim have a special electric melting pot to keep the chocolate at the right temperature.
“But for working with chocolate at home, you can either use a bain marie of hot water or melt it in the microwave,” says Kim.
“I prefer the microwave method. Bain maries make me worry as just a drop of water can spoil chocolate. It creates a white bloom which ruins a glossy finish.
“The key is to microwave the chocolate in short bursts of 30 seconds, checking and stirring each time.
“Take it out before everything is totally melted, then stir it again to let the last chunks melt.”
The professional’s chocolate of choice to work with is so-called “couverture” chocolate, which comes in small buttons to melt easily.
Kim and Aisleigh buy theirs in huge sacks from a Belgian company called Callebaut, available online. But they weigh out and sell smaller amounts to their customers.
Alternatively you can simply break up a couple of bars from a good quality company such as Lindt. Galaxy, Cadbury and Bourneville eating chocolate doesn’t work well, as its mix of fats means it has problems setting.
To make a heart lolly like I did, lay a large piece of greaseproof paper on to a flat tray or baking sheet.
Then fill a piping bag with melted chocolate, which requires a steady hand – and (in my experience) an apron.
Carefully pipe the chocolate into a solid circle around 5cm in diameter and stick a large wooden lolly stick on to it. These can be bought in good cookshops, ordered online from www.homechocolatefactory.com or call 0208 450 1523.
Now comes the creative part. With a steady hand, draw a large heart around the lolly stick with the piped chocolate.
Mine was slightly wonky, as you can see, but I feel that only adds to its homemade charm.
You then fill inside the heart’s outline with piped chocolate, just as though you were colouring it in.
Once it is all filled in, and the lolly stick is fully covered, gently lift up the tray and tap it down on to your worktop a couple of times.
The chocolate then flattens itself out and you lose most of the piping lines. Your lolly is now ready to decorate, and you must do so immediately before the chocolate sets.
I went for the “more is more” approach, covering mine with hundreds and thousands, a pair of red jelly lips, dolly mixtures and a piped message in melted white chocolate.
It ended up slightly more extravagant than elegant but that’s a fair reflection of my character – and I think it will make my husband smile.
Aisling and Kim tend to opt for a slightly more restrained, tasteful approach and their Valentines are truly beautiful. But it’s entirely up to you.
Those wonderfully retro Love Hearts sweets with messages are fun, though these days you have to sift through “text me” and “wicked” for something a little more heartfelt.
Leave the lolly to set for just five minutes or so. Next, pack it into a cellophane chocolatier’s bag (also from Home Chocolate Factory, or good cookshops) and tie it up with ribbons.
I’m ridiculously proud of mine. In fact, it’s almost a shame to eat it.
On my visit to Chocaccino, I also learned how to make homemade chocolate truffles. They too are surprisingly simple and make great Valentine’s presents or gifts for any special occasion. Again, once they are set you can package them in cellophane and ribbons to look fabulous and very professional.
The Western Morning News Think Local campaign is sponsored by
independent financial adviser Worldwide Financial Planning.
Success is sweet in bitter world
08-02-2010
PRACTISING as an employment lawyer and holding sway in tribunals is not your classic training ground for becoming an award-winning marmalade maker. But then, Victoria Cranfield has never done things the ordinary way.
Which is possibly why she includes such unusual ingredients as rose petals and basil in her marmalade, made at her home in North Devon.
Most people think of marmalade as simply a straight choice between a jar with or without chunks. But that’s just the starting point for Victoria, who is on a mission to develop new and original recipes. She’s currently considering a pineapple and grapefruit combination.
“And I’m thinking of a lemon and rose petal version – I think that could be quite interesting, quite ‘Turkish Delighty’.”
Victoria began making marmalade because she couldn’t buy one she liked.
“If you know what marmalade is meant to taste like, the commercial ones just don’t come up to scratch,” she explains.
Most commercial marmalade these days is made using tinned orange peel, which substantially cuts down the time needed in preparation. However, tinned peel is already cooked and Victoria firmly believes that you’ll never get the same intensity of flavour as you do when using hand-cut fresh fruit.
One of her specialities now is Seville marmalade, which has won her company – Cranfields Foods – a Great Taste gold award. “Seville is the king of marmalades,” she explains.
The darkly bitter Seville oranges are in season right now and available at good greengrocers. To make the most of them, Victoria has kindly shared some of her award-winning recipes and techniques for you to try at home.
Cranfields is a team of just two – Victoria and her friend Louisa Stubbs.
“She’s a hugely talented preserve maker and makes a batch of around 25 jars every day for me.”
It truly is a cottage industry, but one that has not only won 12 Taste of the West gold awards, but also a “paw” of approval from Paddington Bear himself at the National Marmalade Festival 2009. It’s an accolade of which Victoria is very proud, particularly as making preserves professionally was not something she had ever set out to do.
Victoria started out as an employment lawyer. But then, bored, she decided to establish a hamper company instead. She bulk-bought lavender and rose petals to sell as Christmas gifts and made vinegars and jellies with the leftovers.
“Before I knew where I was, I had a preserves business,” she says.
When it comes to marmalade, she also has some clever ideas for leftover orange peel – useful if you prefer smooth rather than chunky marmalade. Try drying the peel in a warm oven and then coating it in chocolate, or using it as a topping for ice cream.
She’s all for experimentation, too: “One version that is fabulous is Seville and basil, though expensive to make.”
And Victoria is keen to have us all eating marmalade in different ways.
“I love marmalade on cheese. It’s a great combination. I ate gorgonzola and marmalade on toast this very morning.”
Victoria’s husband Peter is rather more conservative in his tastes and sticks to straight crumpets for breakfast, with no preserve.
Her two grown-up daughters remain unimpressed as well. One of them is even known to eat Branston pickle, which Victoria sees as “utter heresy”.
Despite her family’s resistance, Victoria admits to being very lucky that she is able to spend time at home near Barnstaple, making preserves, looking after her dogs and growing fruit for her business.
“As a lawyer I was relaxing with a G&T by 6pm. I never am now, I work far longer hours. But people say much nicer things to you as a cook than as a lawyer.
“I do miss the cut and thrust of the courtroom – there’s only so much intelligent kick-back you can get from a pot of jam. But I’m always looking for new challenges.”
Anyone who was watching Kirstie’s Homemade Christmas on Channel 4 in December may remember the chutney- making episode. The self-declared “rather bossy” woman who guided Kirstie Allsopp was none other than Devon’s own Lady Marmalade, Victoria Cranfield.
When Channel 4 forgot to post her recipe online, they had to e-mail it to more than 3,000 people.
Inspired by this, Victoria is now planning a recipe book as her next venture, hopefully due out later this year. One suspects it will be a huge success – so watch this space.
Victoria’s marmalade can be found at Dart’s Farm Shop and online at www.cranfieldsfoods.com, where there is also a list of stockists.
The Western Morning News Think Local campaign is sponsored by
independent financial adviser Worldwide Financial Planning.
Young chef moves to Blumenthal’s Fat Duck
01-02-2010
A FORMER catering student will this month begin work in celebrity chef Heston Blumenthal’s renowned restaurant, the Fat Duck.
Ed Cooke, originally from Truro, began his career on a catering course at Cornwall College in September 2005, and later had his apprenticeship at Rick Stein’s Seafood Restaurant.
Mr Cooke, 21, said: “I’m going to be working as chef de partie and am extremely excited. I managed to work my way from apprentice to junior sous chef at Rick Stein’s, which was a fantastic place to be, but I’m looking forward to a new challenge.
“I really enjoyed my course at Cornwall College, and my apprenticeship at Rick Stein’s. It has definitely been a good platform to boost my skills and knowledge. It’s going to be great to experience a different outlook on food.”
The Fat Duck is a three Michelin-starred restaurant in Berkshire and has won awards for its varied and unique menu.
David Sharland, executive chef at Rick Stein’s Seafood Restaurant, said: “Ed has shown tremendous commitment.”
Rachel Turland, who tutored Mr Cooke during his apprenticeship, said: “Ed showed 100 per cent dedication and appreciated all the support he received from his workplace.”
The Western Morning News Think Local campaign is sponsored by
independent financial adviser Worldwide Financial Planning.
Sitting at the top of the bay brings views to life
19-01-2010
ASKING artist Nicola White where she gets her inspiration from is rather pointless. Nicola, 40, lives in a chalet on the cliffs above Whitsand Bay with her partner Rob and their daughter Daisy, five.
Waking up to the sweeping view of the bay leading around to Kingsand one way and Portwrinkle the other, the self-proclaimed “self-taught artist” has plenty to paint.
“I love it here – we had snow yesterday for the first time here and we were all tobogganing down the meadow!” she said.
Nicola has always painted, moving to the South West in 1989, but only become a full-time artist after Daisy was born in 2005.
“I used to work at Plymouth Mencap, doing quite a lot of art work with the people at the day centre while I was a helper,” she said. “Before that I worked at the Royal School for the Deaf in Exeter.”
Nicola moved to a new studio at Maker Heights this month, to be among other artists from the area.
“It’s a big old barracks building up on the hill between Kingsand and Mount Edgcumbe and it’s a beautiful place to work. There are quite a few artists up there, and a band, it’s an amazing place. The studios are a bit worse for wear but they’re lovely and light with beautiful views over Kingsand.”
Nicola mainly paints coastal scenes – although last year she did a commissioned painting for a London school.
“I normally take photos of the scene, then lay them up on the computer and pull things out I want to look at,” she said.
“My stuff is quite child orientated – I’ve always painted murals for children’s rooms and schools and things. I paint things that I would like to buy!”
Last year, Nicola painted The Bridge, featuring the Tamar Bridge, in aid of The Precious Lives Appeal. She was inspired to help when she heard an interview with Emma Jane Wood on local radio.
Explained Nicola: “She wanted to string a massive washing line across the Tamar Bridge from Plymouth to Cornwall and hang pants on it sent in by listeners. I was halfway through painting The Bridge when I heard about it. I thought, well, I have a lot of bunting in my pictures, so rather than have bunting on the bridge I’ll paint the pants on instead and raise money through the prints for the charity.”
Hundred of listeners donated their pants and people gathered at the Brunel Pub in Saltash to view the sight and donate money.
Nicola’s work – including The Bridge – is shown at Panache in Kingsand and at The Clifftop Cafe in Whitsand Bay. She says the owners have been very supportive of her work.
“We’ve known Lou and Ben for years – it’s a fantastic community around here and we even go up to the cafe for Christmas dinner!” she said.
Nicola’s work is available on commission, through sales and as prints and postcards. Her original work has recently sold at auction for in excess of £500.
To buy Nicola’s work, visit www. nicola-white.co.uk or call 01752 822393.
The Western Morning News Think Local campaign is sponsored by
independent financial adviser Worldwide Financial Planning.
Start your day in tastiest way
18-01-2010
HANNAH Elford took over her family’s bed and breakfast business last year and admits that serving a full cooked breakfast seven days a week was a struggle at first.
“I’m not really a morning person and my husband Andy was a mechanic before we took over the B&B,” explains 34-year-old Hannah.
“So it was a bit of a challenge to be cooking and looking after guests at 7am, to say the least.”
But these days the Elfords now have breakfast down to a fine art. So much so, in fact, that they will be serving their superb “Full Cornish” breakfasts all day at Degembris Farm, near Newquay, later this month to raise money for charity.
It’s just one of the many events planned in the region to mark the 11th national Farmhouse Breakfast Week from January 24-30.
Most offer the chance to learn more about farmhouse cookery and where your food comes from. But most important, all guarantee the chance to eat some truly fantastic breakfasts.
“We’ve really got the hang of B&B cookery now and Andy knows exactly how to get the best out of the Aga in the farm kitchen,” says Hannah, who is mum to Nicholas, three.
“He does the cooking and I’m the waitress. So we thought it would be nice to invite all the locals from our village of St Newlyn East along to see what we’re all about. We’ll be serving breakfast from 8am to 6pm on Saturday, January 30.”
Hannah and Andy took over Degembris Farm B&B from Hannah’s parents, Kathy and Roger Woodley, last year.
“Mum had done 37 years of breakfasts and was keen to take a back seat,” Hannah says. “But she and Dad will be here to help when we hold our charity event. We’re going to need all hands on deck.
“We’re even getting Nicholas to help chopping mushrooms, so there will be three generations of us at work.”
On Hannah’s farm, breakfasts on their charity day will cost £7 a head. Proceeds will go to Cancer Research and the Children’s Clinic For Cornwall in Lostwithiel, a charity which provides complementary healthcare for children.
Degembris Farm has been in Hannah’s family since 1914. “When I was a child, the visitors only came to the farm in the summer holidays,” she remembers. “But now we have guests all year round.
“And breakfast is a really important part of what we offer. People expect a really good spread if they stay in a proper farmhouse B&B, and we don’t like to disappoint.
“We use as much local produce as possible, with bacon and sausages coming from our local butcher, Ivor Rogers of St Newlyn East, and all our bread from the Cornish Mill and Bakehouse nearby.
“Our jam is made from strawberries grown at Mevagissey by Boddingtons, and we use Rodda’s Clotted Cream.”
Other events taking place across the region include all-day breakfasts at St Buryan Community House, near Penzance, on Saturday, January 30.
Several farmers will join forces to serve bacon and sausages from Chegwidden Farm, Porthcurno, and eggs from home-reared hens. Funds raised will support Cornwall Air Ambulance and St Julia’s Hospice in Hayle. For more information call Julia Hosking on 01736 810705.
Meanwhile at Bucklawren Farm, St Martin by Looe, on Saturday, January 30 farmer’s wife Jean Henly and friends will be cooking breakfast to raise money for Shelterbox and St Martin’s Church, Looe. There will also be a bring and buy sale in aid of Children’s Hospice South West. For more information visit www.bucklawren.com or call 01503 240738.
Farmhouse Breakfast Week is also a chance to learn more about breakfast food and cookery. To this end, the children of Antony School, near Torpoint, will be enjoying a full cooked breakfast in their school on Friday, January 29.
“We’re getting all sorts of local suppliers to contribute Westcountry produce – we’re aiming to feed all 105 children and 12 staff in the school,” says local farmer’s wife Sarah Oatey. “We’ve got the chefs from HMS Raleigh at Torpoint kindly coming to cook for us.
“In a workshop afterwards, the children will be hearing all about where the food comes from, with the chance to learn to make their own bread.”
It all sounds thoroughly delicious and nutritious.
To visit Degembris Farm for breakfast on Saturday, January 30, 8am-6pm, visit www.degembris.co.uk call 01872 510555 or for directions.
And for more events near you, visit www.farmhousebreakfast.com and click on the Breakfast Map on the home page.
If you’re thinking of boosting your own breakfast cookery repertoire, you could try some of the excellent, healthy and slightly alternative recipes on the facing page, devised by the organisers of Farmhouse Breakfast Week.
The Western Morning News Think Local campaign is sponsored by
independent financial adviser Worldwide Financial Planning.
Is fish filleting filling you with fear?
11-01-2010
FEEL the fear and do it anyway. That’s my culinary New Year’s resolution for 2010. My problem is, I love to eat fish but I’m better at popping down the fish and chip shop than sliding a knife beneath the slippery skin of a sea creature.
Which is a shame when you consider that our Westcountry seas teem with wonderful seafood, from the humble mussel to prized lemon sole. I know it’s healthy and delicious. I just don’t have a clue how to cook it.
And that’s why a Sunday in early January finds me at the Padstow Seafood School, determined to overcome my “fish fear”, come what may.
In front of me, a man in chef’s whites is dangling a gleaming, silvery fish from his hand.
Mackerel present no problems for Mark Puckey, head of celebrity chef Rick Stein’s world-famous academy. Slash goes his sharp knife, from belly to head, and off flies the fish head in two deft cuts. Cut, cut again and the fillets come away from the bone, ready for the hot grill. Gulp. He makes it look so easy.
Now it is my turn. I pull tentatively at the flap of the gills, the fish’s breathing mechanism, beside the head, revealing a blood red cavity.
I hastily snap it shut. I pull out, fan-like, the stunted wing beside the head, then let go. I hesitate. Just where should I put the knife? And won’t there be a lot of blood?
I manage the first two cuts, from belly to head. I’m unsure how to go about the next cut, along the backbone, using the sharp dorsal fin as a guide.
Bill James, Mark’s assistant, steps in to help. He turns the fish on its side, back towards me, and gets me to plunge in the knife.
It slides satisfyingly along the backbone. Next comes removing the head. Help. I hover indecisively with the filleting knife.
The wrong knife, as it turns out. Bill arms me with a more robust blade and I plunge the knife in beside the head, at an angle, down to the bone.
A decisive snap and off it comes. Bill tosses it into the plastic waste bucket, to which I add the fish guts – yuk! – then cut out two fillets, ready to cook.
And while preparation of a mackerel takes skill, cooking it couldn’t be simpler. A smear of sunflower oil, good grinds of salt and pepper and it goes under a hot grill, skin side up.
“Always have the skin facing the heat,” says Bill.
Just a few minutes on each side and they are done. You could pop them on toast with a big squidge of lemon but we are making our fillets into the Indonesian fried rice dish Nasi Goreng.
The robust flavour of mackerel stands up well to pungent garlic, shrimp paste, ketcap manis (a sweet Indonesian soy sauce) finely chopped chillies and roasted salted peanuts. Delicious.
Dressing a crab is the next challenge. My work begins with dismembering the carcass. First I have to twist off the claws and the spindly legs.
The chef’s trick of bashing open the claws with the back of a knife speeds things up considerably. I use a special crab pick (available from good cook shops) to poke out the delicious white meat.
I then prise out the body from the shell and am shown how to discard the inedible gungey bits – dead men’s fingers and stomach cavity – and peer in to the body to spot the brown meat.
For our dish, we’re only using the white meat, though. I learn to pour it on to a baking tray to pick through, to avoid crunching on pieces of orange shell in our crab salad.
I’m pretty impressed with my thoroughness. From one smallish crab I have a pile of meat enough for a salad with herbs and a lemon vinaigrette.
Next, mussels, which are another mystery to me. When are they safe to eat? When should you discard them? Mark is on hand with all the answers.
The mussels I am about to poach in white wine are, in fact, still alive. Any that are open, I must discard. If they are only open a peek I give them a firm tap. One obligingly snaps shut. Clearly dozing rather than dead.
I pull away all traces of fibrous beard and pop them in a saucepan with a glass of white wine, which both kills and cooks them.
Any mussels that stay shut are discarded, leaving the rest, and their winey liquor, to make a creamy and comforting dish with cannellini beans and chopped fresh herbs.
Finally I’m ready for flat fish, described by Mark as “premium fish”. One slip of the knife and you’ve chucked away quite a lot of money.
The finest-flavoured are turbot and Dover sole. We, though, are having a go with their cheaper cousin, plaice (or you could try lemon sole).
Flat fish are almost always gutted at sea, so that is a job I am spared. I learn that the best way to skin a flat fish is to hold it, skin down, on a board and gently peel back the fish itself.
My plaice is then lightly dusted in seasoned flour and pan-fried in sunflower oil and butter for a few minutes on each side.
Meanwhile I quickly make a beurre noisette – butter bubbled until lightly browned in the pan, finished with lemon juice. This is poured over the lightly fried fillets, with grilled pancetta. That’s lunch sorted.
There’s plenty of laughter on the course and my confidence level rises as the day goes on, helped along by generous glugs of fine wine. We sample what we’ve made as we go along and there will be no need for dinner tonight.
Mark says that many people are apprehensive about working with fish – both its preparation and cooking – but a little knowledge and practice make perfect.
“It is honestly not difficult,” he says. “As long as you know what you are looking for and you cook things from fresh, you will be fine.”
He recommends practising my filleting skills on mackerel, a bony, cheap local fish with plenty of flavour.
“We’ve got so much mackerel here in the South West on sale at fishmongers. Or you can go on a £10 boat trip out to sea and catch plenty to have a go with.”
Full of my newfound confidence, plus a brand new fish filleting knife, I can’t wait to give it a try.
THE Original Fish and Shellfish Cookery one-day course at the Padstow Seafood School usually costs £185, but WMN readers can get a discounted rate of £144 this month, by quoting Western Morning News Reader Offer. Visit www.rickstein.com or call 01841 532700 for details.
The Western Morning News Think Local campaign is sponsored by
independent financial adviser Worldwide Financial Planning.
Juicy and tasty, the perfect turkey
08-12-2009
IT SHOULD be the most delicious meal of the year. But all too often, Christmas dinner is let down by its centrepiece, the turkey itself. It can be quite a challenge to produce a bird that isn’t dry, tasteless and, frankly, a bit of a let-down.
Chef Luke Taylor will be roasting turkey every Sunday from now until Christmas at The Cornish Arms, St Merryn. So I went along to see how he dishes up a feast that is succulent and more-ish, not just something to be “got through” before the pud.
First things first, a lot rests on which bird you choose. “My recommendation would be to order from your local butcher or farmer,” Luke says. This way you can ensure the freshness and quality of the bird. And that, says Luke, makes a substantial difference to the texture and flavour of the meat, even before you start to cook it.
“I go for free range bronze turkeys, from Tywardreath Butchers, near Par,” (www.thelocalbutcher.co.uk, 01726 812393), Luke says. As a farmer’s wife myself, a tip from the farm gate is to try to get a hen turkey rather than a cock, as the flavour is sweeter.
It’s not quite as traditional, I know, but Luke is a huge believer in getting your turkey pre-boned and rolled. Having seen the finished product down at The Cornish Arms, I can assure you that it will honestly look just as impressive as a traditionally roasted whole bird. But it will not dry out nearly as much. It also means you can cook the legs and thighs separately from the breast, so that all parts of the bird are done to individual perfection.
“But make sure you ask for the bones and giblets, too, to make the gravy – that way you don’t miss out on their excellent flavours,” Luke says.
You could ask your butcher to stuff the breast with pork and cranberry sausage meat, which would be delicious. But here we’ve also included a recipe for Rick Stein’s sage and onion stuffing that Luke uses regularly. It is truly mouth-watering.
For cooking time, allow 18 minutes per pound of turkey when boned and rolled. The turkey breast used here is 10lbs (from a 14lb bird), so Luke allowed three hours in total. It will comfortably serve 12 hungry people.
The big Christmas Day dilemma is, of course, to decide if and when the bird is done, as cooking times can vary from oven to oven. To be absolutely sure, cut into the thickest part of the breast, leg and thigh, check that there is no pinkness and that the juices run clear. Or you could use a cooking thermometer. Simply probe the thickest part of the meat and check that the temperature is 76C or above.
Above all, don’t forget to allow enough time for the turkey to rest for at least 30 minutes before carving. This will allow the juices to redistribute themselves, making the meat moist, tender and easier to carve. It will also give you time to pour yourself a glass of wine and make the gravy – and do try the featured special recipe from The Cornish Arms, it’s sensational.
Finally, for an easy sauce to accompany the turkey, you can just add cranberries, a little sugar, orange zest and a small amount of water to a hot saucepan, simmer for about 10 to 15 minutes until reduced down to a syrup, and serve.
Have a lovely Christmas meal!
The Western Morning News Think Local campaign is sponsored by
independent financial adviser Worldwide Financial Planning.
Gifts with that personal touch
08-12-2009
FOR the first time ever, I’m hosting Christmas at my house, with a little help from my sister Emily. And well before we even start decking the halls and stuffing the bird, we are turning our hand to home-made presents, of the edible variety.
I suppose the first question to answer is, why are we bothering?
Well for a start, the home-made look is so fashionable at the moment. Posh shops are pricing over the odds for biscuits and sweetmeats that look like they haven’t gone near a factory (even when they have).
Make your own and you can bet they’ll be superior in flavour and in looks. And, even with fancy packaging to give them a wow factor, they’ll still work out cheaper, which is good news in these credit-crunched days.
Plus we’ll have the fun of being creative and the pleasure of giving something we’ve made ourselves.
So how did we do it? Well, Emily and I strongly recommend pouring a glass of fizz, putting on the carols and turning the whole experience of making presents into part of your Christmas – as you can see from our photographs.
“I’m really keen to get away from mass consumerism,” says Emily. “Too often, Christmas revolves around buying things for people that they don’t necessarily want and clutter up their houses. It’s so much nicer to give an edible present that can be eaten and enjoyed, and that you’ve made yourself.
“Making your own presents is something you can do at home and feels so Christmassy. Also you can involve your children. Kids love this kind of thing.
“They can give little presents to their grandparents and friends.”
We kept our present-making simple – and delicious – with our own recipe cheese biscuits, with a festive hint of paprika. And then we had a go at chocolate truffles, with an indulgent splash of brandy and swirl of cream.
The final recipe is a light almond and orange zest Florentine biscuit, courtesy of the innovative cookery writer Yotam Ottolenghi.
These light crispy biscuits, made from flaked almonds sweetened with icing sugar and orange zest, might partner coffee after a heavy meal – such as turkey and all the trimmings. Or serve with ice cream, instead of a wafer.
Part of the fun was packaging up our presents, and making them look really individual and stylish. We’ve used crinkly cellophane bags and pretty screw-top jars, to keep our goodies fresh, which can be reused to store pasta and pulses on kitchen shelves. We used inexpensive Le Parfait French preserving jars, widely available from cookshops. I think the cellophane bags give a dash of chocolatier chic (we got ours from www.cakescookiesandcraftsshop.co.uk), tied with a thin slip of velvet ribbon, available by the metre from haberdashers.
The labels are plain white card ones, bought from stationers, and printed with ink stamps from the English Stamp Company (visit www.englishstamp.com). We chose a dove of peace and a star and went for jolly red ink but you could opt for silver or gold.
The cheese biscuits look good packaged in cellophane, especially if you’ve used festive shaped cutters – fir trees, stars and reindeers all look great. Again, your local cookshop should have a good selection.
Because these recipes don’t contain preservatives, they won’t keep indefinitely, so it is best to make them within a week of the big day. Store the cheese biscuits and Florentines in airtight tins, and the truffles in the fridge until giving them.
These presents are, we think, a demonstration that it is the thought that counts. And, though I say so myself, they taste pretty fantastic too.
The Western Morning News Think Local campaign is sponsored by
independent financial adviser Worldwide Financial Planning.
Surprise call makes Jenny a soap star
08-12-2009
WHEN a soapmaker got a surprise call from Channel Four in September, little did she think that she would soon be filming with Kirstie Allsopp.
Jenny Elsemore couldn’t believe it when she received the call out of the blue from the producer of interiors show Kirsty’s Homemade Home.
In the programme, presenter Kirsty Allsopp uses crafts, DIY and hard graft to turn a tumbledown old cottage on the North Devon coast into the perfect holiday home.
“It sent us all into a spin,” laughed Jenny.
“The production company wanted to meet us at our Ashburton soap shop to see if we could work together on a film for the second series.”
Jenny, 42, who also runs a floristry business with her husband John, 43, began making soap 10 years ago after experimenting with making cosmetics such as hand cream.
Jenny began selling the soaps – handmade with sunflower, coconut, olive oil and essential oils – at local pannier markets.
She now has dedicated shops in Tavistock and Ashburton.
She explained: “I think Kirsty wanted to make soaps in the first series and they didn’t fit it in.
“For this new series they were doing three Christmas specials, and they needed products to go in the Christmas gifts category.
“They rang up and then took a little film to see if we were suitable, then rang and said yes, they wanted me.”
Kirsty and the production crew arrived at Jenny’s Ashburton shop at the end of September.
Jenny and the team then set about making the shop look like it was Christmas time – with Kirsty herself helping out. Jenny said: “Kirsty’s lovely, exactly how she seems on TV, what you see is what you get.
“She spent about four hours in the workshop – we made a lime soap, a lemongrass, honey and oatflakes soap and a cinnamon and orange.
“The soaps then have to be left for four weeks to cure, so we put them out in the workshop.
“I’ve never been so precious about anyone’s soaps as I was about them.
“We then went over to the house in November to decorate the soaps with Kirsty. We cut them into little shapes, wrapped them in lovely ribbons and made them into gift packs.”
So has her TV experience given Jenny a thirst for fame?
“Oooh, no,” she exclaimed. “It was lovely to do, I was very flattered to be asked and who knows where it leads.
“If it promotes Ashburton and its local businesses, especially craftspeople, which it does, then it’s a win-win situation.”
Odds and Suds will feature in the Kirsty’s Homemade Home on Channel Four on December 9 at 8pm.
For more visit found at www.oddsand suds.com, including information on Jenny’s new soapmaking workshops.
The Western Morning News Think Local campaign is sponsored by
independent financial adviser Worldwide Financial Planning.
Enjoying the sweet smells of success
08-12-2009
SPRING begins early on the Isles of Scilly – and while the rest of us shiver as we rush from shop to shop buying presents, the Julian family and their employees are busy packing around 20,000 boxes of beautiful scented narcissi.
Churchtown Farm on St Martin’s is an unlikely place to find a major business but that is exactly what it has become thanks to the Julians.
Step out of their front door and you’re confronted by a truly wonderful view. Walk 100 metres or so down the lane past fields of budding flowers and you find a large farm building humming with activity.
Christmas is Churchtown’s busiest time of year. Unlike many of the gifts we buy, Scent from the Islands’ flowers represent the fresh, fragrant beauty of springtime. They don’t come with instruction manuals, don’t need batteries and it doesn’t matter if the recipient has been given them before.
From the customer’s point of view, nothing could be easier than sitting in front of a computer, visiting Churchtown’s website and ordering a box of beautiful blooms.
Over on St Martin’s, that order sets a complex, but well-tried, operation in motion – one that involves about 10 per cent of the island’s population and a similar number of people on Scilly’s largest island, St Mary’s.
“In the run up to Christmas we hire a shed on St Mary’s and pack the flowers there rather than on St Martin’s,” said Zoe Julian, who runs the business with husband Ben. “We have to because of the sheer quantity of orders.”
The Julians grow a lot of their own scented narcissi but also buy from other local growers when necessary.
“We’re extremely careful only to buy the very best blooms and they have to be from local sources,” said Zoe.
“Our business has prospered because people trust the quality and provenance of the product. That’s what our reputation has been built on.”
The Julians employ extra people over the Christmas period to make sure the process of getting flowers to the mainland goes as smoothly as possible. Twelve employees live in purpose-built homes on the farm, while others are drawn from the local community.
“We are one of the largest private sector employers on the Scilly Islands,” said Ben. “We employ about 18 full time staff year-round and that number almost doubles during busy seasons.”
It is not just packers, pickers and the people taking the orders who find work with Churchtown Farm – tractor drivers, local boatmen, hauliers and airport staff get involved too.
“The volume of goods we are posting out through Royal Mail means, at Christmas, most of the boxes are packed in the shed on St Mary’s, transported to the quay and then sent by freight boat to the mainland,” said Zoe. “Some go by helicopter but, at this time of year, the vast majority go by sea.”
Flower selling has been a mainstay of the Scillonian economy for generations and scented narcissi are unique to the islands. They are not grown elsewhere in Britain so early in the winter because they cannot withstand hard frost – something which the Scilly Isles rarely suffer from, bathed as they are by the warm air of the Gulf Stream.
Local legend has it the first narcissi bulbs were given to the wife of a governor of Star Castle on St Mary’s by a Dutch merchant captain in return for some favour received. Believing them to be onions, the lady cooked them. The taste, however, was unsurprisingly disgusting and she threw them into the moat, where they flourished.
The Julians specialise in growing the multi-headed and powerfully scented Tarzetta types, rather than their more common cousin the unscented daffodil. They are a mixture of traditional varieties – Soleil d’Or, Paper White and Golden Dawn – plus new releases from the island’s own research and development station.
Throughout the Scillies, new bulbs are planted in late summer, in a similar way to preparing potato fields. By the time the autumn rains arrive, they have started to grow, providing lovely picture postcard blooms across the islands between November and March.
Ben’s parents, Andrew and Hilary Julian, started the business in 1992 and although they now live on the mainland, they move back to Churchtown to help pre-Christmas. Zoe’s parents, who live in Exeter, also come to help.
“Everyone just mucks in and gets on with the job,” said Zoe. “We’re one big team working hard to make sure orders are met and sent by the day of the last Christmas post. Only then can we allow ourselves to draw breath and think about our Christmas preparations.”
The Western Morning News Think Local campaign is sponsored by
independent financial adviser Worldwide Financial Planning.
School chef John wins where star Jamie failed
02-12-2009
ANYONE for grilled line-caught mackerel, game pie, wild-berry jelly, garlic snails, seared salmon or a dish of cobra braised in cider? It sounds like the diet of a well-travelled gourmet, an epicure who has eaten in the finest restaurants the world over. But the enthusiastic consumers of this varied menu are children, who are paying no more than £2 per meal, many of who rarely leave their home town.
Aged between 11 and 16, the boys and girls at a Cornish comprehensive school not only eat the best school dinners in the UK – and that is official – they even take classes in butchery and foraging, and grow their own potatoes. Oh, and they find time to revise for their GCSEs, and get good grades.
Penair School in Truro has succeeded where Jamie Oliver’s campaign to banish Turkey Twizzlers and improve school meals failed miserably. Whereas Jamie’s initiative – backed by £500 million of Government money – caused pupils to desert the canteen in their droves, the uptake on lunches at Penair has grown from 30 to 400 in just two years.
All the food is fresh, yet the school kitchen comes in under budget. What’s more, parents back the changes – and no one hands bags of chips to their miserable children through the school railings at Penair, as they did at one school where Jamie Oliver’s initiative was taken up.
The man responsible for this remarkable success story is John Rankin, who has just been awarded the prize of Best Caterer by the Duchess of Cornwall at the BBC Radio 4 Food and Farming Awards.
Mr Rankin, 42, is a London-born chef who spent 20 years in America where he learned to cook. He returned to the UK in 2003 and worked as a chef in Cornish restaurants before Penair School recruited him on £20,000 a year – he points out the hours, compared to those of most chefs, are great and the holidays “awesome”.
The key to his success seems to be that the children trust him to produce exciting food they will like. Where Jamie’s School Dinners went for arbitrary change – banning bad food with immediate effect and making heroines of dinner ladies – Mr Rankin has tempted pupils one by one, with tidbits of exotic ingredients, seasonal menus and a sense of excitement.
He dislikes the term dinner lady or, in his case, dinner man. He still sees himself as a restaurant chef and refuses to use the word “canteen”. “I am a chef, this is a dining room and the kids are my customers,” he says. And indeed they are. “Hello, chef,” says one of his regulars respectfully, passing in the corridor.
A larger-than-life character with a biker’s bandana wrapped around his head, he eyes his charges through a pair of heavy-rimmed glasses.
“When the headteacher offered me the job, I said I would not do it unless I could serve the kind of food I would normally order when eating out,” says Mr Rankin. “I wanted them to eat great ingredients, locally sourced if possible, and offer an interesting menu.”
Ask any child at the school who remembers school food before Mr Rankin and they all make a face and say one word: “Ugh”. When he took charge, he knew the children would not change their eating habits unless the choice was theirs. “I believe that it is better to let the kids decide. If you adopt the Government’s plan, which is to ban everything, they will rebel,” he says.
He first made improvements to the snack bar, which sells hot pastries, pasties and sandwiches, then set up a separate gourmet serving area where freshly cooked, imaginative food could be found.
“The queue by the snack bar used to be huge, then, week by week, it got shorter, and the one in the gourmet area got larger. Now, it is the most popular counter in the dining room,” he says. The sandwiches and pasta dishes are freshly made and the Cornish pasties come from a local baker. The cost of a full meal is £2.
Mr Rankin is flexible about his menu choices. When I arrived in the morning, he told me it was seared salmon. But by 12.45pm, the weather had become so dreadful that he changed it to a curry made with confit of duck. Spicy, with a mild chilli kick, the curry was perfect for a wet and windy Monday.
When it was suggested that the menus should be posted on the school website, the children protested, saying they like the element of surprise. But something else is happening here, better even than full bellies. Staff at the school have noted a distinct and remarkable improvement in the behaviour of some of the school’s more challenging children.
Soon after Mr Rankin’s arrival and the school appreciating his talent, senior teaching staff suggested that he might be able to help with some pupils known for their disruptive behaviour.
“We identified the children in the school who, for a number of reasons, were not doing well or fitting in, and suggested they help us build a vegetable garden in an ugly courtyard by the dining room,” says Simon Merrick, head of IT. “Working in the garden would be seen as a reward for good behaviour; a privilege that allows time off lessons. The kids responded well to it and they are now showing a new group, from the year below them, how to care for the plants.”
In addition to the gardening sessions, pupils can take part in food-foraging lessons, cooking lessons – which are after school and open to parents as well – and even butchery classes. After break, for example, Mr Rankin invites children to see him butcher a pig, as a ‘treat’, with all the meat used in the school meals.
“It is cheaper to buy whole pigs and use every bit. We can get about 250 helpings from one animal,” Mr Rankin says, watching proudly as pupils saw the carcass in half. “Take it slowly,” he advises Frankie Pritchard, who is holding a pig’s leg while her friend, Abbey Harris, saws off the trotter.
“Twice a term, we cut up a cow, they love it,” says Mr Rankin. “To begin with they think it is a horror story, but then they get into it.”
During the winter season, game is on the menu thanks to IT teacher Simon Merrick, who has forged links with a nearby game bird shoot. “They donate as many pheasants as we want, it makes a big difference to the budget,” he says.
Other staff lend more help with provisions. One fishes the Cornish coast at weekends and brings in line-caught mackerel. Another shoots rabbits for Mr Rankin’s game pie.
Fentongollan Nursery, run by a parent whose three children have attended the school, supplies vegetable seedling plugs to speed-up growing in the garden.
Most fresh ingredients are from local suppliers. Mr Rankin even uses Cornish sea salt to season the food, though he never puts salt on the table.
International days in the dining room are excitedly anticipated. On France Day, the children ate frogs’ legs and snails. “On Africa Day, I served zebra, kudu antelope, and snake, small tastes of each. They loved it.”
In summer, Mr Rankin sets up a barbecue in the courtyard garden. “The pupils follow their noses – as soon as they smell the scent of grilling meat, they are down here.”
But can Mr Rankin’s philosophy spread to other schools? Well, he is discussing the possibility of applying the Penair approach in other Cornish schools and he believes it will catch on.
It seems the key is to appoint a chef who cares about food and wants to teach the children about it and to involve the community wherever possible to help keep costs down.
The process of change at Penair actually seems simpler than the Jamie Oliver-inspired Government model. Harsh as it may sound, employing an experienced chef saves the time and trouble it takes to retrain dinner ladies accustomed to reheating junk food.
Experts say the improved confidence and behaviour of students at Penair is linked to the food project.
The Western Morning News Think Local campaign is sponsored by
independent financial adviser Worldwide Financial Planning.
The best tastes in the West
02-12-2009
By Becky Sheaves Food editor
FROM a pork sausage with orange marmalade to an ice-cream made from sheep’s milk, yesterday’s Taste of the West awards ceremony was full of surprises.
Known as the Oscars of the Westcountry food world, the awards saw 200 of the great and the good of the South West’s food industry gathered in the Great Tithe Barn at Haselbury Mill in Crewkerne.
And while winners were as varied as a tea shop in Lostwithiel and a curry sauce firm in St Austell, it was that most traditional of the region’s products – cheddar cheese – that scooped the top award.
The award of Product of the Year went to Mary Quicke of Newton St Cyres, near Exeter. Her farmhouse cheddar so impressed the judges that one said when tasting it: “Life doesn’t get much better than this.”
Ms Quicke – whose father Sir John Quicke started Quicke’s Cheese 25 years ago – was almost in tears as she accepted the trophy from Masterchef winner Mat Follas. “My father died two weeks ago and he would have been so proud. I just wish he was here today,” she said.
“I am absolutely delighted to have won. This is a team effort – everyone who works for us is a champion.”
Her extra mature cheddar fought off nearly 1,300 entries to catch the eye of judge Mat Follas, who runs the Wild Garlic restaurant in Beaminster.
He said judging the 2009 awards was “an honour”. “The standard was so high and the products so good. But we kept coming back to the Quicke’s cheddar.
“It really is outstanding and can hold its own on a world stage as a truly excellent cheese.”
This year’s awards were the biggest ever, according to Taste of the West chief executive John Sheaves. “Entries were up by 200 to an all-time high of nearly 1,300 products and 300 hospitality venues. The quality just keeps improving, too. Consumers now have very high expectations and local producers have risen to the challenge.
“There are some world-class food and drink products and places to eat out in the South West.”
The coveted Producer of the Year Award has been renamed this year in memory of the Western Morning News’ former food editor, Carol Trewin, who died in October.
The winner of the 2009 Carol Trewin Award is David Baker of Styles Farmhouse Ice Cream, in Minehead, whose innovative use of sheep’s milk to create ice-cream impressed the judges.
“I’m thrilled to win,” said Mr Baker, whose company now employs 70 people locally, bringing much-needed economic vitality to West Somerset.
The Western Morning News Think Local campaign is sponsored by
independent financial adviser Worldwide Financial Planning.
Sidmouth butcher scoops 18 awards
25-11-2009
A SIDMOUTH butcher has scooped 18 awards for his products in the Q Guild’s 2009b Smithfield Awards.
Stewart Hayman, 58, is the fourth generation of his family to run Hayman’s Butchers in the seaside town of Sidmouth.
He said he was thrilled to receive the accolades – which numbered nine gold, five silver and four bronze awards.
The highest gold awards were given to the company’s steak & pickled walnut pie, steak, red wine and shallot pie, carrot cake and mince pies.
“It’s an evaluation process, where you’re able to enter your products and they have a panel of judges in Scotland who evaluate them and award marks for taste, texture and so on.
“We make a wide range of our own product and it’s a very useful way to get independent, objective feedback on what you’re doing. We might think our products are ok, but it’s great to get an evaluation from elsewhere.
“We’ve been members of the guild for 23 years and we use the competition as a way to evaluate and improve what we do, because you can always improve.”
Hayman’s Butchers originally offered just meat, but over the years has expanded to a wider range of bacon, sausages, pies, pasties, cooked meats, quiches, ready meals and cakes.
The company now has two shops in Sidmouth, said Stewart, who runs the business with his wife Shirley, 51.
“It’s a challenging time for lots of businesses at the moment but we’ve ridden out a lot of storms in our 102 years of trading.
“We had BSE in 1986 and foot and mouth more recently, all of which inevitably impact on the business, but we ride it out.“It’s all about attracting customers into the shop. For example, for our centenary year in 2007 we had a street party here outside the shop and there were thousands of people in Church Street that day.
“Having community events like that is so important and fundamental to our business.”
The Western Morning News Think Local campaign is sponsored by
independent financial adviser Worldwide Financial Planning.
Pasty company has Christmas all wrapped up
24-11-2009
IF YOU are feeling lazy this Christmas, you could always nip out and get a traditional dinner with a Westcountry twist.
The West Cornwall Pasty Co came up with the idea for a Christmas pasty last year and has rekindled the recipe this year because of its popularity.
The pasty contains tender pieces of turkey breast, potato, swede and onion, with sage stuffing and cranberries in a creamy béchamel sauce.
The special pasty is being sold in shops across the country and the retailer is also selling all the trimmings to make a proper Christmas meal – honey roast parsnips and rosemary and garlic potatoes are all freshly baked in-store.
Chief executive Richard Nieto said: “Last year we were overwhelmed by the popularity of our turkey and cranberry pasty. That’s why we’ve decided to bring it back this Christmas – but this time with some equally tasty additions which we’re sure will also be a resounding success.”
Hungry shoppers can also sustain themselves with the Christmas Cracker – a mixture of turkey and ham with cranberries and stuffing – and for pudding, there is the chocolate pasty, made with the finest Belgian chocolate.
The Western Morning News Think Local campaign is sponsored by
independent financial adviser Worldwide Financial Planning.
Success is icing on Nicky’s cake
22-11-2009
NINE years ago, Nicky Grant was frantically busy with her career in London, working in graphic design. These days, she runs a cake-making business near Helston. Her life could not be more different, to say the least.
“Back then, I was permanently dashing about in a suit talking to businessmen about company logos,” she remembers.
“Today, I work with my husband making cakes and chocolates in our farmhouse kitchen. It’s a really lovely lifestyle.”
Nicky’s extravagant and gorgeous wedding, celebration and party cakes now sell countrywide and have been featured in magazines such as Taste, You and Your Wedding and Brides.
A single Nicky Grant cake can set you back as much as £750, but each one can take many days to create.
“I’m meticulous about the decoration – it’s my passion,” Nicky explains.
“You can buy sugar roses to put on top but I make them by hand, with every petal slightly different in shade and size, so that it looks completely real.
“We also use as many organic ingredients as possible and local Cornish produce. You really can tell the difference in taste when using the finest ingredients such as real cream, fresh butter and the best grade of chocolate.”
It all started back in 1994 when Nicky, 39, took a course of evening classes in sugarcraft, the art of cake decoration.
“I’ve always loved art, sketching and making things. I found I had a real flair for making sugar flowers. So this became a much-loved creative hobby while I was working in corporate design for companies like BAA,” she explains
Then she and Tom moved to Cornwall in 2001 near his home town of Helston. Nicky’s cake-making started as a low-key local venture but rapidly took on a life of its own. One person recommended her stunning cakes to another and the business took off.
These days, Tom has taken time out from being an alternative therapist to work with Nicky, handling much of the paperwork and website design and becoming himself a skilled maker of hand-made chocolates
“We wanted to start a family and knew that children wouldn’t fit in with our London lifestyle at all,” Nicky says.
“Now, it is so nice that we both work from home and see lots of the children. George, who’s five, even goes to the same primary school as Tom once did, and Cicely, three, will be going there soon too.
“We find making cakes and chocolates such a fulfilling, creative way to make a living.”
These days, Nicky and Tom frequently make cakes for events as far afield as London and Manchester.
And the sky’s the limit, design-wise.
“I often tie the cake design in to match the bride’s dress,” says Nicky.
“I even hand-painted one wedding cake with a chinoiserie pattern to match the wallpaper at a wedding venue. I also do pure chocolate sculptures for big event or parties, such as one in the shape of a corset. It’s a lot more long-lasting than an ice sculpture – and you can eat it afterwards.”
Other favourite cake decorations are her hand-painted edible butterflies and sugar sea shells.
“People keep them after their wedding as mementoes. They can last for years,” she explains.
“It’s really special being part of someone’s wedding or big celebration – it’s just so romantic. For one wedding between a South African and an English girl, I topped the cake with a protea, the flower of South Africa, entwined with an English rose, all made in sugar. They loved it.”
If you haven’t got a big party coming up to justify the cost of Nicky’s larger creations (her wedding cakes start at £390) then look out for her exquisite cup cakes and fairy cakes. She now also makes hand-made fresh chocolates in a range called Choccara.
“Cara is the Cornish word for love,” Nicky explains.
Many are on sale via mail order or at local farm shops and the Eden Project.
“For Christmas we’ve developed a range of chocolate tree baubles and chocolate Christmas pudding lollies,” Nicky says.
She also makes covetable mini Christmas cakes, just 9cm across, from £10.
“Yes, life has certainly changed,” says Nicky, painstakingly pleating the chocolate ruffles on a cake for a society wedding in London. “A few years ago I’d never have foreseen that I’d end up here in Cornwall making cakes and chocolates for a living. But I certainly wouldn’t have it any other way.”
The Western Morning News Think Local campaign is sponsored by
independent financial adviser Worldwide Financial Planning.
Creativity goes to top of present list at craft fair
20-11-2009
CRAFT fairs are not only the perfect opportunity to buy original gifts for friends and family, but they also provide a much needed opportunity for makers to get together. Spending long days in a studio makes for a rather solitary job, so meeting others and discussing your work at events and fairs can be very beneficial, says jewellery maker Sarah Scott.
She and 32 other makers will be selling their creations at the CRUX Craft Fair next weekend at Rattery, near South Brent in South Devon.
It’s a thriving fair that is now in its 15th year and is not only renowned for the quality of the goods on sale but also for its tasty home-made vegetarian food, which goes down a treat with buyers who may be flagging halfway round the room.
It’s also a friendly affair, where makers are keen to talk to customers about the techniques they use and what inspires them.
“Artists should probably get together more to discuss their work – it’s really important to think about what you’re doing, and if you discuss your work it definitely helps,” says Sarah, who has been at CRUX since the beginning.
“It’s not competitive, but it is very difficult to get into CRUX as a maker now, because there are so many people around here who want to take part. There’s a very good cross-section and always some new and young makers.”
A core appear at the fair every year and others vary. Organisers aim to have a good mix of ceramics, wooden crafts, fabrics, jewellery, glassware and other items, and a range of prices that will appeal to most visitors.
There may well be more gifts at the lower end of the price scale this year to cater for people who are feeling the financial pinch.
All the makers are from Devon and, Sarah says, heavily inspired by their surroundings.
“I’m definitely inspired by Devon – for me the rock formations and geological forms are very important. I went down to Hartland Quay recently, then came back and did a piece which echoes the wonderful rock strata.
“I think we are all inevitably influenced by living here – the colours, the fields, all those things do affect a piece and the way artists are inspired.”
One such maker is Barry Hooper, or the Arkman, who carves stunning wooden arks out of local oak and whole collections of animals from English lime wood to go in them.
These are not toys, as such, but family heirlooms that you can imagine passing down from generation to generation.
And as well as the traditional ark complete with camels and giraffes, you can have a Westcountry version populated with badgers, rabbits, sheep and cattle. Instead of the doves, two barn owls, and a Devon thatched roof on top of the ark.
It’s something that will be familiar to children on so many levels, from the Bible story to the fields outside their windows.
“What makes it such a special show is that it is essentially rural in spirit, shows the influence of the Devon landscape on all the artists, and materials come from local sources wherever possible,” Sarah says. Much of the artwork celebrates the moorland close by and even obscure items like jewellery seem imbued with the character of the area.
“The textile artists particularly seem to absorb much of the colour and textures of the landscape, and several of the ceramic artists respond to influences of the sea, rock and light of the region.
“However it is really important that the work is bright, strong and contemporary – it is far from dull and earthen, and many of the makers represented show in top galleries in London and nationally.”
Crux has run since 1994, initiated by basketmaker Hilary Burns and a few other top Devon craft makers.
“We make sure that it has a wide and changing selection of work, from small items such as beautiful soaps, candles, jewellery and toys to larger items – basketware, sculpture, wall decorations, wood, textiles, etc. – and that all the artists are from the South West.
“Our secret weapon at the show is a wonderful cafe with delicious and unusual soups, flans, tarts, cakes and drinks, which gives our customers the energy to stay the course, really take in all the 33 exhibitors, and enjoy the lively and colourful event,” Sarah says.
The cafe is Hilary’s brainchild and she now cooks and serves the delicious food with her husband, rather than selling her basketware at the fair.
CRUX Craft Fair is at Rattery Village Hall, near South Brent in Devon TQ10 9LD on Saturday and Sunday, November 28-29 from 10am to 5pm. Remember your cheque book as makers are often unable to take card payments. For more information visit www.cruxcraftfair.co.uk.
The Western Morning News Think Local campaign is sponsored by
independent financial adviser Worldwide Financial Planning.
Organic icecream beats winter feed input costs
18-11-2009
AN award-winning dairy farm in Cornwall is bucking the trend, with a record-beating year for sales of its organic dairy products, while at the same time reducing feed costs.
Husband-and-wife team, Toby and Silke Roskilly, and father Joe Roskilly, of Tregellast Barton Farm, near Helston have seen significant growth – 29 per cent – in their sales of organic milk, cream, fudge, jams, preserves and ice cream this summer.
Best Food Producer winners in the 2004 BBC Radio 4 Food & Farming Awards, the farm business has diversified into a number of complementary enterprises now employing 65 people.
From a starting point in 1960, with just 20 cows on a 40-acre farm, 50 years later the farm has grown to 200 acres with 100 Jersey cows, supporting no less than 35 families. A busy dairy-processing unit operates alongside the restaurant, farm shop, holiday cottages, glassworks, furniture gallery and farm trails.
Toby Roskilly is also a master furniture maker, and some of his work can be seen at Truro Cathedral and the Eden Project. His father has brought new life to old farm buildings and added wildlife areas and ponds, while Silke brings considerable financial management and cost control to the business.
The commitment to doing things naturally and sustainably is central to the business development, and this would not be possible without the Roskillys keeping a sharp eye on farm inputs.
Organic feed costs have been a major consideration this autumn. Roskilly’s have taken advantage of the free silage-sampling service and nutrition advice offered by Mole Valley Farmers. Working with local MVF nutritionist, Steve Chapman, the Roskillys have been able to balance this year’s forages using straights purchased from the MVF team, complemented with Rumigan compound feeds and minerals from the Nutri-LINK Rumigan range.
Recognising the challenges faced by many organic farmers this winter, due the reduction in the organic milk price, Mr Chapman advised: “I would urge organic farmers to really think about their winter rations and minerals. Have a hard look at the costs and perhaps consider a different combination of feed inputs and nutrition advice.”
MVF organic product manager, Cathy Mitchell, said: “We’re very pleased to be working with the Roskillys. They are a tremendous success story and a great example of thinking outside the box in order to overcome the challenges of their geographic location and add value to their products. We believe there will always be a market for organic food. The market will become more buoyant as the economy improves and consumer spending increases again.”
The Western Morning News Think Local campaign is sponsored by
independent financial adviser Worldwide Financial Planning.
Big-bellied male seahorses bag the best mates
18-11-2009
IN HUMANS, cultivating a large pot belly is a sign of over-indulgence and inactivity – but to male seahorses in Living Coasts marine aquarium, it is the best way to bag a mate.
The Torquay attraction’s Australian big-bellied seahorses are, as their name suggests, inclined towards a protruding midriff.
In fact, the females search out the most rotund male to bear their children, as the rules of mating as we know them are turned inside out.
Living Coasts marine biologist Jodie Peers explained: “In seahorses, the male becomes pregnant. The belly is the brood pouch, which is like a womb – this is where the male carries the eggs.
“Breeding can start when they are about eight months to one year old. Ours are around nine months old. There has been no mating yet, but the males are displaying their puffed out pouches to the females, and one pair has started to link tails, which is the first stage of courtship.”
They can be found in the Local Coasts indoor area, which opened in July and is also home to starfish and cuttlefish, and features one tank that children can crawl underneath. Ms Peers said: “They have a fascinating social life. Every morning a pair will entwine their prehensile – grasping – tails and dance together for up to 10 minutes, changing colour and promenading across the seabed – it’s lovely to see.”
Visit www.livingcoasts.org.uk
The Western Morning News Think Local campaign is sponsored by
independent financial adviser Worldwide Financial Planning.
Gareth’s lessons on how to be a proper man.....
18-11-2009
FOR the generation of men who are baffled by putting up shelves and feel deeply uncomfortable with a spanner in their hand, Gareth May is someone worth knowing.
Once a self-confessed dunce when it comes to anything vaguely hands-on, the Westcountry-based writer has compiled an “instruction manual for growing up” – effectively an extended cheat sheet for lazy and impractical males everywhere.
The title of his debut book, released on Friday, says it all. Called 150 Things Every Man Should Know, the chunky tome offers bite-size lessons in how to be a proper man.
Part humour, part self-help, the book majors on masculine perennials such as how to change a tyre or shave without causing a skin rash.
On the thorny issue of avoiding cowboy builders, he advises: “A good tradesman is always busy. If they’re free straightaway, be wary.”
But it also offers sage advice on matters that require a lighter touch, including holding a baby like a mother-of-three and figuring out whether you’ve been struck by Cupid’s arrow.
“You are expected to do and know these things,” Gareth, 27, explains. “But nobody tells you how to do it.”
The book, he points out, is an antidote to “lad” culture and the associated magazines that feed young men a steady diet of scantily-clad women and football. To this end, 150 Things ... also offers hints on how to check for testicular cancer and coping with premature hair loss.
Gareth, who grew up in South Devon and now lives in Falmouth, sees the book as the male equivalent of the popular problem pages found in magazines for teenage girls and women.
Filling the gap in the market, the book promises to “tell you the things your best friends can’t”.
Gareth said: “I just feel we are more than that what some magazines portray us as. Sometimes there’s nowhere to go when you need that advice.”
The book is the culmination of a project almost three years old. His eureka moment came when, after apparently trying to avoid a low-flying pigeon, he punctured a car tyre while driving on a motorway. Stumped, he called his Dad – who handily runs a care dealership and garage. A well-deserved dressing down followed, but it prompted Gareth to set up a blog to help like-minded souls.
The website, 21st Century Boy, mixes instructive short essays and home-made videos. So if you want to know how to defend yourself in a pub brawl, clean a roller and brushes after decorating and stay awake while driving at night, Gareth has some suggestions.
“It’s meant to be fun, but also informative too. With the testicular cancer video, just judging by the comments left on YouTube it’s a pertinent issue.”
Older generations might be dismissive, damning twenty- and thirtysomethings for going soft. Has the male of the species gone from “new man” to “useless man”? Are young people just incompetent?
“There’s an element of that. My Dad was saying that when he was young, an apprenticeship was a good thing. But we’ve moved to being more academic than practical, encouraging people to go to university rather than into trades.”
Gareth, who was encouraged to start the website while studying for a masters degree in professional writing at Falmouth College, has already been summoned on to national radio to defend young men. He said: “I’m not a guru or a spokesman for a generation. It’s just that young men, and people in general, need to be aware of these things.
“I just want to get these things out in the open and if that makes me a spokesman for a generation .... OK.”
150 Things Every Man Should Know is published by Square Peg on Friday. Tomorrow, Gareth will be holding a book launch at Waterstone’s in Drake Circus, Plymouth, at about 7pm.
The Western Morning News Think Local campaign is sponsored by
independent financial adviser Worldwide Financial Planning.
Model of old railway line proves first-class exhibit
17-11-2009
THIS impressive display of a former Westcountry railway line and station was the star of a model railway exhibition.
Railway enthusiasts were treated to displays and models spanning several decades and various gauges at the two-day event at Wadebridge School in North Cornwall over the weekend.
The annual event, which is in its 19th year, attracts hordes of visitors keen to catch a glimpse of a rare model or simply share a passion for collecting.
This year’s show was no different, with hundreds of enthusiasts and even those with a casual interest in model railways stopping to browse and have a chat with exhibitors.
From wall to wall, visitors came face to face with tiny replica trains set against countryside landscapes.
But the star of the show was the Treneglos layout, based on the North Cornwall Line station of Tresmeer.
The station was once thriving with agricultural traffic a common sight.
A nearby Friday market was a source of incoming cattle for a while and even milk was loaded at Tresmeer.
This prosperous goods traffic came to an end when the goods yard was closed, along with many others, on September 7, 1964.
Decline was fast from here, with the signalbox closing the next year.
The layout was built by Chris Tooth, Damian Ross and John Wardle, all from outside Cornwall, but who said they were keen to build a replica of the North Cornwall Line station.
Their effort was rewarded with a special accolade from organisers, who were impressed with their attention to detail in recreating the station.
Paul Catchpole, who had a stall with World of Model Railways, said the event was a great success.
“People were very interested in all that was going on over the two days,” he said.
“I think there was particular interest in the Treneglos layout.
“Obviously, being in Cornwall, people wanted to have a closer look at it.
“Also, to have the two-day event in Wadebridge, next to the North Cornwall Line, was excellent.”
The Western Morning News Think Local campaign is sponsored by
independent financial adviser Worldwide Financial Planning.
Hatchery protects lobster stocks
16-11-2009
WHAT with its resident giant lobster, Dai The Claw, its “adopt a lobster” scheme and the occasional novelty of actors prancing around in red lobster costumes, Padstow’s National Lobster Hatchery (NLH) is certainly one of the fishing town’s top tourist attractions.
But, novelty aside, the hatchery plays a very real role in Cornwall’s wider fisheries strategy.
The hatchery is best known for rearing baby lobsters and releasing them into waters surrounding Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.
The centre also conducts research into sustaining the county’s lobster population into the future – and educates the public about the issue.
A dramatic collapse in Norwegian lobster stocks in the 1960s sent a warning to European nations that lobster stocks were in decline.
In the late 1980s, when Cornwall also began to see a drop in lobster numbers, Cornwall Sea Fisheries Committee introduced several measures to limit over-fishing of lobsters in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.
The measures included an increased minimum landing size – and the establishment of the National Lobster Hatchery.
Its general manager, Dominic Boothroyd, explained: “We don’t really know what caused the collapse in Norwegian lobster stocks back in the sixties, but most people point the finger at excessive fishing.
“It was a profound warning on a European level that lobster stocks are very vulnerable, and when in the late eighties Cornwall also started to suffer from declining stocks, the idea of the NLH was to introduce stock at the bottom and almost reverse the way in which the fishery was managed.
“We were an additional measure to try to reduce the risk of stock collapse – but also, should stocks collapse, the idea is that we could scale up the operation and conduct a restocking programme in Cornish waters. It’s an additional safety net.”
Dominic recently presented a talk at Plymouth’s Maritime Museum about the charity’s future.
He explained the centre’s important research work – which includes a study into using live yoghurt and probiotics to improve ways of raising juvenile lobsters and larvae.
The hatchery is also involved with a PhD project in conjunction with the University of Plymouth and Plymouth Marine Laboratories, looking at the potential impact of ocean acidification on the European coasts.
Greater levels of acid in the sea could mean that creatures such as lobsters have lower than expected levels of minerals in their exoskeletons.
Dominic said: “We’re burning more and more fossil fuels and creating more and more carbon dioxide, which dissolves in the oceans and creates weak carbolic acid.
“That affects the way calcifying organisms create their exo-skeletons.
We’re not really sure how this is going to impact on lobster populations, but we conducted research a couple of years ago looking at the potential effects and this study will look at it over three years in more detail.
“It’s a reasonable assumption to say that the problem could have an impact on lobsters’ ability to survive in the wild. This study will answer a lot more questions.”
The third arm of the hatchery’s work is what Dominic describes as “informal public education”.
“Education through people coming to the hatchery is very important,” he said.
“They learn about the work we do and the way in which this fits in with broader sustainability issues.”
The Western Morning News Think Local campaign is sponsored by
independent financial adviser Worldwide Financial Planning.
Cosy with fine cuisine
14-11-2009
GET cosy this Christmas at the Claycutters Arms. The thatched charm of this Chudleigh Knighton hostelry would warm the cockles of any heart stepping in from the harshest of winter days.
The flickering flames of log fires coupled with attractive traditional decor help set the scene for a perfect occasion with family or friends.
So, sit back, enjoy a little mulled wine and roasted chestnuts – and savour the special Christmas atmosphere of this engaging venue.
Hosts Joanna Elgar and Peter Marfleet and their staff have created the ideal Yuletide mood for your celebrations.
Be it a quiet meal for two or a Christmas party booking, this 17th century pub will provide a visit to remember.
The Claycutters Arms is delighted to have head chef Nick Warrener at the helm in the kitchen where he uses his skills to create meals that are not only a delight to eat but are also eye-catching to look at.
He has just completed the new table menu and is excited about preparing an exciting range of dishes during his first Christmas at this popular venue. Nick describes his food as being uncomplicated, classic, clean and fresh. He always manages to put a contemporary edge to more traditional dishes.
Nick’s beautiful, home-cooked and very stylish dishes and creative daily specials have impressed locals and new diners from far and wide.
The restaurant, with its festive decorations, is warm and welcoming. It can easily accommodate up to 45 guests, and the bar area can seat 35 customers as well – so you can chose to have a more formal or informal meal.
The home-cooked Christmas party menu price is very competitively priced.
Whether you are planning a special meal or a party the mouthwatering Christmas party menu is too tempting to deny. For £17.95 (£12.95 children) you can enjoy a three course meal with three choices per course.
If you fancy something other than the Christmas menu then check out the head chef’s daily changing specials board.
“We are lucky enough to have some really great suppliers of fresh fish, veg and meat which deliver daily, enabling us to provide the freshest, top quality food,” said Joanna.
Back by popular demand, and guaranteed to ward off the winter chill factor is the famous Claycutters curry night.
Commencing next Wednesday from 6pm to 9.30pm there will be a selection of three freshly made Indian and Asian style curries.
So, if you want mellow, mild, hot, traditional or exotic cuisine cut along to the Claycutters.
The Western Morning News Think Local campaign is sponsored by
independent financial adviser Worldwide Financial Planning.
Cultivation on worldwide scale
14-11-2009
VEGETABLE growing is enjoying a renaissance in 21st century home gardens and allotments, not just in the Westcountry and the UK, but across the world. While winter is a quieter time on the vegetable plot, plenty can still be done to ensure a good harvest of home-grown crops during the colder months, especially if you think outside the box and consider varieties and species that don’t feature in the average British plot.
James Clark – a skilled horticulturist at the Eden Project who nurtures vegetables from around the world for its Global Gardens exhibit – said: “What we’re showing is how, with immigration to the UK, people have brought with them their culture, their food, their seeds, what they like to grow. And growing vegetables is a real way of getting different communities together.”
The garden has several plots: a community allotment, a bigger space looked after by a community; a traditional allotment using heritage seeds in danger of being lost, and Chinese, Eastern European, Indian and Afro-Caribbean areas. “What grows there is what these communities have brought to this country and what they’ve found works in the UK,” says James.
Some of these crops, like chick peas, are familiar to us. Others sound far more exotic to our ears but are everyday foods in the communities they come from. To read more about what is in the vegetable plot, see the panel on this page.
Even though winter is descending fast, James is hard at work outside and has suggestions for those who would like to see their own vegetable plot being productive all year round.
“The beauty of winter veg is that it gives you something to harvest through the depths of the winter months,” he says. “Cut and come again salads are great – they are quick to grow and will keep going all winter.”
You can plant these leaves until mid- November, so get some in the ground this weekend if you can! Sow the seed in rows and use them when they’re just big enough to harvest. You can sow these all winter and they only take a couple of weeks to produce leaves big enough to eat.
Rocket, mustards, oriental leaf salads such as mizuna, mibiuma and komatsuma – an oriental kale with a big leaf that can be chopped and used in stir-fry – can be planted now. Winter purslane too, known as claytonia, or miners’ lettuce.
“It’s called this because miners in California didn’t have any greens and were suffering from scurvy during the winter months,” James says. “They came across this plant purslane, which is a really good source of vitamin C. It’s a bit of an acquired taste – you wouldn’t want a whole bowl of it; it’s the type of thing you’d add to a salad.”
Lamb’s Land cress and lamb’s lettuce will also grow now. Lettuce might need some protection from the cold – such as a cloche or some fleece, but most other leaves should be fine. You can also go gardening for weeds.
“In the winter, don’t dig up your dandelions – harvest and eat them!” James says. “If you want to add something to a mixed salad, you’ve got dandelions, chickweed, fat hen, different types of sorrel, shepherd’s purse.
“Obviously you’ve got to be careful only to eat what you know, and to eat only a small amount, because some of them can have chemicals in which you can’t eat in large quantities.”
Another thing to do now is to sow plants for green manure.
“Most gardeners hate seeing ground with nothing in it, so if you just want to get something growing over the winter, green manures are fantastic,” James says.
“Plants like field beans and vetch are nitrogen-fixing – they store nitrogen in the ground which adds nutrition to the ground. Obviously when you turn in the green matter, that adds organic matter to the soil. And because they cover the ground they stop the weeds coming up. We do a lot of green manures here at Eden.”
They are also busy harvesting winter greens such as cauliflowers, purple sprouting broccoli, spring cabbage, kale and leeks – planted in August and harvested throughout the winter. Also, winter squash, Jerusalem artichokes and gourds are ready. “This year we’re growing the Malabar gourd, which is going to look fantastic,” James says. “They’re just starting to form the gourds and we’ll harvest them over autumn.”
For the Global Garden Eden has borrowed some ideas from its Gardens for Life project, which promotes partnerships between schools, children and teachers in Africa, India and Cornwall, to share all the learning that can come from gardening and growing food across communities, cultures and countries. An example of this is the “tyre gardens” – growing vegetables in soil-filled piles of tyres.
Cornwall’s longer growing season and mild weather makes it easier to grow less traditional crops.
“Outside I can get away with chillis and peppers, where you’d normally need protection. We also grow tomatillos (that tart flavour in Mexican green sauces), aubergines and grapes,” James says.
He confirms that often visitors know just as much as the Eden staff.
“I didn’t know a lot about vegetable growing, but I’ve learned a lot from my supervisor and fellow gardeners here in the Green Team – and visitors will give you a lot of tips,” he says.
“They’ll tell you: ‘you ought to be doing it like this, you want to be tying those up, harvesting those’ – so that all helps.
“And you learn from your mistakes. If you buy some seeds and the crop doesn’t work, you either sow it a bit earlier or a bit later and try again next year.
“The beauty of vegetable growing is that it’s not expensive – a pound or two or so for a packet of seeds. It’s not like going out and buying a tree or a shrub for maybe £20 and if it dies you’re really disappointed.”
The Western Morning News Think Local campaign is sponsored by
independent financial adviser Worldwide Financial Planning.
Key to accessorising is handbags and gladrags
13-11-2009
IF YOUR budget won’t quite stretch to a whole new outfit then the experts always say treat yourself to a new handbag or some jewellery – and there’s nowhere better to do that than Stolen From Susie in Totnes High Street.
This small shop at the very top of the street, in the ancient Narrows, is a real find and the key to its success is Sue Chapman – whose sister’s catchphrase, when asked where she got her stuff, was often “Oh, I stole it from Susie”.
Sue has an unbeatable eye for buying quirky, original accessories that barely sit on the shelves before flying out of the door on the arm of a customer.
“I have one lady who comes from Scotland on holiday every year, and she says the first stop she makes is this shop,” Sue says.
Many holidaymakers come back year after year, and customers come regularly from Plymouth and Cornwall.
Sue likes her customers so much that she opens early every Friday for the “Friday ladies”, who like to be in town by 9.30am and who rarely walk out without buying.
Sue quite rightly won’t give away the names of her suppliers, but says she doesn’t trade on labels.
“I have four or five favourite suppliers I use all the time. It’s really hard to get things other people don’t have, but I’ve built the shop up on quality and price and the fact that the stock changes quite regularly.”
Summer’s bright citrus handbags in green, yellow and orange have given way to more subtle greens, blues and reds for winter. Brown is always popular, and the big squishy bags with silver catches are sure to be a winner.
Sue doesn’t stock leather bags any more because of the price – most bags in the shop are priced under £30 and jewellery is also very affordable; perfect for a special night out when you want to indulge in something new.
The shop has been open nearly four years and is doing well, despite the economic gloom.
“People do like to treat themselves,” Sue says.
The stock is helpfully arranged according to colour and features bold necklaces with glass or ceramic beads and pendants. Colourful earrings and bangles can be mixed and matched.
Twice a year Sue clears out the shop entirely and sells all her stock in a sale, then closes and restocks with new season colours and styles, which she updates regularly throughout the season.
“I love the buying and I love arranging the shop, sorting it out and making it look the best,” she says.
Stolen from Susie is at 75 High Street, Totnes, Devon, telephone 01803 849461.
The Western Morning News Think Local campaign is sponsored by
independent financial adviser Worldwide Financial Planning.
Images celebrate cultural heritage
12-11-2009
WITH an expert hand, Ruth Kielty- Swindells gently brushes swathes of nettle leaves around the cylinder of Cornish yarg cheese.
This typical Cornish scene is just one of a series of captured photographic images brought together to celebrate and promote Cornwall’s diverse cultural heritage.
Photographer Bruce Davies’ collection entitled “What is culture?” poses the question of what constitutes culture and is being used as part of a bid to see the county crowned European Region of Culture.
Tomorrow sees the third European Regions of Culture international conference, which is being held at Falmouth.
The first conference, organised in May this year, was held at Kujawsko- Pomorskie in Poland, followed by a second meeting in Finland in August.
A team of Cornish artists and representatives from Cornwall Council have been working with Polish and Finnish counterparts from the Kujawsko- Pomorskie and South Ostrobothnia regions respectively to launch the European Regions of Culture (EROC) campaign.
With funding from the European Union’s Culture 2007 programme, EROC aims to persuade the EU to recognise “regions of culture” in the same way as urban areas have been recognised by, and benefited from, the Capitals of Culture programme.
Bruce Davies said it was essential to ask the people of Cornwall what they believed culture is.
“I really wanted people to ask themselves what culture is,” he said. “I don’t have an answer, but it’s important to get the debate going and to ask the people who live and work in Cornwall.
“The project was really interesting for me because, after I’d taken a photograph of one person, they would point me in the direction of someone else who was doing something interesting. It sort of developed a life force of its own as time went on.”
As well as the yarg-making process at Lynher Dairies Cheese Company at Ponsanooth, near Truro, the exhibition includes Peter Morton-Nance of the Cornish Tartan Centre in Redruth showing off the magnificent yellow check of the county’s tartan.
Mining engineer and Cornish Bard Bryan Earl, also president of the Trevithick Society, features along with Gillian Earl, president of the British Kodaly Academy and singing group and “The Barman” at Helston’s The Blue Anchor pub.
While South Ostrobothnia enjoys the affluence of the rest of Finland, Cornwall shares some of the economic hardships that Kujawsko-Pomorskie has had to battle.
Miranda Bird, director of EROC Cornwall, said the county had a rich and varied cultural life.
“The campaign is being conducted at a very high European level and we are working to bring some big European institutions on board,” she said. “At the same time it’s vitally important that we engage with artists who will shape our decision-making. It’s important we consider what they are saying.”
The photographs will be on display at 26 Arwenack Street and The Poly, Church Street, Falmouth, from tomorrow until Sunday.
The Western Morning News Think Local campaign is sponsored by
independent financial adviser Worldwide Financial Planning.
Poor summer fails to dampen festive spirit
12-11-2009
THE Christmas Garland which hangs from the hallway of the National Trust’s Cotehele House will be bigger and better than ever this year, despite fears the wet summer would scupper the tradition.
A total of 30,000 flowers grown in the gardens at the trust property in St Dominick, South East Cornwall, have been collected and dried in preparation for this year’s 60ft garland.
The display has adorned the hallway for decades, and this year’s effort is thought to be the biggest garland across the National Trust’s property portfolio.
This is despite another poor summer season, which last year almost put paid to the Christmas tradition when staff were 5,000 flowers short of their target.
Every November, the historic house opens to the public so visitors can watch staff and volunteers put the garland together.
Dave Bouch, head gardener at Cotehele, said: “With 30,000 flowers, 10,000 more than last year, visitors are guaranteed a particularly stunning display.
“We had a challenging time with poor weather and faced a real shortage of flowers, so having such a huge number of flowers is great news.”
The Western Morning News Think Local campaign is sponsored by
independent financial adviser Worldwide Financial Planning.
Artists promote work with London crusade
11-11-2009
AN “ART crusade” is how 32 Westcountry artists are branding their forthcoming trip to London to promote their work.
The artists all exhibit at the Banyan Gallery in Bideford, which opened last November.
They are taking part in the North Devon Art Crusade which will take them to London, then on to Paris and New York to show their work.
Art on show will include painting, glasswork, sculpture, figurative work and driftwood furniture.
Mike Hallam, a retired events manager and artist who owns the Banyan Gallery, is organising the exhibition with his business partner and artist Julie Bramley.
Mike explained: “These guys are all local artists and none of them have exhibited outside the North Devon area. We want to take them to new ground.
“The crusade is a unique opportunity for our cherished local artists to raise awareness and to sell their work to a larger, cosmopolitan audience for the first time outside North Devon.
“We hope it will combat social and rural isolation – North Devon is one of the highest areas of deprivation in the UK and also one of the most beautiful.”
The crusade’s striking name and logo is designed to represent the strength and quality of the work produced by local artists in the area, said Julie.
“I’ll be presenting a brand new collection of art to our arts crusade, which combines my background as a colour, crystal and reiki therapist with the very traditional and stylised Celtic swirl theme,” she said.
First stop for the artists will be La Galleria on Pall Mall in London.
Mike and Julie will then be negotiating further exhibitions abroad.
Artist Anne Beer paints Exmoor and marine subjects, and will be submitting work for the exhibition. She believes North Devon art should get more exposure.
“There’s so much talent down here that goes unrecognised,” she said. “I have exhibited abroad before, including at an exhibition in Korea, so I am taking this in my stride. But I am cautiously excited.”
Artist Paul Bancroft, 42, from Bideford, who makes sculptures and carvings from driftwood and reclaimed materials, said the crusade is a “fantastic” opportunity to increase his profile as an artist.
“It’s a wonderful opportunity to increase our profiles as artists and get more exposure for our work. We’re very excited about it,” he said.
Abstract artist Rose Berry, 53, who has arthritis, moved to Devon a year ago.
Painting is both pleasure and therapy for Rose and she is thrilled to have the chance to exhibit her work in London and further afield.
She said: “I am so excited about this project – it’s such a unique opportunity and Mike and the Banyan Gallery have been so supportive. It’s a dream come true for me to showcase my art and show everyone that Devon isn’t just a holiday place.
“We’re not just about tractors down here – we have so much artistic talent!
“If we end up displaying our art in Paris or New York – wow, I’m there!”
Simon Reynolds, 45, a contemporary figurative artist, agreed. “It’s very exciting to have someone pushing local talent to the forefront,” he said.
“It’s just what the area needs and I’m ready to be involved in this project all the way along. I’ll certainly be going to Paris and New York if I can afford it.”
Mike said it has always been a part of the gallery’s mission to promote local art, both in the Westcountry and further afield.
“The aim and ethics of The Banyan Gallery is to assist local artists in exhibiting and selling their work,” he said.
“We offer artists motivation, mentoring and support, immediately and in the long-term.
“We’re enthusiastically breaking new ground and trying to build stepping stones to a positive future for all artists.”
The Western Morning News Think Local campaign is sponsored by
independent financial adviser Worldwide Financial Planning.
Pipers Farm chosen for tell-all TV meat food show
19-10-2009
A DEVON farm is to feature in the new series of a BBC television programme that follows the journey of animals from the pasture to the plate.
Pipers Farm, in Cullompton, will form the backdrop for the six-part series of Kill It, Cook It, Eat It. Julia Bradbury will present the series, which is due to be screened in the New Year on BBC Three.
It will follow the whole process of meat production at the farm and aims to educate viewers about the process, both at a small scale business such as Pipers and at larger, industrialised operations.
Peter Greig has run Pipers Farm with his wife Henrietta for nearly 20 years. The couple sell their meat at their butcher’s shop on Magdalen Road in Exeter and also online nationwide.
They farm 50 acres and support a network of 30 small local farms in Devon and Somerset, which carry out the day-to-day rearing of their animals.
Their principle of supporting the local economy is in line with The Western Morning News’ Think Local campaign, which encourages readers to do the same.
Mrs Greig said: “We are delighted to be taking part because our hope is that the series will provide viewers with a real insight into how meat is produced on an artisan scale.
“We wanted to show the very strong and important links between small scale farms and the countryside they work in. We hope that viewers will be informed in a balanced and interesting way and that it will lead to further debate about the issues raised.”
The couple left an intensive poultry farm in Kent in the late 1980s after deciding they were not prepared to feed the chickens they were producing for an up-market food store to their two young sons.
Rejecting mass production, they looked for a way of delivering good quality, affordable food and came up with the model for their Cullompton farm.
The meat is slaughtered at a small local abattoir and hung at Pipers Farm before being butchered, vacuum packed on site for the nationwide online market, or sold in the Pipers Farm shop in Exeter.
This is not the farm’s first television appearance. Last Christmas Pipers supplied a whole lamb for Willie’s Perfect Chocolate Christmas, shown on Channel Four.
Devon chocolatier, Willie Harcourt-Cooze, hosted the programme and when it came to finding the main ingredient for his feast he only needed to look a few miles down the road to Pipers.
The Western Morning News Think Local campaign is sponsored by
independent financial adviser Worldwide Financial Planning.
Take a leaf out of Gok’s book with customising
18-09-2009
WAR-TIME curtain dresses, ripped jeans and 70s corduroys with fabric flairs – customising clothes is the oldest trick in the book. Now, fashion and feel-good guru Gok Wan is competing with leading designers by purchasing simple, good value items and adding special touches to give them a designer finish.
The TV dinner-dress era is over: having your outfits served up on a plate just doesn’t cut it. Individuality, creativity and economy bring much more satisfaction, and that’s what fashion is all about.
Key ingredients are needle, cotton and lots of imagination. Enhancing seams with unusual fabrics or ribbons, changing buttons or adding simple beaded clusters are just some ideas to create show-stopping pieces on a budget. And you don’t need a degree in dressmaking. Collect spare buttons attached to the inside of new clothes, ribbons from gifts and never throw away broken jewellery. Savour the little treasures – they will all find new homes on the clothes which need refreshing.
As the daughter of a textile artist, and granddaughter of a painter and an embroiderer, I was inevitably bound to spend many Saturday afternoons painstakingly sewing sequins in preparation for an evening out. My favourite creation was an £8 long, floaty skirt in beige cotton which I transformed into a dress by adding some beautiful mismatch buttons to fasten, and a large co-ordinating belt. Admittedly, it took a dress round my hips for me to realise it needed straps, which were soon added. A cream calico tie binding a set of tea towels made the perfect halter neck, detailed with two coin-like sequins salvaged from an unwanted necklace.
Gone are the days when we had a butcher, a baker and a handy dressmaker. So where can we find these fashion-enhancing treats on the cheap?
Set on the corner of a homely tree-lined road The Pin Tin, on Wilton Street, Plymouth, is a sweet shop for art lovers. Importantly, it reflects our time perfectly. Bright, classy and airy, it’s difficult not to let your imagination wonder among the colourful, inviting displays.
“I wanted it to be very textile based,” explains the shop’s owner Andrea Ryan, “to provide the basic materials for people to ‘do it yourself’.”
Buttons and ribbons are the bread and butter of customising, and they are available in abundance in the shop. For under £2, I purchased two over-sized decorative buttons and a few metres of quirky ribbon. It transformed a £9 beach dress into an evening statement.
My childhood ritual of wandering into the sweetshop on a Saturday may have long gone, but now I wander into the button shop with a couple of pounds in my pocket and a vision in my head. And the best bit is: no-one asks me to tidy my room first.
The Pin Tin is a one-stop shop – clothing repairs, high quality dressmaking and regular workshops are on offer as the catalyst for your own great project.
I’ve already signed up to learn to make a wire and beaded tiara: I don’t need one, nor have an occasion to wear one, but I really, really want one...
The Western Morning News Think Local campaign is sponsored by
independent financial adviser Worldwide Financial Planning.
Brewers lose none of their bottle
02-09-2009
By Nick Pryke
FORTUNATELY for all those local heroes of beer, the Campaign For Real Ale (Camra) has announced the release of a new edition of its best-selling pocket “beer bible”, the Good Bottled Beer Guide.
Now in its seventh edition, the guide is an exhaustively researched compilation on everything to do with the thriving world of the bottled beer market, completely revised and updated by internationally acclaimed beer author Jeff Evans.
With more than 1,300 different “bottle-conditioned beers” (a term used to describe beers which continue to ferment and mature in the bottle) listed in this new edition, Camra has reported that UK and international brewers have lost none of their bottle, and are in fact producing more beers than ever for drinkers to appreciate and pass judgment on in the comfort of their pub or home.
Mr Evans said: “The growth in premium bottled ales shows no sign of ending. In fact, it seems to be picking up speed. Three years ago when we published the last edition of the Good Bottled Beer Guide, there were around 800 “real ales in a bottle” on the market. For this new edition, I was staggered to discover more than 1,300.
“Many of them come from Britain’s small craft breweries, but big companies such as Fuller’s, Greene King, Marston’s, Shepherd Neame and Wells & Young’s all have real ales in a bottle too.
“The choice for the drinker in the off-trade has never been better, especially as you can find real ale in a bottle in a wide variety of outlets from giant supermarkets to farm shops.”
Indeed, when Camra was founded in 1971, there were only five bottle-conditioned beers in regular production. Since then, the total number of beers has risen steadily year by year to a point at which there are now more than 30 recognised in the South West alone.
In the latest edition of the guide, Mr Evans provides a definitive list of UK brewers currently producing bottle- conditioned beers, as well as an exclusive compilation of individual recommendations, taste-tested to ensure quality and categorised by beer style for greater usability.
Outstanding brews and recommended brewers are also highlighted in the reference book by a star and rosette system to give the reader further advice on quality bottled beer. With the aid of tasting notes, ingredients, brewery details and a beer glossary, the guide is the most comprehensive bottled beer guide to date, and a perfect point of reference for curious beer drinkers – not only does it produce all the necessary information specific to each beer, but its layout also allows for an efficient comparison between beers.
As well as an additional list of some recommended international beers available in retailers nationwide, the guide offers the reader the chance to locate their nearest beer outlet, whether it be a small retailer, specialist beer shop, or online mail order company.
Alongside the better known beers, such as Proper Job from St Austell and Sharp’s Massive Ale, the guide also lists some of the South West’s hidden gems, including Teignworthy’s Martha’s Mild – a small range of beers created to celebrate the birth of the brewers’ four children.
Mr Evans said: “Brewers seem to be as imaginative as ever. We’ve seen some truly novel creations, with unusual ingredients including brandy, rum, port, vanilla pods, chocolate, coffee, fruit, fennel, ginger, coriander, lemongrass, and black pepper. All these and more are featured in the book.”
The Western Morning News Think Local campaign is sponsored by
independent financial adviser Worldwide Financial Planning.
Locally-grown blooms help business blossom
20-08-2009
By Ryan Hooper
WHAT is in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet, as Shakespeare famously wrote.
Would that be the case, however, had said rose clocked up several hundred miles in transit to the South West from Zambia, via Holland? The answer, according one West business, is no.
BJ Richards Flowers in Cargreen, near Saltash, is one family-run company which believes local is best, and is aiming to arrest the trend of buying imported produce.
Barry Richards, the company’s managing director, said: “The British flower industry has been hit by cheap foreign imports, and many growers went out of business or decided to give up completely.
“So two years ago we decided we had to make a stand and instead of continuing to downscale and import more flowers from abroad, like other wholesalers, we decided to grow more crops and seek out other like-minded growers to supply us as we started our own ‘buy local’ campaign.”
The company, which includes Barry’s sons Darrin and Paul, and wife Karen, has a thriving wholesale business, as well as a nursery and gardens. Sales manager Paul represents the latest generation of the Richards family to work for the business, and said the Western Morning News’ Think Local campaign has helped the business grow.
He said: “The Think Local campaign has helped, and you can see more people and businesses making the effort to consider that.
“Many people are losing jobs, so the more people who are employed locally, in Westcountry businesses, the better.
“When we go out on the road, we see people putting money in foreign pockets – the Dutch flower companies, for example, rather than the English companies.
“The flowers we grow are of great quality and are more competitive, and many more members of the public are going into the shop and asking for local flowers.”
The Western Morning News Think Local campaign is sponsored by
independent financial adviser Worldwide Financial Planning.
The company currently employs five staff in the nursery and on deliveries, and works with other growers throughout the Westcountry in fulfilling orders with around 100 regular clients every week.
Paul said imported flowers account for roughly three-quarters of all produce, but this was essential in helping the business to thrive.
He said: “We still import from outside the UK because lilies, for example, don’t really grow here – neither do the exotic flowers.
“I don’t think there will ever be a time when any flower business will be totally self-sufficient, but we have more locally-produced flowers today than ever before.”
That number currently totals 60, with Stocks proving to be a firm favourite with customers and visitors alike.
Although the company has come a long way since the family first started growing in the Tamar Valley in the mid-1800s, Barry says today’s desire for locally-produced flowers takes him back to his early career.
He said: “When I left business college in 1971, my wife and I started the nursery, originally growing chrysanthemums and carnations.
“I remember my dad working in Plymouth and there was no such thing as an ‘imported flower’ then, but times changed.
“Now customers and visitors say to us buying locally is something they think about, and that can only be good for the Westcountry.”
Do you have a Think Local story for the Western Morning News? Call the newsdesk on 01752 765538, e-mail thinklocal@westernmorningnews.co.uk
St Austell do a Proper Job
18-08-2009
ST AUSTELL Brewery is celebrating after one of its most popular ales - Proper Job IPA - scooped an award at the UK’s most prestigious real ale festival.
Proper Job was awarded a silver medal in the ‘Golden Ales’ category of the Champion Beer of Britain competition at the Great British Beer Festival, held at Earls Court in London. St Austell Brewery was only South West brewery to scoop an award at the event, which is the flagship national beer festival for the Campaign For Real Ale (CAMRA).
The success comes just days after Head Brewer Roger Ryman was named the Institute of Brewing and Distilling Brewer of the Year at the All Parliamentary Beer Group Dinner and follows the Brewery being named Regional Brewery of the Year in the Publican Awards.
Marc Bishop, St Austell Brewery Trade Marketing Manager, said: “We were up against some great beers from right across the UK so to win a silver medal is an achievement we’re really proud of.
“It continues a fantastic run of success for the Brewery and our ales and is a tribute to the hard work and dedication of our Head Brewer Roger Ryman and the entire brewing team.”
Proper Job IPA was launched in 2006 and in three years has proved hugely popular by becoming St Austell Brewery’s second-biggest selling beer after the Brewery’s flagship Tribute Ale. Roger Ryman said the inspiration for Proper Job was the India Pale Ales of the 19th Century, which were strong, robust, well-hopped beers brewed specially for shipment to the colonies, including India.
It is available on draught in selected St Austell Brewery Pubs and free houses and in bottles in local Asda and Spar stores.
St Austell Brewery’s beers have enjoying huge success with highlights in just the last 12 months including:
Sales of Tribute rising for the eighth successive year and Tribute’s making it into the coveted top 10 of the UK’s premium cask ales based on sales volumes in Britain’s pubs
A national deal with Waitrose for Tribute to be sold in selected larger stores across the country - existing national listings for Tribute with Asda and Sainsbury as well as being sold across the South West in Tesco, Co-op, Spar and Thresher stores
Admiral’s Ale being voted the best packaged beer in the world at the International Beer Challenge
Admiral’s Ale securing a national listing with Sainsbury’s, in addition to existing regional listings with Asda and Waitrose.
St Austell Brewery was selected by Marks and Spencer to brew a new beer – Cornish IPA - to be sold in its stores and the ale has gone on to become the bestselling of its new range of regional beers.
The Western Morning News Think Local campaign is sponsored by
independent financial adviser Worldwide Financial Planning.
Drink in pure goodness of cider brandy
23-06-2009
By Elsie King
THE Somerset Cider Brandy Company at Puss Vale Farm, Kingsbury Episcopi, near Martock, has gained a nationwide reputation for its award-winning cider and cider brandies, with products being sold in Fortnum and Mason and Waitrose.
However, the farm is most proud of its status as a Somerset business. Despite the fame and approval from nationally respected names the farm, which employs 12 local people, has remained fiercely loyal to the area where the various tipples are also hugely popular.
Local famous foodies such as Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and Michael Caine have given the thumbs up to the distillery’s wares with Mr Fearnley-Whittingstall regularly using the cider in recipes for his television programmes and stocking varieties of cider at his farm shop in Axminster, East Devon.
Julian Temperley, who has run the farm and distillery with his wife Diana for more than 30 years, firmly believes in the importance of staying faithful to the company’s Westcountry roots.
“Our location and custom from local people is at the core of what we do,” he said.
He also believes buying locally is the future, as people consider what they buy more carefully during the recession.
“There’s been a huge increase in the interest that local produce receives in recent years,” he said. “People visit the Westcounty and they want to try what we have on offer.
“Consumers are starting to reject mass produced items in favour of supporting smaller, higher quality businesses. And the message is starting to get through to the bigger companies and supermarkets as well-people want local produce simply because it is the best, and great value for money.”
The key to the success of what they produce is all down to the distillery’s Somerset location according to Tim Edwards, master distiller at the site. “We are in the best area to grow vintage cider apples in the UK because it’s on the west side of the country, and the soil and weather conditions are perfect for growing the best-tasting apples,” he explained.
The distillery’s produce, which also includes cider vinegar and cox, bramley and russet apple juices, is clearly a firm favourite in Somerset where shops in the surrounding area keep up a constant supply for thirsty locals.
The cider brandy is stocked by various establishments in the county such as the County Stores in Taunton, Martins of Castle Cary, Loders of Crewkerne, the Wellington Wine and Cheese Shop and Frome farmers’ market. It can also be found at other Westcountry cider farms including Green Valley Cider at Dart’s Farm and Lyme Bay Cider near Seaton, both in East Devon.
“Quality is very important to people in the Westcountry and many local shops want to stock our products as part of the area’s on-going commitment to excellent produce and supporting local ventures,” said Mr Edwards.
This commitment to high quality and to Somerset means the distillery only uses vintage cider apples grown in the farm’s orchards, which is contributing towards keeping local apple varieties such as Dabinetts, Porter Perfection, Yarlington Mill, Chisel Jersey, Somerset Red Streak and Harry Masters alive.
The distillery is also dismissive of chemical concoctions or using anything unnatural to make their drinks, arguing that such intervention is unnecessary.
“Cider apples ferment naturally in the right conditions, and we don’t use anything other than what the apple gives us already,” continued Mr Edwards. “Everything that we use is 100 per cent natural.”
The distillery’s enthusiasm for thinking local and staying natural has been roundly approved by the cider championships of Devon, Somerset and Herefordshire over the years, and its Burrow Hill cider was awarded the top prize by all three competitions, known as “the triple crown”, in 1984.
The distillery is open to visitors from Monday to Saturday and offers the chance to sample the cider brandies, such as the Somerset Ten Year Old – described as having “a sweet, Christmas pudding richness” by Mr Edwards – or the 15-year-old Somerset Alchemy – “mellow, smooth and golden” – with the opportunity to make a purchase in the farm shop.
Visitors can also take a wander round the orchards, and admire the oak vats, barrels and presses that have been used during 150 years of cider-making.
The Western Morning News, in association with Worldwide Financial Planning, continues to encourage readers to Think Local to boost the Westcountry’s economy during the recession.
The message is simple – if we all make an effort to buy locally and support local businesses, the region stands a much better chance of riding out the economic downturn.
Local retailers and businesses such as The Somerset Distillery offer great produce, better product knowledge and are often better value for money – plus they are far more interesting than your nearest supermarket.
For information about the Somerset Distillery, visit www.ciderbrandy.co.uk or call 01460 240782. To get involved in our campaign e-mail us at thinklocal@westernmorningnews.co.uk.
The Western Morning News Think Local campaign is sponsored by
independent financial adviser Worldwide Financial Planning.
Our sweet treats are cream of the crop
19-06-2009
TO a cow, munching on the luscious grass which carpets the Westcountry’s green landscapes is the best culinary delight. Which is lucky for us humans, as it is the nutritious and plentiful pasture which provides them with the raw material to make some of our most beloved sweet treats – clotted cream and ice cream.
From the traditional cream tea topping to weird and wonderfully flavoured frozen snacks, luxurious dairy products are now synonymous with Devon and Cornwall. Some would argue the two counties produce the best in the world, thanks to the rich quality of the milk and generations of experience.
It is one of the purest examples of the ethos of sourcing locally, with many farms using cows grazing their own land, and selling widely to the local community.
It is therefore a perfect subject to highlight as part of the Western Morning News’ Think Local campaign, sponsored by
independent financial adviser Worldwide Financial Planning.
The drive encourages readers to support the vast range of goods and services available on their doorstep.
But now, the whole nation is discovering the joys of tucking into native Westcountry brands such as Kelly’s ice cream, which is now stocked in supermarkets across the country.
And as far away as Hong Kong, consumers are tucking into frozen desserts produced on Exmoor, after international suppliers snapped up the sheep and cows milk products made by Styles.
Founder David Baker, who began making ice cream 21 years ago, said sales of his Skinny Ewe range, produced from sheep milk, had soared. “Business is absolutely roaring,” he said. “I think the key is producing a really good quality product, and really caring about what you do and how you do it.”
At Cornwall cream company Rodda’s, the family has had five generations to perfect the secret technique of making the perfectly textured cream with the satisfyingly golden crust.
The business, started by Fanny Rodda in 1890, now employs 100 people. With Nicholas Rodda at the helm, the company can get through milk from 7,000 cows in the surrounding area in a single day.
Company spokesman Belinda Shipp said quality control was crucial to maintain the standards expected of a product with a Protected Designation of Origin status.
Like champagne, it means clotted cream can only be made in Cornwall.
She said: “We have the perfect recipe here, with the climate, the pastures and the rich, creamy milk, from Cornish cows.”
At Langage Farm, at Smithaleigh near Plymouth, staff are celebrating after being named best dairy producer at the Devon County Show for the third year in a row.
The farm was mentioned in the Domesday Book, and commercial manager Richard Scutt believes it is years of farming tradition which helps get the best out of the Jersey and Guernsey cows.
He highlighted the links between food and drink and tourism, which is perhaps most evident when it comes to ice cream.
“I’m not from Devon originally, but we used to come here on holiday every year, partly because of the quality of the climate and environment, but also the food and drink,” he said.
Despite the success of long-standing makers, the appetite for Westcountry ice cream is such that new businesses can still blossom.
Piers Langdon started Clovelly ice cream using milk from his North Devon farm in 2006, and now supplies nearly 75 outlets in North Devon.
The business is expanding, and daughter Hannah has recently bought a traditional ice cream bike to launch a pitch at Exeter Cathedral.
She said: “The Think Local campaign is brilliant, because it supports local and regional producers, and gives them the power to speak about what they do.
“There’s such a lot of amazing produce that comes from the Westcountry, and we should be shouting about it at every opportunity.”
Think Local - think beer names!
30-04-2009
A HOTEL has joined forces with a brewery to launch a new beer – and a competition to find a name and logo for it.
The Falmouth Beach Resort Hotel is calling on beer-lovers to put their thinking caps on for the new drink from Truro-based Skinners Brewery.
All Skinners’ products are based on Cornish folklore figures, or have been specially produced to celebrate a Cornish event, person, place or organisation.
The Falmouth Beach is hoping entries will reflect the hotel’s history and its special seafront location.
Hotel bar manager Travis Manning said: “We get a lot of interest in Cornish ales from our guests and we have also been very impressed by the CAMRA LocAle initiative promoting pubs stocking locally brewed real ale.
“We buy locally wherever possible and felt this would be one more great way of supporting Cornish producers.
“There is clearly a growing consumer demand for quality local produce and an increased awareness of ‘green’ issues.”
The competition-winner will receive a polypin barrel containing 20 pints of the thirst-quencher.
Entry forms are available online at www.bw-falmouthbeachhotel. co.uk or by post from Travis Manning, Falmouth Beach Resort Hotel, Seafront, Gyllyngvase Beach, Falmouth, TR11 4NA, and Skinners Brewery, Riverside, Truro, TR1 2DP. The closing date is Friday, May 8. All applicants must be over 18 and pay an entry fee of £1.50, with £1 going to Cornwall Hospice Care.
The Western Morning News Think Local campaign is sponsored by
independent financial adviser Worldwide Financial Planning.
Jewellery artists show seam of sparkling creativity
30-04-2009
WHEN customers walk away from Vanessa Page’s small jewellery workshop, they take with them a miniature portable piece of artwork.
For the glittering, beautiful jewellery she and so many others like her diligently create are unique objects.
There may be several similar heart-shaped rings or turquoise necklaces on the glass shelves of studios all over the region, but each one is by definition subtly different.
It is this chance to own a bespoke rather than an off-the-rack item which draws people to jewellery makers around the Westcountry.
“It is having a little piece of unique artwork,” said Vanessa, who works from her base at Fire Engine Shed, Foundry Farm, Hayle.
“People who come straight to jewellers want something that is unique, that nobody else is wearing.
“They can choose what they want and perhaps have it adjusted or changed to suit themselves.
“By coming straight to a jeweller, they are getting control, they can have something added to it or something taken off it so it is just perfect.”
After eight years in the business, Vanessa, 36, has seen the jewellery sector in Cornwall thrive and diversify.
On one hand there are people creating top end pieces of gold and platinum sprinkled with ultra-precious stones. Meanwhile, at the other end, talented amateurs are styling funky silver earrings or bracelets in the spare bedroom and selling to friends or from boards at seaside resorts.
Although prices might sometimes be steeper than the big name high street jewellers, there’s no doubt you get what you pay for.
“A ring from a high street jewellers might look the same but it will often be half the weight,” said Vanessa.
Victoria Sewart, who runs a self- named gallery on Plymouth’s Barbican selling her own work and that of some of the Westcountry’s finest jewellers, is more blunt on the subject.
“You can get some tack on the high street for a cheaper price, but it just won’t be as good,” she said.
“I get a huge amount of comments about piece of jewellery I have.
“People think contemporary jewellery is expensive, but it really isn’t.
“I have pieces in the gallery made with everything from plastic to precious metals and the price range is huge, from £12 to my most expensive piece, which is over £1,000.”
Victoria, 40, who also runs classes, says her gallery is proof that the Westcountry is home to a fabulous range of talented jewellery artists.
“There is a richness in the creativity,” she said. “I have jewellers making sustainable creations and others recycling vintage jewellery by resetting it and modernising it.
“I think when people come into an independent jeweller they are getting something unique and individual.
“They are also getting personal and expert services, all of the people that work here are jewellers or know about jewellery, so they can help out.”
Tim Jones, chairman of the Devon and Cornwall Business Council, said the importance of the creative sector, including art and design, stretched well beyond making pretty things – it is responsible for helping plug the brain drain and creating a raft of female entrepreneurs.
“It’s an area where creative young people who like the lifestyle of Devon and Cornwall find they can work and it supplements their lifestyle,” he said.
“Because it’s successful at combining lifestyle and business, it is one of those areas which has stopped the drift of talented young people becoming qualified and then leaving the region.
“The creative sector in general is one of the biggest areas where the trend of young people moving out of the region has been reversed.
“There have been a lot of small business created by very talented people. It’s an area where women have become very successful and has helped create a lot of female entrepreneurs.”
To see more of Vanessa Page’s creations visit www.vanessapage.com To see more of Victoria Sewart’s gallery, or find out about classes she is holding, visit www.victoriasewart.co.uk.
The Western Morning News Think Local campaign is sponsored by
independent financial adviser Worldwide Financial Planning.
Think Local: Brewery pays tribute to community strength
10-04-2009
THE very roots of St Austell Brewery run deep into the Cornish earth. Created in 1851 by a young Cornishman Walter Hicks, the fiercely independent firm has stayed in private hands ever since.
Over the years, a seamless succession of Hicks’ descendents has kept the firm on course as shareholders, employees and directors. As a result, the brewery has a strong commitment to the community and to buying local produce to use in its impressive stable of 169 pubs and hotels scattered throughout Cornwall and Devon.
Company bosses are backing the WMN call to “Think Local” - a campaign which is sponsored by
independent financial adviser Worldwide Financial Planning.
James Staughton, managing director, said “It’s vital we all back the WMN’s Think Local campaign for two main reasons: buying local produce is essential for the environment to reduce road miles bringing produce into the county and for supporting jobs in the county.”
With more than 1,000 workers and an annual turnover of more than £90 million, it comes as no surprise that St Austell Brewery is one of Cornwall’s biggest employers.
It is doubtless the firm’s longstanding ties to the community and independence that have proved the bedrock of its continued success.
Mr Staughton said: “The current economic climate is extremely worrying for all of us in business.
“As a company, we are very lucky that we are working from a strong base – we can take some sort of comfort from that.
“But it’s our tenants and suppliers who might not enjoy that stability and who might be more vulnerable to the economic downturn. They might not weather the storm so easily.”
Mr Staughton said he believed everyone could do “their bit” for the community by thinking carefully about where they choose to spend their pounds.
He said: “The way to help keep everyone going is to split the weekly shop. If you can buy your fruit and vegetables directly from local producers and items such as bin bags from the supermarkets, then that’s the way to.”
Company depots are at Redruth, Bude and Newquay in Cornwall, St Mary’s on the Isles of Scilly and at Cullompton, Ilfracombe and Heathfield in Devon.
While most of the pubs are in Cornwall, 17 are in Devon, with plans to expand throughout the South West.
Mr Staughton, said: “What’s exciting for us is that, although our heartland is Cornwall, in Devon we can support local producers by buying ingredients for our pubs from them.”
One of the firm’s suppliers is the Cornish Cyder Farm at Penhallow, near Truro.
In the summer, the brewery signed a five-year deal with the farm to sell its popular Cornish Rattler Cyder in many of its pubs. The deal will see around two million pints of the cloudy brew sold a year through St Austell Brewery.
The farm has been going for 22 years and employs 35 staff all year, rising to 88 during the summer months.
As well as supplying the brewery, the farm has a long list of customers, including the Eden Project, cash-and-carries, small independent shops and supermarkets including Tesco, Asda and Morrison’s as well as running tours around the premises.
Farm owner David Healey, said: “It’s vital that the public think carefully about where to spend their money because jobs and therefore families in Cornwall depend on it.
“If you support good Cornish products, it means the county has something which gives it a sense of identity and originality.
“Buying local means money is pumped straight back into the local economy.
“It’s extremely important that during these tough economic times, the people of Cornwall support the homegrown businesses that add to the county’s richness.”
John Sheaves, chief executive of Taste of the West, which is working with the WMN on the campaign, said that pubs made an invaluable contribution to rural life.
He said: “It is incredibly important to support local breweries like St Austell and suppliers like the Cornish Cyder Farm.
“We in the Westcounty make extremely good beers and ciders – they are quality products that hold their own in the market.
“There are three basic rules to creating a solid infrastructure – the economy, environment and social needs.
“This last rule gets very little consideration compared to the other two, but going down the local pub to drink locally produced food and drink makes a strong connection with the place you live in.
“On average, we are seeing five pubs a week in the UK closing down.
“It’s tragic because an important link with the local community is lost and something we should do our best to fight in Devon and Cornwall.”
Think Local: Brewer gets in touch with feminine side
07-04-2009
By Roger Ryman, head brewer at St Austell Brewery
BREWERIES, pubs and their customers are coming together for National Cask Ale Week, which is being billed as the UK’s biggest ever cask ale festival.
For those of us who can remember the time when it looked like cask ale drinkers were at risk of becoming an endangered species – or at the very least pub curiosities – it is indeed heartening to see real ale very much back on the agenda.
Nationally more than 6,000 pubs will be taking part, including all of St Austell Brewery’s 169-strong estate, with the aim being to celebrate and raise the profile of what is a natural, hand- crafted product – and to remind the great British public why cask ale is the UK’s national drink.
Of course, the irony is that in these days of huge conglomerates, brewing giants and global super-brands it is regional breweries which are the driving force behind this quiet revolution.
The big boys have all but turned their backs on cask ale, leaving a niche but sizeable and growing market for brewers such as St Austell Brewery and other independents that can offer a high quality, natural product both to seasoned real ale drinkers and as an antidote to those growing tired of lager and alcopops.
We’re supporting Cask Ale Week, which runs from April 6, to raise the profile of real ales generally, but as regular readers of this column will know, one of my passions is a desire to break down the barriers and stereotyping that have for generations prevented more women from enjoying cask ales.
I couldn’t pass up on the opportunity! So on April 6 at the Rashleigh Arms in Charlestown, near St Austell, St Austell Brewery is running a special ladies night when I will be the solitary male in a bar full of women preaching the gospel of cask ale with the aid of a selection of beers.
I will have some moral and practical support, however, in the form of the Brewery’s wine buyer Xenia Irwin who will explain the finer points of cask ale from the viewpoint of a wine lover’s palate and her vast experience in tasting as a Master of Wine, and our special guest Annabel Smith who, as national account manager for beer quality watchdog Cask Marque, is one of the UK’s leading experts and female fans of cask ale.
So what exactly will we be saying?
Well, I think the first point is that the cask ale category covers a myriad of flavours, aromas and appearances that is easily as diverse as wines. There is no such thing as a typical beer and as such there will be a cask ale to suit nearly every palate and occasion.
My view, and one I’m sure shared by women who already drink ale, is that the majority of women are missing out on what is a traditional, wholesome, often locally made drink without the E numbers or other additives seen in many mass-produced brands and with an alcohol (and calorie) content significantly less than most wines and the aforementioned sugary alcopops.
Of course hops are the vital element for real ales and – like the familiar varieties of grapes and countries where they are grown for wines – they provide for a huge variety in taste and are what make ales so distinctive.
As one looks to acclimatise the palate there are beers to try which are more lightly hopped or infused with other flavours, making them an easier way in to the uninitiated – for example St Austell’s own light and spicy Clouded Yellow wheat beer, or the great Belgian white beer Hoegaarden, which is widely available, or Fullers Honey Dew which is sweet and refreshing. One of the favourites from my own special brews among both men and women at the annual Celtic Beer Festival is Liquid Sunshine which is light, fresh and zesty and lightly hopped with a low bitterness – and I’m brewing a one-off cask of this to try out on the women at the Rashleigh.
Wheat beers are always a good way in but why not go to the other end of the spectrum and try one of the darker, chocolaty ales such as Young’s Chocolate Stout or St Austell’s Black Prince, with its espresso, dark mahogany and rich chocolate flavours.
And just to make the point about variety, there is Hall and Woodhouse’s Badger’s Golden Champion, brewed with elderflowers and best served chilled like a good rosé.
That brings me on to another issue – the volumes in which beers are usually consumed and the understandable feeling of intimidation that the female drinker can feel when presented with a foaming pint of ale at the bar.
But that’s not the way it has to be. Real ale is available in bottles or try serving a light, fruity beer such as Tribute in wine goblets as an alternative to wine with a meal.
All the above tips are of course as equally applicable to men as to women looking to find out more about cask ales and I’d encourage people to follow the Western Morning News campaign to Think Local, support their local pub during Cask Ale Week, and beyond, and to use this national celebration of beer as an opportunity to broaden their drinking horizons.
When you look at modern trends and the emphasis that people are putting on the food they eat – that it should be wholesome, flavoursome, without additives and, where possible, sourced locally – then that’s a description that can be equally applied to cask ales… and that’s the gospel that I’ll be preaching during Cask Ale Week. Cheers!
The Western Morning News Think Local campaign is sponsored by
independent financial adviser Worldwide Financial Planning.
Think Local: Learning the bare bones of meat cuts
07-04-2009
By Alice Wright
WE IN the West are blessed with some of the best meat in the country, according to Alan Carder. And the master butcher is committed to encouraging the local catering industry to go back to basics and start appreciating just what they can do with the produce on their doorsteps.
To that end, he recently teamed up with the catering academy at City College Plymouth to offer a butchery culinary art seminar to students and anyone else interested in learning about different cuts of meat.
The problem nowadays, he said, is that many young chefs are used to vacuum packs of meat and would not know what to do when presented with a whole animal.
“I certainly think there’s a need for chefs and caterers to understand where their produce comes from,” he continued. “Chefs shouldn’t need a label on it.”
At the seminar in Plymouth, he took along a whole lamb, pig, chicken and fish, as well as cuts of beef, and demonstrated how to get the most out of them.
“As we’re in a recession, everyone’s looking to save on profit margins. With meat, the only way to achieve this is to use cheaper cuts and to know how to cook them.”
For example, he said, a shoulder of pork is a “wonderful piece of meat” and several restaurants in Plymouth, including the highly regarded Tanners restaurant, have added it to their menus this year.
“It’s a very good piece of meat if it’s cooked properly and it’s a fraction of the cost,” said Mr Carder.
Having trained at Smithfields, he then devoted himself to the Devon-based family business, J Carder and Son Ltd, which has been supplying Devon and Cornwall with fresh, quality meat products for more than 50 years.
He said he encourages his customers to buy whole pieces of meat from him where possible because there were “massive savings” to be made this way and the aim of the seminar was to help students do the same.
“If you buy a whole piece of meat, every single piece can be used,” he said.
And sourcing local meat rather than buying in pre-packaged cuts was a “win-win” move for caterers, he said, because they save money and end up with a better product.
He said: “They won’t like to hear it in Scotland, but I don’t think our beef can be beaten. We’ve also got wonderful pasture for growing lamb and must have some of the best lamb in the country, as well as very, very good pig producers.
“Here in Plymouth we’ve got everything around us. You couldn’t ask for more.”
This emphasis on using Westcountry produce ties in with the WMN’s Think Local campaign, which encourages people to buy local and support the region’s economy.
The campaign is sponsored by
independent financial adviser Worldwide Financial Planning.
Teresa Gardner, head of the Academy of Hospitality, Catering and Tourism Studies at the college, said the day had been a “huge success”. The academy has held similar seminars in fish and game, she said, but this was the first one to focus on butchery. “It’s all about helping people to choose local produce and keeping food miles down,” she said.
With so much meat now coming ready prepared in portions, she said, the seminar gave students a real understanding of which part of the animal each cut comes from.
The series of seminars have been so well received that the college plans to run it again.
For more information about courses at the college, visit www.cityply.ac.uk
In the market for a challenge
24-03-2009
A TOP chef was on hand to give shoppers inspiration at a Westcountry farmers’ market.
Chris Archambault, head chef at Exeter’s Hotel Barcelona, was at Cullompton farmers’ market cooking up some dishes using food from the local producers.
He said: “I just show up, completely unprepared and have a look around, see what’s there and put some bits and pieces together. I think it gives a much more authentic experience and it’s a bit of a challenge for me.”
Among the dishes he rustled up on Saturday was a “farmers’ market Florentine”, using sourdough bread from Bread of Devon, fresh kale from Maddocks Farm Organics, in place of spinach, free range eggs and an onion and cream puree.
Mr Archambault said the idea was to give customers a taste of the kind of meals they could create themselves using the local produce on offer at the market.
He added that the market had been very well attended, with the sunny weather adding to its appeal.
The chef first demonstrated his culinary skills at the market when the Duke and Duchess of Cullompton visited last September. He was so popular with both the royals and the public that the organisers asked him to return.
Following another successful demonstration this weekend, he said there was a good chance he would be back to cook up more recipes in the near future.
The Western Morning News Think Local campaign is sponsored by
independent financial adviser Worldwide Financial Planning.
Springtime brings feast of finest fresh produce
24-03-2009
THIS weekend marks the spring equinox, a time to start looking forward to spring and summer. As the weather changes, the food on our plates changes, too. The Westcountry has the advantage of a generally mild, maritime climate, which means that locally-grown seasonal vegetables like asparagus, strawberries and the first Cornish new potatoes are available that much sooner than elsewhere in England.
Over the last couple of years there has been a quiet revolution in the hotel and catering sector. Buying local and seasonal is no longer just a farm shop and farmers’ market opportunity for keen consumers; chefs, restaurants and hoteliers also want to buy fruit and vegetables with a known provenance, that are both local and seasonal.
They recognise that the benefits include fresher, tastier produce, fewer food miles, and produce that they can shout about on their menus, at the same time as supporting the local economy. But until recently, many in the food service sector did not know what was in season at any particular time, or where to buy it.
Westcountry suppliers have recognised this, and introduced systems to meet that need.
“It is a win-win situation,” says Sean Williams, managing director of Westcountry Fruit Sales, one of the region’s largest fruit and vegetable wholesalers, explaining how his company has embraced the Think Local philosophy.
“There has been a dislocation between the people growing the produce and reaching their customers. We can give them access to these customers and the retail market, so that we can all gain a lot more.”
Last year his company introduced a new dedicated locally-produced range on its website, giving its customers information about what is available and when. The company has a network of local growers and other food producers selling it Cornish food ranging from red kale and rocket to chutneys and cheeses.
“Since we launched the website more people have been asking about provenance, quality and the availability of local produce – it’s really got momentum,” says Mr Williams.
Westcountry Fruit Sales is not alone. Last year Growfair was set up by Bristol Fruit Sales, based in Bodmin and Paignton. The company’s mission is to promote the best of local produce across the region and beyond, with the sub-brand “Pride of Cornwall” –“Pride of Devon” will be appearing later this year – making these vegetables easy to identify.
Again the catering trade makes up a large proportion of the company’s sales, but the Growfair brand can also be seen in independent retailers such as greengrocers and Spar shops.
“From the farmers’ perspective they are financially better off supplying us instead of the supermarkets,” says Mark Oughtred, Growfair brand development manager. “It’s better for the chefs and consumers because the vegetables haven’t gone hundreds of miles out of the county and back again. Ours are picked one day and delivered the next.”
These innovative selling schemes may have been a long time coming, but they are spreading fast. Frank H Mann in Torquay recently launched its version, the Local Produce First Group.
“The increasing influence of the supermarkets and the daily arrival of produce from Europe have combined to rob our local growers of their traditional market, which they need in order to invest in growing crops,” says company chairman Roger Mann. “We are aiming to redress the balance.”
Riverford Organic Vegetables, on the other hand, has been practising what it preaches, selling seasonal locally-grown vegetables to thousands of local customers for more than 20 years.
In the next few weeks, customers buying a Riverford vegetable box can expect to find rhubarb, leeks, cauliflowers and spring greens.
Much of the produce either comes from Riverford Farm –across the year it grows more than 100 different types of vegetables, salad leaves, fruit and herbs – or from the South Devon Organic Producers Co-operative.
There are 12 co-op members supplying Riverford, all small or medium-sized family farms within a few miles of Riverford’s base near Buckfastleigh in South Devon. Between them they grow around 40 per cent of the business’s requirements.
It is a real example of how a co-operative should work, creating jobs and keeping money recirculating within the local economy by supporting these farms instead of buying in from elsewhere, helping these farms to survive by adding another income stream to their existing business.
Although much will depend on the weather during the next few weeks, if it stays fine and warm you can expect to find the following genuinely seasonal products somewhere near you within the next month: Cornish Early new potatoes, asparagus, and the first English strawberries – all to be enjoyed at their prime, which is what makes seasonal fruit and vegetables so special; the fact that they are only around for a limited period each year.
Already available are wild foods we can forage for, such as wild garlic (also known as ransoms), the three-cornered leek, wood sorrel, pennywort and edible flowers like primroses.
Farm shops and farmers’ markets are good places to find the first of the new season vegetables, although until the spring and summer growing seasons get going these are often only offered in small quantities. These and independent greengrocers should be stocking purple sprouting broccoli, spring greens and early salad leaves.
Look out too for rhubarb, spinach, bunched carrots, cabbages and cauliflowers.
For more Think Local news, features and recipes visit our community website on www. wmnthinklocal.co.uk, and e-mail us at thinklocal@westernmorningnews.co.uk to let us know how you are supporting the region’s economy by thinking local.
Diners choose how much they will pay
19-02-2009
A RESTAURANT which made its name by serving fresh, local seafood is putting its reputation to the test – by letting customers choose how much they pay for their meals.
The Oyster Shack, in Bigbury and Salcombe, is running the credit crunch-inspired deal until March 6 – and so far, the restaurant is reporting that takings have increased.
Gemma Poppy, human resources manager for the seafood restaurant, said the initiative began on February 6 and it was already attracting many more people to the South Devon Oyster Shacks in what would otherwise be quiet months.
While other restaurants were offering vouchers and two-for-one deals to get budget-conscious customers through the door, Ms Poppy said the Oyster Shack wanted to do something a little different.
And it seemed to be working, she said. “We’ve certainly had a lot of people who haven’t come here before. People are a little bit surprised because they haven’t seen anything like it before and we have seen an increase in trade so far.”
Although people tended to pay a little less than the restaurant would normally charge for a meal, she said the difference was not significant.
“The danger was always that people would pay less than half but we have found that, other than one or two, people’s prices are hovering around our normal prices,” she said.
Customers are able to choose a starter, main course and pudding from the regular menu.
At the end of the meal, they fill in a simple form indicating how much they are willing to pay.
Ms Poppy said there was no catch to the deal, although drinks and “premium” items such as lobster and crab were not included.
The deal is available seven days a week for lunch and dinner.
Although customers could in theory pay as little as a penny for their meal, Ms Poppy said that so far, no-one had and it was interesting to gauge how much people expected to pay for a meal.
She added that she had heard of a similar scheme at a restaurant in London but she believed the Oyster Shack’s deal was unique in the Westcountry. She thought that others might follow their lead if they saw it was a success.
As takings at the restaurant seem to increase, she said the scheme could be repeated.
“We don’t need to do it in the summer months because we’re normally fully booked.
“But for the winter when it’s quiet and people are feeling the pinch, if it’s successful, we will do it again.”
The Western Morning News Think Local campaign is sponsored by
independent financial adviser Worldwide Financial Planning.
The sweet scent of success
05-02-2009
FROM a few hand-made soaps on a market stall to a thriving enterprise, one Devon woman is proving a personal touch and emphasis on “localness” can build a successful business.
Jenny Elesmore, who sells her soaps at Odds and Suds in Tavistock and Ashburton, has just taken over Randell Cox florist in Tavistock.
With business going well at her two soap shops, she said she decided to take on the florist’s shop when it came up for sale because she did not want it to close down or lose the qualities which made it so special. The shop is to be renamed Odds and Buds.
Ms Elesmore, who originally trained as a chef, began making soaps about 10 years ago and selling them from a stall at the Pannier Market in Tavistock.
She said: “I gave up being a chef when I had children, and painted furniture at Duchy College. Then I was really looking for a direction with what I could make.
“I’ve always loved cosmetics and natural things so I taught myself to make soaps. I started off with a little market stall and then grew.”
About six and a half years ago she opened her first shop in Tavistock, followed by a second shop in Ashburton early last year. And now she is branching out into floristry.
She said: “The florist’s is a completely different ball-game but I didn’t want it to close. I’m keeping the two existing florists on and hopefully at the end of the year we’ll break even.”
Priding herself on providing something “a little bit special” in her existing soap shops, Ms Elesmore was concerned the florist’s would change for the worse if it fell into the wrong hands.
Her support for local shops is in line with the Western Morning News’ Think Local campaign, which encourages people to back local businesses.
The campaign is sponsored by
independent financial adviser Worldwide Financial Planning.
She said: “Supermarkets have changed the way people buy flowers but florist’s like this provide something quite different and more exciting.”
It is this attention to detail which she believes has made her soap shops such a success. She makes all the soaps herself, with a base of olive, sunflower or coconut oil, then adding natural oils, herbs and spices such as patchouli and bergamot; lemongrass, honey and oatflakes, and lavender and olive oil.
Each one is unique and the different combinations have different qualities. For instance, Ms Elesmore said the lemongrass, honey and oatflakes soap was good for dry skin, while the lavender was relaxing.
As well as offering natural soaps using the best ingredients, the shops also concentrate on providing beautiful packaging and excellent customer service.
However, as popular as the shops are, Ms Elesmore said she had no plans to open any more.
She said: “I like to sleep! You can spread yourself too thin and lose your personal touch. I like to be in the shop and I think my customers like to see me there too.”
Pasties, by Lindsey Bareham
26-01-2009
IF THERE’S one dish that causes more rumpus than any other among the residents of Cornwall and Devon it’s the humble pasty. So some may think it’s a brave move for anyone to attempt to prepare a definitive book on the preparation of the age-old pastry parcels.
But the newly published Pasties, by respected cookery writer Lindsey Bareham, makes no claim to offer the best pasty recipe in the world. What it does do, is collect together a wide variety of her personal favourites, as well as options from a range of professional chefs and some twists on the old classic from good old-fashioned home cooks. In essence it is a handy little volume – with delightful illustrations by Falmouth artist Rebecca Cobb and mouthwatering photos by Annie Hanson – that’s bursting with inspiration but can also satisfy the stickler for tradition.
It also shares some facts and folklore about the pasty, some great tips for pastry-making and some excellent shortcuts for time-starved cheats.
Some might object that Lindsey is not a native of these parts. While she is only in Cornwall a few times a year when visiting her family’s holiday home in Mousehole, she does have strong family connections with the county and has been eating and enjoying pasties for as long as she can remember.
“For a piece of food with so few ingredients it is amazing how controversial it is. But you don’t have to be Cornish to love eating pasties and you don’t have to be Cornish to make them,” confirms Lindsey.
Most of us with a Westcountry background will say our mother’s homemade pasties are the best and Lindsey is no exception.
“Half my family were in Cornwall and, although we lived in Kent, my mum always cooked pasties for picnics when we went to the sea for the day. She used to make these great big ones and cut slices from them, which I thought was something peculiar to our family, but I now know other people do that too,” she says.
Later, Lindsey married a man who was brought up in Cornwall and pasties became further ingrained in her recipe repertoire. Perhaps because of her broader background, she doesn’t agree with the theory that pasties should always be made with the traditional beef, onion and potato. In her eyes almost any filling is worth experimenting with and the most successful of her experiments are shared in the new book.
“They can be such a delicious and inexpensive food. A £3 piece of skirt steak is enough to make four good-sized pasties for the family, but they are also an ideal way of using up leftovers,” she says.
“They always seem like a real treat, somehow – your own little parcel of food.”
Lindsey did a lot of research and a lot of cooking before writing the book, first of all tracking down the recipes and then making each one to check it was good enough to include.
She does have her own strong views on what makes the best traditional pasties – she would never use minced beef, for example – but she has discovered that corned beef (used in a wartime recipe from publisher Ron Johns’ mother, Betty) makes an absolutely delicious filling with onion and potato.
Lindsey’s own current favourites veer right away from the ordinary and have more in common with Spanish empanadas, using pastry made with maize flour and egg yolk. But she is always full of new ideas and says the possibilities are endless if you use what is to hand and in season.
“Leek and spinach or chard with feta cheese is a lovely combination. I cook my leeks with saffron and then mix with the cooked spinach, crumble in some feta and finish with a dollop of cream,” she says.
“It’s also very tasty and attractive to sprinkle grated Parmesan on the top of the pasty before baking.”
Other fillings she is keen on are chunks of salmon with spinach, cauliflower cheese or crabmeat. On the sweet side she suggests apple with raisins soaked in tea with a slug of whisky, or mincemeat pasties as an alternative to the usual Christmas mince pies.
“WHEN I was a child everyone always had a pudding. I was one of four children and it was part of filling you up. We always had it with custard – or ice cream in the summer.
“We lived in Kent right by some orchards and there were always lots of apples in the season and we’d pick blackberries from the hedgerows,” says Lindsey.
“A dollop of cream is great with most fillings to help keep them moist and bind them together.”
See the blackberry pasties recipe in recipe section
The Western Morning News Think Local campaign is sponsored by
independent financial adviser Worldwide Financial Planning.
Simon Hulstone
26-01-2009
Food Editor Carol Trewin meets Britain’s representative in the world’s most sought after food event.
IT IS cold in Simon Hulstone’s kitchen, cold and quiet. No clattering, roaring stoves, shouted orders or steaming stock pots. On this freezing January morning the Elephant Bar and Restaurant is closed for its annual holiday while Simon, helped by commis chef Adam Smith, is preparing for the world’s greatest culinary contest – the Bocuse d’Or.
On January 27 Simon and Adam will be cooking in Lyon, the capital of French gastronomy, representing Britain in this unique biennial event and competing against some of the best chefs in the world.
For Simon it is the culmination of a prize-winning career which has yielded a plateful of culinary awards. Competing, it seems, is in his blood but he says people “need to understand” it’s his hobby too.
“I’ve been choosy about what I’ve done. I’ve done the best competitions there are and there’s nothing in the UK to win any more, I’ve achieved that goal. There’s no other competition bigger than this one.”
He moved to Devon as a child and his father was executive chef at Torquay’s Imperial Hotel in the 1980s. Following in his footsteps was inevitable. He describes his style as French-influenced modern British. Read the fine dining menu for The Room at the Elephant and it is instantly clear that it is underpinned by the French classical tradition.
After travelling and cooking around the world, he returned to Torquay just over four years ago.
The Elephant Bar and Restaurant has proudly held a Michelin star, Torquay’s first, for three years, and expects to retain it in 2009.
Simon has been able to demonstrate that his life is not just about glittering prizes. His menus reveal a passionate champion for top local ingredients.
“Devon’s pretty much a larder, it’s all on my doorstep,” he says. “It’s really an education for myself and my chefs to use produce as good as it is. And to show people that it’s not all fish and chips, and grimy Harvesters and whatever. That you can eat out and have good food.”
But winning a Michelin star has its downside. Torquay is not renowned as a centre of food excellence and was a hard market to crack.
“When we started to get recognised we were instantly tarred with the brush that we were posh and pretentious, which we weren’t. We were selling bowls of mussels and steak and chips.
“You probably pay the same at some of the chain pubs as you would here but at least here you know where the food’s come from and is cooked properly.”
So while The Room is his restaurant’s fine dining venue, The Brasserie downstairs was started as “a stepping stone up for people who might be a bit worried about the fine dining that we do.”
The food here is “approachable but done with style, good honest food”. Fish and chips here will be with the freshest local fish, in a beer batter, with chunky chips and tartare sauce, all prepared from scratch in the kitchen.
Curiously this is a dish that he will be cooking in Lyon. He has been planning his menu and rehearsing for weeks. It was a challenge deciding how to combine a sense of Britishness and create something for judges from countries as far apart as Brazil and Japan, each with their own distinct food styles.
“My food has got to be as simple as possible, with the strongest sense of flavour, but with flavours that are recognisable by all palates worldwide,” Simon says.
He has decided to infuse it with a sense of humour, touching on the French way of calling the British “les rosbifs”.
“We are going to give them roast beef. There will be roast beef with little Yorkshire puddings filled with all the vegetables but then we are doing a truffled beef Wellington, with marrowbone, as well, a foie gras mousseline, Jerusalem artichokes and little snail tartlets. The fish we’re doing is a posh fish and chips, using cod, prawns and scallops.”
The meat course will be completed with a tiny pot of beef tea – an anglicised version of Paul Bocuse’s signature dish of truffled beef consommé.
Although the Bocuse d’Or is a gastronomic event on a global scale, few people inside or outside the hospitality sector have heard of it.
Although he is supported by his father and the Academy of Culinary Arts, Simon reckons it costs him £700 each time he rehearses his dishes – competitors in other countries are generously subsidised.
Unlike other top contests this is a competition about the individual and about food.
With only his commis chef to help, Simon will have five and a half hours to prepare all the ingredients from scratch, in an alien kitchen with an audience of 5,000 others and the world’s Press watching, then present and serve portions of each dish to the 14 judges and guest judges representing 24 countries, including the legendary Paul Bocuse, now in his 80s, and Brian Turner representing Britain.
It is not an event for the faint-hearted, and many chefs prefer not to contemplate entering. But Simon sees it as a stepping stone and a chance to network with the best chefs in the world.
He says he would like to come in the top eight – fifth or sixth place would make him very happy.
“Bocuse d’Or is about proving yourself to the world – a personal achievement for everybody. I think just being in it is enough, really. Winning it is a bonus.”
www.elephantrestaurant.co.uk
The Western Morning News Think Local campaign is sponsored by
independent financial adviser Worldwide Financial Planning.
Robert Wright
09-01-2009
IT HAS been a good year for the Gurnard’s Head. Chef Robert Wright has been winning plaudits for his food; the gastropub has won a Cesar in the Good Hotel Guide for Dining Pub of the Year, and now it has a starring role in Diana Henry’s Gastropub Cookbook, Another Helping.
This pub with rooms at Treen, in the far west of Cornwall is, as she says, “a genuine image of British rural life”, adding later that it feels “as if it’s being looked after by teenagers (responsible ones) while the parents are away – it’s youthful, chilled out, life-affirming”.
The gastropub concept started 15 years ago with The Eagle in London, but even after 10 years not many people knew what a gastropub was. Now they are everywhere, sprouting up like mushrooms in a dark cellar.
The downside is that, like the bland and uniform button mushroom, they are almost too ubiquitous – too many similar pubs claim to follow the principle but undermine the original concept.
The imposters, with their Identikit menus mainly provided by the big national catering companies – spot the braised lamb shanks, panacottas and lemon tarts on menu after menu that don’t change to reflect the abundance and availability of local and seasonal ingredients – don’t understand the vision and philosophy started by Mike Belben at the Eagle all those years ago.
The good news is that the genuine gastropub is alive and well in the Westcountry. Many of their owners, including Charles Inkin at the Gurnard’s Head, fight shy of using the G word. “Pubs are there for good food, this is just a label that we are given,” he says. “It’s people trying to put us in a category like restaurants with rooms, but we are just as much a country inn, or the equivalent of a French auberge.”
This is a view shared by Andy and Rowena Whiteman at the Harris Arms at Portgate, near the Devon-Cornwall border. They are about to drop the gastropub description because they feel too many places are abusing the term.
“When it first came out it was about serving real, honest food,” Andy says. “To me the gastropub was a bit like the English version of a French bistro, down to earth food with real flavours that brought out the best in the ingredients.
“It is British or modern European, such as confit of duck. If you want fusion or Thai food you go to a Thai restaurant.”
So how should we define a proper gastropub? I am with Diana here; the food matters, but you should be able to drop in just for a beer, a bowl of soup or a three-course meal. “It’s about good ales, wines and modern British food, supporting local producers and farmers,” she says.
A good gastropub will also serve real ale and have an interesting and affordable wine list – not wines you can buy in the supermarket but wines that offer a chance to try some genuine finds from small, relatively unknown vineyards.
A regularly changing menu should emphasise local and seasonal ingredients and reflect a sense of the region. The food is the same whether in the bar or dining room, whether fancy or straightforwardly simple. Locals feel just as at home here as what the author calls “the hoi polloi down from the City”.
In the end a gastropub should be what you want it to be, but always honest about what it is doing.
For those who want to know where to find guaranteed good food in a relaxed and informal setting, this book is a great guide. Touring the country, Diana has found some of the best places to eat in Britain which offer genuine, uncomplicated food at prices we can afford.
To me the Gurnard’s Head is a great example. Charles and his brother Edmund started with the Felin Fach Griffin in the Brecon Beacons, then took over this pub a couple of years ago, replicating the successful recipe they perfected in Wales. Much of what ends up on the plate comes from small food producers, growers and enthusiasts close to the pub.
“We are blessed with the sort of people who turn up with something like lovage or an amazing mint and you find a use for them,” Charles explains. “It fits with the resurgence of interest in where stuff is grown. It’s not all about cities either – many are really rural like us.”
Not surprisingly the Westcountry is well represented in this book, including the Jack in the Green at Rockbeare – exemplary when it comes to local sourcing. Look at www.jackinthegreen.uk.com to see the full story.
Then there’s The Queens Arms at Corton Denham that goes the extra mile for local food, keeping its own Gloucester Old Spot cross Large Black pigs – the pork pies are simply fabulous – and laying hens.
The second element of this book is the recipes from Diana’s stars; for instance the Gurnard’s Head offers grilled sardines with beetroot and cured duck breast with damson cheese. So not only do you get a sense of what it is like to eat in these pubs, but also the chance to recreate some of their dishes at home.
Despite the fact that five pubs are closing each day, the gastropub is thriving in these wallet-squeezing times. In her earlier book, The Gastropub Cookbook, Diana Henry describes the gastropub as a “dining revolution that is redefining British cuisine”. No matter how many negative articles she reads about how the term has been hijacked, she is confident they have a real future.
“Five years on they are even better,” she enthuses. “Now the chefs are using British produce in a very confident way, and although I still see some Italian and French dishes, a lot of stuff is just a joy, really founded in its regional roots, like warm gooseberry and elderflower tart with clotted cream, and a lot of the new British cheeses being used. It’s one of the best things to happen to British food.”
The Gastropub Cookbook, Another Helping, by Diana Henry, Octopus Publishing, £20.
The Western Morning News Think Local campaign is sponsored by
independent financial adviser Worldwide Financial Planning.
Clive's Pies
09-01-2009
AS THE temperature drops, there’s nothing more comforting than tucking into a stew or casserole.
The trouble with making hearty meals, though, is they can be quite time-consuming – all that gentle cooking at a low heat.
But a South Devon bakery has come up with an ingenious answer that ticks all the right boxes – pots of fabulously tasty, organic stew. And they’re vegan and organic to boot.
Buckfastleigh Organic Bakery, makers of the Clive’s Pies range, introduced Pots of Stew in the spring and owners Sally and Chris Carson say they are really beginning to take off now the seasons have changed.
“This is the first winter they’re on sale and we’re really pleased with how it’s going,” said Sally.
“You can put them straight in the microwave, but they are really healthy and tasty.”
Some of the stews will provide an impressive four of your five recommended portions of daily fruit and veg, and you could easily get away with serving them for dinner with accompanying side dishes.
The range of flavours is tempting too: Moroccan tagine, Thai veggie curry, Aduki bean stew and Mediterranean ragout.
What’s more, they are all free from dairy, wheat, gluten, lactose and yeast. So inviting that tricky dinner guest over who you never know what to cook for has suddenly become easier.
Anyone who has to cook a gluten-free diet will know pastry and cakes are two of the hardest things to master. But Buckfast Organic Bakery has achieved an impressive gluten-free pastry.
Combining it with vegan pie fillings means even the trickiest diet is easy to cater for.
“Our pies and pots are sold in the Fisherman’s Cott at Bickleigh and the pub market is one that could grow for us,” said Sally, adding they are hoping to encourage bed-and-breakfasts to keep some in the freezer for an easy meal solution for vegetarian guests.
The Carsons both hail from Devon – Chris grew up in Bigbury and Sally in Aveton Gifford – but their journey to Clive’s Pies was a long one.
After meeting in the Royal Oak in Bigbury, where Chris’s dad was landlord, they spent several years living in Asia.
Sally worked in marketing for the Times magazine group and Chris worked for Barings Bank in Singapore – after the Nick Leeson scandal had erupted.
“We always knew we’d end up back in Devon, we just didn’t know when,” says Sally. After returning from Asia the couple lived in Berkhamsted near London.
“Chris was working such long hours it wasn’t much of a life, I hardly saw him, so we moved back here,” she said. They now live in Bigbury with their three sons.
Despite knowing they wanted to work together and be involved in the food trade, it took a while for them to find Clive’s Pies.
“We looked at all sorts of things – cafes, shops and so on – before finding this,” says Sally.
Clive Lowe, after whom the pies are named, was retiring and sold them the business, along with a pie machine that is still going great guns on pie-making days.
“I’ve always loved cooking and Chris was trained in pub cooking – he can do the catering side of this. We go through almost a tonne of vegetables a week here,” Sally said.
In the kitchen their chefs are hard at work peeling onions, carrots and potatoes by the bucketload. All the vegetables are prepared by hand the day before pies are baked.
This morning alone they had peeled 120kg of onions – and no-one was crying.
Vegetables come mainly from Riverford but other ingredients have travelled farther.
Spices are bought in bulk and come from Egypt and the Middle East, nuts from Spain, beans and pulses from Turkey and China and chocolate from Belgium. But flour comes from Stoates, a bit closer to home in Dorset.
Despite bringing the ingredients for their pies from various far-flung corners of the globe, distributing the finished articles in the UK is the main challenge now facing Sally and Chris. Their pies are baked to order and distributed to health food shops, Co-ops and Venus cafes in the South West, and to a few universities farther afield.
But finding cost-effective ways of distributing beyond the region is a challenge, admits Sally.
“Distribution is the biggest barrier to growth. We have fresh stock, with a short shelf life – it’s difficult for us to transport it around the country,” she adds.
The company is part of a pilot distribution project being run by Food and Drink Devon and Caterfood, which distributes several brands of locally produced food in one vehicle. Customers can order from several suppliers and receive just one delivery.
However, because Clive’s Pies are made to order, Caterfood can’t hold them in stock.
The current economic climate is also putting pressure on, with the cost of raw materials going up 31 per cent this year.
Some ingredients, including lentils and oats, have seen their price rocket by more than 100 per cent.
To compensate, the Carsons are looking at ways of keeping costs down, like a new heat recovery system that captures heat from their fridges and freezers and stores it to heat their water.
Even though Clive’s pie machine is rather older technology, it’s still doing the business at this bakery that has designs on the future.
The Western Morning News Think Local campaign is sponsored by
independent financial adviser Worldwide Financial Planning.
Cornish sea salt
07-01-2009
IT’S BEEN a long time coming to the market but at last there is a unique new product, a first for the Westcountry, on farm shop and delicatessen shelves – Cornish sea salt. What sets this salt apart from the two other British-made sea salts is that this is the only one that is made, quite literally, from sea water extracted straight from the sea only a few metres below the plant. It is also light, flaky and more like a fine fleur de sel than the harder salt crystals used in salt mills. This salt needs no milling, you simply crumble it with your fingers.
Launched earlier this year, it already has fans all over the country from Cambridge to Camborne; Mark Hix, Jason Atherton and Richard Corrigan are among the big hitters who swear by it. Nearer to home Kevin Viner, Neil Haydock and Arty Williams all use this uniquely Cornish product. Elliot Ketley, head chef at the St Mortiz Hotel, thinks it is “a fantastic product”.
“We use it in the kitchen for seasoning both meat and fish before and after cooking. I really like it on raw scallops or rare beef as it gives a slight mineral flavoured finish and a little ‘crunch’ of texture.”
“The feedback they give us is really encouraging,” says marketing director Ellie Bradshaw. “They love the fresh clean taste, the complete traceability and the crisp bite on the tongue.”
The crystals also hold up well when sprinkled onto breads such as foccacia, remaining highly visible on the finished loaf, whereas some salts dissolve during the baking process.
The brainchild of Tony Fraser, a former forester and tree surgeon who returned to live in Cornwall after more than 20 years working around the world, it took far longer than even he had anticipated to grow from the first germ of an idea to the marketable product.
“The Lizard was known for its naturalness and purity, so I was looking for a natural resource from there that we could use. I found out that there had been two Iron Age salt pans – that was the trigger.”
At that stage he cheerfully admits that, while inspired to reinvent history and tradition, “we had a great idea but no idea how to make it or where to make it and sell it”.
Four years later he has a successful product on his hands and customers beating a path to the Cornish Sea Salt Co’s door. But it wasn’t an easy process to get to the point where retailers, consumers and chefs are clamouring for his products. The company had to overcome a host of legal, environmental and manufacturing hurdles. He admits he had to take risks with the project.
“If you make soup you can do small volumes for product development. We couldn’t 100 per cent know how the salt would taste before we had invested £2 million. It was an act of faith,” he explains. “But if we hadn’t done that we wouldn’t have got here.”
He found the ideal site at Porthkerris – probably the quaintest industrial site in Cornwall, and the one with the best view. It is sheltered from the prevailing south-westerley winds and, most importantly, the seawater below is one of the few areas around the coast with the top classification for purity and cleanliness, an important foundation for a product that sells itself on its purity and naturalness.
“We are starting with wonderful water,” he continues. “We spent more than a year finding a way to keep the process as natural as possible and be energy-efficient.”
The complex process of extracting the mineral takes 36 hours from sea to salt. It means that sea water is extracted and when it goes back to the sea it is still sea water, and along the way Cornish sea salt is produced. The system was designed to the most sustainable standards, not just to be efficient but also to ensure it has no adverse impact on the marine environment.
Although building started in February 2006, it took a further two years before the first salt went on sale. But even before then, chefs and others had been queuing up to try this new product. Until production reached a sustainable level, Ellie had been sending out tiny parcels to those interested, measured almost literally by the teaspoonful.
She and her boss had worked closely with chefs and industry opinion formers to make sure their new product delivered and met their expectations, constantly looking at the taste and the size of the crystals.
With a high profile established through good marketing ahead of production, Cornish sea salt has been almost flying off the shelves since reaching the market in February. Demand has almost outstripped supply from the start. The salt is available in smart London food halls such as Selfridges and Fortnum & Mason, in delicatessens, farm shops, butchers and fishmongers throughout the UK. Tony and Ellie have so far felt their product should be available through independent retailers, helping to give them a point of difference from supermarkets.
So what sets CSS apart from other salts?
Chefs love it for its versatility, texture and excellent flavour profile. Some have made a virtue of Cornish sea salt as an ingredient, listing it on their menus.
“Chefs and food services are delighted to have a British alternative to fleur de sel, which is reputed to be the best in the world, but at a much lower price,” Ellie says.
She would like to see Cornish sea salt become a salt of choice for diners in top restaurants, taking on the same cachet as some bottled waters.
Tony adds: “If you use our salt you can reduce the amount you use by 25 per cent and still get the same effect. It is the unique combination of trace elements [there are apparently more than 60 natural trace elements in this salt] that gives it its unique flavour.
“There are people out there who believe there is a terroir for salt – I think it’s more the process.”
Although more expensive than rock salt and other sea salts and the standard, industrially produced table salt (which is bleached and chemically processed to strip out the natural magnesium, calcium and potassium), its intensity of flavour means that you need less Cornish sea salt in each dish.
It is also more versatile than you might expect, is as at home in sweet dishes such as chocolate brownies, where the salt cuts through the sweetness but does not dominate the taste, as in savoury, sprinkled on fish before cooking, or on top of focaccia.
The recipes from Mark Hix bring a new dimension to using the salt and give some ideas for great Christmas, or even pre-Christmas, nibbles that won’t break the bank.
“I’m a great fan of Cornish sea salt, to me it has a superior flavour than many of the salts I’ve tried. And I applaud the fact that this salt doesn’t cause any damage to the environment,” he says.
“These sea salt enhanced snacks use ingredients we’d usually throw away... and keep all those expensive over-manufactured snacks out of our cupboards this Christmas – which will save us pounds immediately.”
The Western Morning News Think Local campaign is sponsored by
independent financial adviser Worldwide Financial Planning.
Mark Berry
07-01-2009
MARK Berry is a man who loves pigs. So much so that he is determined to help save Devon’s rarest breeds from extinction. A noble mission you might think, but surely not one you would normally associate with a butcher whose job, let’s face it, depends on killing animals.
But Mark is not any old butcher. He may be the only Englishman to be a French registered boucher-charcutier-traiteur.This means he makes charcuterie, or fine food products such as pates, terrines and pies, by curing or cooking raw meat.
We don’t have a word for charcuterie in English, which is one reason why it hasn’t become a commonplace skill for those who prepare meat. It’s generally lumped in with butchery and doesn’t have the prestige it carries across the Channel. True, many butchers make pies and meat products, but few are trained in the art of charcuterie.
Mark worked for a spell in France and happily admits that no Frenchman would buy meat from an English butcher. His customers were almost entirely “les Anglais” and he says that if ever a French person went into his shop by mistake, they asked which French charcutier had prepared the products. He finally gave up and brought his rare skills back to Devon last year.
Now Mark’s Moorish Foods has become quickly established as an artisan producer based in Dawlish and he supplies delis and farm shops with his high quality produce.
Most are ambient products like pates and terrines that can be stored for a long time without refrigeration. He also makes traditional pork dripping, prosciutto di anatra (cured duck breast), confit de canard (cured duck legs) and whole hams.
“I don’t want to get too big – I want to keep this as an artisan business,” he says. “At the moment I supply Powderham Castle, River Cottage, Dartington Cider Press Centre and the deli in Tavistock.”
We have met at Gay’s Farm, near Branscombe in East Devon, where Ian Crowe and Jenny Lonnberg raise the Devon Lop pigs that Mark uses for his charcuterie.
By choosing such a rare species – this one is designated endangered – Mark is helping ensure its survival. The Devon Lop is a classic-looking pink pig – pale in colour and with large ears that flop across its face. It’s the kind of pig that a child would draw.
“Because of its lop ears, the pig is constantly bumping into things, so in the end it becomes really docile,” says Mark, imitating a pig bumping its way around and barely batting an eyelid. “It was such a good pig people that from Devon and Cornwall were never interested in finding something better elsewhere. And because it’s pure bred it’s less prone to picking up diseases.”
The Lop is one of two breeds indigenous to Devon – the other is the Devon Black – but its name has changed so many times over the years that people are unfamiliar with its connection to the South West.
It has been known as the British Lop since the 1960s. It is also known as the Cornish White, due to it being kept on both sides of the border.
It seems to have originated in Tavistock many centuries ago, with records in Tavistock Abbey dating back to the 1400s. They show that breeders paid for the right of pannage in nearby forests and woodlands, which enabled their pigs to fatten on fallen beech masts and acorns.
Standing in the lush fields of Gay’s Farm, the sea glinting in the distance, it is clear that Ian and Jenny’s pigs have the most idyllic setting in which to snuffle around. But does the view make the meat taste better? “Without a doubt,” says Mark emphatically. “Though it’s hard to explain.”
He is obviously also a man who loves pigs, and says his favourite is the Gloucester Old Spot, because of its temperament.
“And it will always surprise you. They never look like their mums – they’re all different.”
At Gay’s Farm the free range Lops roam in fields, woods and orchards. They are fed a natural diet and spring water. According to Ian there are fewer than 150 breeding females left in the country and ventures like Mark’s will help protect them from becoming extinct.
Despite being a small, artisan business, Mark has managed to attract the attention of some of the big players in the food world.
“Fortnum & Mason are coming to visit in January because they’re doing a charcuterie project,” he says. Interest like that could be just what the Devon Lop needs.
To find out more about Mark’s products visit www.moorishfoods.com
Devon Lops at Gay’s Farm in East Devon Mark Berry’s pork products include pates, terrines, dripping, prosciutto di anatra, confit de canard and whole hams.
The Western Morning News Think Local campaign is sponsored by
independent financial adviser Worldwide Financial Planning.
Success flows freely for family brewery
19-12-2008
OF ALL the food and drink people buy, booze is probably down towards the bottom of the list when shoppers are thinking local. Most wine sold in this country comes from warmer climes and huge discounts at supermarkets with buy-one-get-one- free offers dominating the beer and lager scene.
With that in mind, the idea of setting up a new small local brewery in times when the chill wind of recession is blowing hard might seem to be just a little over-optimistic. But that is what Dave Lang and his wife Liz are doing at Hartland, way up in the remote coastal corner of North Devon, where a chill wind can blow even on a warm summer day when the economy is booming.
Real ale from Forge Brewery began flowing from the largely home-built unit on the outskirts of town earlier this autumn and brewer Dave is heartened by business results so far.
“The first brew came out at the end of September just in time for Abbfest beer festival in South Devon, where our stronger beer won third best and the weaker one won first best – which we were very chuffed about,” grins Dave as he shows us around the new brewery located, as the name suggests, in Hartland’s old forge.
“I have been studying beer all my life,” he replies when we ask how someone so new to the scene can achieve such success. “In various pubs, that is…”
So why does he think he can buck the economic downturn with his new venture? “Because, effectively, once the brewery is bought and paid for, and the casks – we’re overhead-free. And the water here is good for the stranger darker beers – it’s quite soft,” says Dave.
“I can think of three other small breweries in North Devon – so we are selling to a very local area. So far we’ve been as far as Tavistock, but we haven’t got enough casks to spread too far and that controls how far you go.
“We are supplying a need,” says Dave, adding, with a twinkle in his eye: “Especially when you are talking about that Cornish stuff that comes from around the corner.”
Forge Brewery is currently churning out about 16 to 18 casks a week of its two beers – Maid In Devon (renamed Maid In Cornwall for the west of Tamar market) and Dreckly.
“Real ale is beautiful stuff,” opines Dave. “It’s like wine – you’ve got complexities in there and different flavours and everything else.
“Drink a lager warm and tell me what it tastes like – it can be disgusting stuff, but it’s ice cold so you can drink it. It’s refreshing in summer, but the majority of it is just chemicals – whereas this is pure stuff. The only additives we add are there to take nitrates out of the soil that the farmers put in.”
- Maid In Devon and Dreckly are available in selected pubs around North Devon.
The Western Morning News Think Local campaign is sponsored by
independent financial adviser Worldwide Financial Planning.