Live Love Eat Awards at the Deer Park Hotel, Honiton, Devon

I have just been to the inaugural 2014 LiveLoveEat Food and Drink awards ceremony at the fabulous Deer Park Hotel, set within 80 acres near Honiton, Devon.  It was raining so I didn’t get to explore the 80 acres of land – but it looked good.  I met some lovely people (‘Hi’ to Choclette and the Pig and Whistle!) and had some delicious food.

The food was great and all sourced in the West country.

It was a lovely venue and can really imagine having a wedding there.

Susan from Devon Life said that she really enjoyed staying at the hotel overnight – and so had her dog!  They are a very dog-friendly hotel. They are welcome to stay in rooms and there is even a pooch pamper area.

There was much excitement about the new treehouse suite which will soon be a feature of the hotel – a great idea for a special anniversary or the first night of wedded life!  The ground floor communal areas looked well-maintained and attractive.

 Overall, a great place for a celebration, a function or a special place to stay.  The location is quiet and beautiful and the hotel owner seems ebullient and fun.

The Source Trade Show, Exeter Westpoint: Food and Drink

Today I visited the Source Trade Show at Exeter Westpoint.  There were lots of interesting exhibitors.   I was concentrating on the Devon and Cornish foodie ones - there were quite a lot of both.  There were also many visitors.  I really liked these products from the Coast and Country Range from Proctor and Clark.

I know that we have plenty of great food and drink on our doorstep in Devon but apparently Devon has been named as the 'best place to live in the UK' (according to a survey by Country Life).

Devon came top in five categories: the best for green credentials, local food, pubs, heritage and landscape.  I think this helped the attendance of the show.  Devon is a desirable 'market'.

I cannot fault the show - pleasant wardens in the car parks, the door was opened to me as I entered the building, swift ticketing, clean loos, plenty of interesting exhibitors and a good opportunity to look at and sample wares and talk to others.  The place was busy but not overly crowded and the popular stalls had many people around them.  Hopefully, this will prove a successful event for clients, suppliers, the show organisers and Westpoint.

I would like to give a special mention to Jeff at Taste Buds Magazine, Hayley from Food and Drink Devon and Raw PR, Ben at Bird and Wild Coffee ....

....and the people at Devon and Cornwall Food Association who are a charity and give excess food and drink to people in need; and the free pasty courtesy of Proper Cornish.

Yesterday I attended the Masterclass on 'Stocks and Sauces' at the Masons Arms, Knowstone.  This is a lovely thatched pub, just off the North Devon Link Road (A361) in a very quiet village location.

There were 6 of us and we enjoyed sitting in the lounge, next to the woodburner, chatting to Sarah, eating her homemade biscuit and having a coffee. It was great to watch Mark Dodson, the Michelin starred chef, work his magic in the kitchen, alongside some very dedicated and professional members of staff.  Mark used to work with Michel Roux at the Waterside Inn, Bray.

I learnt lots of little facts about the basis of making good stocks and sauces.  I think everyone was surprised at how easy the sauces were to make (e.g grain mustard sauce, red berry coulis).  I liked the fact that both savoury and sweet sauces were covered.  I also liked being able to taste the sauces as they were being made.  It was also really interesting to see a commercial kitchen in action.  I think there were 5 chefs in there - it seemed to us to be a small area, but apparently it is comparitively quite a large kitchen.

Pictured below are the veal stock (complete with 4 pigs trotters) and the chicken stock.

At about midday we were ushered through to the dining area for a three course slap up lunch and then coffee with petits fours.  The views of the Devon countryside and Exmoor were stunning.  A big surprise was the ceiling - covered in paintings - a unique touch.  Apparently they have been there approximately 40 years.  The chap who sat opposite me was local and filled us in on some of the local news and we could see his hedge being laid through the window!  There is also a bar area that is separate from the dining area.

During this lunch we were able to sample all the sauces that had been made during the morning's class - I think there were 6 in total - all delicious.  We also got to try out some of Mark's creations: mushroom tartlet, pork loin with vegetables (and mustard sauce) and a panna cotta served with the three sauces that we had seen being made.

I recommend this place as a venue for honing some cookery skills, and also as a place to eat,  It is not local to me (about 50 min drive away) but ideal if you are based in Barnstaple, Tiverton, Dulverton or South Molton.  This might sound awful, but it would be a good place to stop and have a break if you were travelling on the North Devon Link road too.

I was a guest at the cookery class and lunch, and I have written an objective review of the day.

http://www.masonsarmsdevon.co.uk/

Devon Cafe Review: The Crab Shack, Back Beach, Teignmouth

Went there in December 2014 with S and K.  Good food, great service.  Next table's seafood platter was HUGE and looked great.  Glad that we had made a reservation.  Third time of visiting - I will be back. Winter sunshine streaming in.  Very friendly greeting.

Devon Cafe Review: Babbini's Tearooms, Abbotskerswell

I went deliberately to this out of the way spot with my 2 friends, S and K.  We got a table in the middle of the fairly empty room.  A few minutes later the place was filled with a hiking group.  All hungry and needing sustenenance.  We ordered hot drinks and snacks.

I had a pleasant, but not outstanding cheese scone.  It was served with some chunks of cheese and a tiny bit of salad, plus butter.  The tea was lovely.

My friends had bacon sandwiches which they enjoyed.  There was a little dog who presumably lives there, greeting everyone and touring the room.We had a very nice morning stop there, but there was nothing that would make me return.  I would pop in if I was passing, but it's not so quirky or great that I would head there as a destination.

On the way back towards Newton Abbot, we met some cows in the lane that were being moved.  I suddenly realised quite how rural we were as we stopped in the car and let them go past.  It was great to see them in such a surprising fashion.

Review: Edward Scissorhands, Theatre Royal, Plymouth

The Theatre Royal, Plymouth is showing a brand new dance version of Edward Scissorhands directed and choreographed by the acclaimed Matthew Bourne, performed by the New Adventures troupe It is a dance, stage version of the Tim Burton film.

I took my 14 and 13 year olds along.  We sat in the stalls and really enjoyed the whole performance.  The direction, dancing, costumes, special effects were all fabulous and I would really recommend it to anyone from age 8.

Edward Scissorhands himself was a great character and the dancing made sense.  There was no dialogue but so much was conveyed by the choreography that words were not needed.  The moments where Edward danced with Kim were moving and well paced.  I should also mention the music - it was the original Danny Elfman score and it was magnificent.  Not played live, but through speakers and it sounded great.
My children really liked the costumes especially the 'topiary' ones.

The dance pieces where many couples danced together were well put together and gave a stunning visual effect.  There was a lot going on at all times and there was a standing ovation at the end.  The audience and the performers seemed to enjoy it all.

I won't give anything away, but this performance might make sense for a Christmas / winter treat.  It is going to be at 12 further venues after Plymouth.  I highly recommend it.

Devon Restaurant Review: Bistrot Pierre, Torquay

I went to the new-ish Bistrot Pierre in Torquay last week.  The place was heaving on a Tuesday night and a reservation was needed.  The views from all tables of the fairy lights and sea were impressive as the windows are large.  Upstairs was buzzy, busy and had a good atmosphere.  

The food is French and delicious.  For starters, my husband and I decided to have a sharing platter (the assiette).  There was ample food on the assiette, although we did have to ask for some extra bread – very nice slices of baguette with a French butter called Lescure.  The mini chorizos cooked in honey had been recommended to me – they were good – but watch out, they do stop you talking for a few minutes!  The hummus, olives, sun dried tomatoes and brie were all good.  The tapenade tasted a little different to usual – I am not sure If they had added pesto or mayonnaise, but it seemed different to what I anticipated.

My husband had a rib eye steak with mushrooms, salad and fries which he enjoyed.  I had the Lamb Cassoulet which was served with wonderful Dauphinoise Potatoes, red cabbage, carrots and broccoli.  The cassoulet and the potatoes were outstanding.  The potatoes were served in a mini skillet with a small oven glove: a ‘handle glove’ The lamb was very tender and tasty.

I chose the Café Gourmand for dessert as I wanted to see how this restaurant performed for their sweet offerings.  I tried the following four (the restaurant chooses for you) and overall my fave was the Lemon Tart: Lemon Tart, Chocolate Fondant, Raspberry sorbet with crumbs, Tarte Tatin.  The apple tart was my least favourite, but that was just me being fussy.

 Downstairs, the ceiling is higher and there were fewer people and it had a calmer, quieter atmosphere.

The only problems were that I was a little chilly, we were sat by a closed window  – my husband was fine.  Plus it was noisy upstairs – some people might prefer the downstairs tables.  The wine list was OK but a bit unexciting.

There were also plenty of outdoor seats – I can imagine that brunch, or a morning coffee on the outdoor terrace in the sun would be amazing.  There is outdoor seating on the ground floor and first floor (balcony) level.    The location choices for this small chain of restaurants is interesting.  I think this Torquay branch is going to be deservedly popular.  High quality dishes, great service, buzzy atmosphere, sea views and very close to the Princess Theatre will all help make this place thrive.