Exeter Food Festival 2015: A Flavour

 General view of Exeter Food Festival 2015.  It seemed to be busy - and I visited on the Friday and it was also held on the Saturday and Sunday.

 Luscombe Drinks.   This was a chance for me to try the new flavours - I have always enjoyed the Lucombe Hot Ginger Beer - I had never tried the Passion Ginger Beer which was lovely.  I liked the balance of fruit to ginger.

There were many impressive displays of local produce.

 Quickes Cheese have a great reputation locally - but the huge cheeses they had brought along were pretty impressive.

 Gaucho BBQ - huge chunks of meat on the grill here.  I think they were cooking dinosaurs!  There were several men queuing up for their lunch.  I did not partake, but I did stop and stare...

 Pasty demonstration in the demo Ashgrove kitchen with Chunk of Devon and Glenn Cosby.  My friend and I wanted tips on filling and crimping pasties.  This was demonstrated in a kitchen and there was an overhead screen for the audience to see the details.

The eggs I always use: Black Dog Eggs.  Free range from Crediton.  Apparently they sell loads via my local store - that's because they are so good.

A great day out!  I enjoyed it thoroughly and got a few cooking tips along the way. Thanks to L for accompanying me and being so nice.  I also had my nails painted whilst I was there - bright purple to match my coat.  There were many food samples and it was a good chance to try out something new, make purchases and chat to the producers.

Cafe Review: Deli Shack Cafe, Bickleigh,

We visited the Deli Shack mid-week for lunch.  We made a reservation - I think that's wise, although not essential midweek, but it's one of those weather dependent venues.  I also think it gets busy at weekends.  We received a warm welcome from the owner (thanks, Lisa!) and two workers.

There was plenty of parking and it was located down a country lane, a little bit outside of Bickleigh, and has a more independent feel than Bickleigh Mill.  Diners can sit inside (I noticed the wood burner in the corner) or outside for fantastic views.  My top tip is to walk through the cafe and sit outside on one of the 5 tables out the back with that view of the Exe Valley.  There is a gazebo covering some of the tables to prevent rain, wind or sun damage!  In a car, you need to follow the signs to Yearlstone Vineyard.  I think it's probably the sort of place that a Sat Nav might be confused by.

The choices were on a blackboard.  I like blackboards - it generally means the food is fresh and homemade.  I am guessing that some are semi-permanent and others are more like specials.  Each day there are some meat, vegetarian and vegan options - what a great idea and it all seemed appealing. I shared the Deli Shack platter.

This was huge and consisted of olives, cheeses, meat, breads, pickles, crackers and was great for a lunch dish.  There were some yummy choices - a mixture of Devon and Continental produce (I really liked the duck, and the Cheddar was good too) on the plate and it felt like the right amount of food (large though it was!).

My companions had the duck and Coppa salad and the smoked salmon creamy pasta.  They both looked good.  Three desserts came to the table - two types of pancakes (with strawberries and chocolate...with banana and caramel) plus a very good lemon tart served with clotted cream.  I noticed some visitors left when they noticed there were no sandwiches on the menu - that was part of the appeal for me.  I get fed up with the number of Devon cafes offering panini.

We did that annoying thing of sitting inside for a coffee, then moving outside for the view and sunshine, then moving back in for dessert and to avoid a sudden shower.  The waiting staff were very obliging and helped us move.

Yearlstone Vineyard is attached and I think there was a wine tasting for a bargain £3.  The cafe had bottles of their wine for sale.  On another occasion we would have happily quaffed the wine and visited the vines, but there was chatting over good food to be done.

Dogs were welcome at the outside tables - and the parking is very close to the cafe.  We had a dog and baby with us who were greeted and treated well.  There are plenty of high chairs and the place seems very child-friendly.  I would say that this is a good recommendation for some home cooked food in a relaxed and beautiful environment.  The prices are good too.

Devon County Show May 2014, Exeter

I threw caution to the wind and headed to Westpoint to visit the first day (of 3, it's on until Sun 24 May) of the Devon County Show.  The weather worried me a little.  The forecast had been for heavy showers.

The Show was enjoyable.  The weather was typically English.  Heavy downpours (luckily, there is plenty of cover: marquees, trade tents etc) followed by glorious sunshine.  I should imagine there were almost pitched battles between the welly and ice cream sellers.

The atmosphere was good.  There were plenty of TV cameras and farmers in tweeds.  There were some children (not ours), many animals, some amusing shows, and wonderful food and some crafts on display too.

Plenty to do for families: it looks like there are some serious rides at the fairground, some crafts and competitions, plus many many animals to look at.  The size of some of the animals is awesome, and

 I particularly enjoyed the competition in the Young Farmers' section.  The decorated cubicles and buckets amused and inspired me.  The TV presenter trying his hand at being a shepherd to use a sheepdog to round up some ducks was also entertaining.

The food marquee seemed more appealing than the Exeter Food Festival (which I wrote a previous post about).  I think there was more space, plus the grass underfoot made it more authentic somehow.  The producers were not just (although largely) Devon based.  There were some from Cornwall, Somerset and Gloucestershire.  Perhaps this extension to the South West was attractive to me.  I sampled and bought some of this Cornish olive and pork salami.  It's delicious.

UPDATE: the show was closed on the Saturday due to flash flooding making the parking fields very muddy.  First time in many years.  I feel a lot of sympathy for the exhibitors, organisers and the frustrated visitors.

Langage Farm Clotted Cream - Devon's Best

These pictures don't really need any additional description!  

One of my favourite things to eat: chocolate brownies made by my daughter (she is 13 and already a great cook) using the River Cottage recipe, no nuts for us, and then glammed up with some local raspberries and a mountain of Devon Langage Farm Clotted Cream and served in a vintage glass sundae dish from Antiques Ad Hoc in Ashburton. Perfectly delicious.  And a great treat to serve some visiting members of the family at the weekend.

Southdown Farm, The Elephant Restaurant's Farm, Brixham, Devon

After touring Brixham Fish Market, we headed to Southdown Farm in Brixham where we were greeted very warmly by the owners.  They supply The Elephant with most of their raw ingredients.  Simon Hulstone from the Elephant proudly showed us around and even gave us some ideas for what he will use the ingredients for.

The gardens and poly-tunnels were in full bloom and we all had a nibble or two.  This is a multi-coloured beetroot from Dobies of Devon.  The candy stripes remain when raw but disappear upon cooking

 All of us avidly listening

 Borage - there was masses of this.  Perfect to add to a Pimms or Gin and tonic.

Southdown Farm also keep livestock and it was the day of the sheep shearing when we were there.  The well trained sheepdog was amazing at keeping them under control and it was all fascinating.

 Simon Hulstone treated us to a slap-up lunch in the beautiful and very hot courtyard of the farm

Delicious and nutritious!

I was a guest of The Elephant Restaurant and Dobies of Devon but I was free to write what I wished

Devon Restaurant Review: The Elephant, Torquay

Drinks in the bar beforehand

As a guest of Dobie's of Devon Seeds and The Elephant, I enjoyed a feast from the tasting menu when I visited the restaurant in July.  The tasting menu was superb and we were seated in the new conservatory, around a private dining room that has been created.  The table is glass topped and has many of the micro herbs growing within it.  The spelt bread was homemade, served warm one loaf between two and the accompaniments were rillettes, mushroom hummous and butter served in mini flower pots - lovely!

This chilled lovage vichysoisse soup with apple and celery was refreshing yet tasty

The heritage carrots course - everyone's plate was different!

A poached egg with crunchy red quinoa

                             

The hake topped with an amazing tuile of squid ink.  Very tasty

The two types of lamb - the only meat that appeared (after the rillettes with the bread)

The amazing dessert: wild mini strawberries and a coulis plus a homemade lemon verbena panna cotta plus meringue.  The pre-dessert (not pictured) featured cherries with a green water ice made from sorrel.  Amazing and perfect for the hot summers day.

Each course was enhanced by a matching wine, I won't be discussing this as I chose water!  The standard was incredibly high and everything was so beautiful.  I seem to have omitted photos of two dishes: the beetroot dish with apple mustard and elderflower - I must have just tucked in!  It was a lovely dish that was healthy and beautiful.  Also the scallops with coconut, basil and langoustine cream.  Yum.

I was a guest of Dobies and The Elephant but I was free to write anything I wished (or nothing)  for my review

Brixham Fish Market, Devon

I had a look around the world famous market at an unearthly hour of the morning with Dobies Seeds and Simon Hulstone from The Elephant - 6am in July 2013 I think

Auction in progress

The amazing machine that analyses the type of fish, weighs it and labels it

View of Brixham harbour very early in the morning

A prize turbot that would wholesale for a lot of money

Devon's Healthier Alternative to Olive Oil: Bell & Loxton Rapeseed Oil

I tried to buy a bottle of this Bell & Loxton Rapeseed Oil a couple of weeks ago at Darts Farm, and they were out of stock, so it was just good luck that I happened to meet the growers at a Taste Buds Magazine event a few days later at Twenty Six cafe.  John and Rachel Bell, the producers, are a lovely couple and seem to be passionate about their oil.  They were kind enough to send me a sample to try out.  I warned them that I only tend to blog about things that I genuinely use and like - I'm not in the blogging business to be cynical or untruthful....they were confident enough that I would be won over.

The oil can be bought in glass or aluminium bottles.  The metal ones are rather stylish with a beautiful graphic design on the label.  The gold detail of the label really evokes the glow of the bright yellow crops in the summer.  I'm happier to keep this on the kitchen work surface than my rather boring plastic bottle of Tesco Olive Oil. And interestingly this is where the Bells are pitching their product.  This is a Devon-grown cold-pressed oil that is comparable to a good olive oil, but wait for this, with even more of the right Omega 3,6 and 9 and half the saturated fat of olive oil.

I straight away dipped some sour dough bread in to the oil.  It wasn't overly strong tasting but had a faint nuttiness and sweetness.  Although I'm a die hard butter user for toast, I tend to drizzle olive oil on sandwiches as I feel that butter is wasted in a sandwich.  So, overnight this oil has become my new 'healthy' butter.

It's also good for frying and roasting - the smoking point must be high enough as it coped really well with a delicious (modified from Jamie) tray bake of salmon and 'what ever veg I had in the fridge and freezer'.  I'm not sure if it was the natural sugars from the peas or the cooked lemon zest, but there was a definite overall light sweetness to the finished dish that we all enjoyed. Photo shows it prior to going in the oven.

It's getting to the point where we can almost stock our entire basic kitchen store cupboard with Devon produce.  I wish John and Rachel the best of luck with their top notch Devon product which certainly won me over, and I look forward to trying the new additions to the range later in the year.

Stocked locally at Shaldon Bakery, Powderham Country Store, Ullacombe Farm Shop , Devon branches of Waitrose and at least forty other locations.