I am just enjoying the three-day eventing for the Olympics and during the break, this article caught my eye. Seven things restaurants don’t understand about gluten. Truly worth a read. Especially if you work in hospitality. And essential if you are a chef or a waiter. The horses are jumping again – have a good afternoon all, and enjoy the read. Samantha xx
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Continue ReadingIt seems like forever since I last wrote on here. It is only 17 days, so the computer tells me, but it feels like a lifetime. So much has happened in those two and a bit weeks, and now I am packing again. My visit to Cornwall was creatively brilliant – and I was able to enjoy some great local produce along the way too! Then it was home to journalistic deadlines, an announcement about my own magazine, off to do some commentary at a horse show, and now getting ready for the British National Championships. I promise to blog…
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Continue ReadingOn Thursday evening, Sara and I published the very first Your Gluten Freedom newsletter. The response to Your Gluten Freedom as a whole has been amazing, and it was great to spend two days with Sara, making plans for the coming months. Most notably, this October will see the one-year anniversary of Your Gluten Freedom as we hold our third Expo in Norwich. To keep in touch with our plans, please visit the Your Gluten Freedom website and sign up. As of tomorrow, I am away for a few days in Cornwall, working on my novel and aiming to finally finish…
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Continue ReadingI am indulging in a pure, unadulterated weekend off. The magazine has gone to print, I’ve got yesterday’s Saturday Kitchen outrage off my chest, Andy Murray won yesterday – #GoMurray – and it’s a gloriously sunny Sunday. This last week was full of international visitors, and one especially got the tour around some of my favourite local shops. Barry has been a friend for more years than I care to remember, and he works in the Middle East with Arabian horses. Having arrived at ours on Monday night, I took Barry to Bungay on Tuesday for my famed ‘Black Dog…
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Continue Reading– A week is a long time. The below is the blog, as written, last week immediately after Saturday Kitchen aired. Since then, I have spoken several times with Matt Tebbutt and he is truly apologetic for his choice of phrase. He very definitely did mean faddy eaters – and they annoy me too, to be honest! Matt has also given Your Gluten Freedom a recipe for our October magazine, and it’s a cracker! So, I can honestly say that I am no longer intolerant to Matt Tebbutt. In fact, he has rather grown on me. With his agreement, I am leaving…
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Continue ReadingWhat a few days it has been! Thunder, lightning and torrential rain. I know that I have got drenched many times and I suspect that you all have, too. I find it hard to believe that it is the last Saturday in June and for the last three hours, the skies have been dark – aside from the occasional flash of lightning! I am, unfortunately, one of those people that suffers from migraines. I have done since I was 13 – the flashing light kind, as a general migraine, and the very first time I experienced this, I thought I…
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Continue ReadingHappy Summer Solstice to you all! It certainly does not feel like summer. As I begin to write this, the rain is falling down outside, drenching the roses and honeysuckle outside my window. The birds are in hiding, not loudly chatting to each other about the beauty of summer, encouraging their young to leave the nest learn to fly. Even Merlin Cat is curled up on his window seat, wondering whether he would be better off inside with the other cats. I am even sure that I can hear the odd rumble of thunder, grumbling ominously in the distance, the…
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Continue ReadingGood afternoon, my dear Delicate Diners! It’s Friday, it’s just gone 5pm, and I am now home from a great couple of days away at the BBC Good Food Show in Birmingham. I honestly feel as if I have done nothing but eat this month! From the Fire and Feast at Relish at the start of the month, to the amazing Great British Menu at Benedicts last week, it has been non-stop. Add in a trip to The Ritz on Monday – including a tour around the kitchens – and it has definitely been a foodie month! I have much to do as first…
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Continue ReadingAs mentioned in my earlier blog on the Art of Butchery, Charlie Hodson something of a local food hero. He is also Executive Head Chef of the beautiful and historic Great Hospital in Bishopgate, Norwich. Charlie is also Norfolk Ambassador for Marie Curie who, next week, are encouraging everyone to hold a Great Blooming Tea Party. So what better excuse for a chef like Charlie to get everyone together? The Great Blooming Tea Party will be held on Wednesday 22 June in the Birkbeck Hall at the Hospital – so even if the British summer decides to drench the grass, guests…
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Continue ReadingFarming and Norfolk go hand in hand. Driving around the county, as well as neighbouring Suffolk, you see vast fields of arable crops; pastures with cows, gently chewing the cud under a tree; and also great parts of the countryside devoted to pigs. This part of the UK has the best pork in the country and, seeing how the live and thrive, it is easy to see why. I, myself, grew up on a farm estate and while my interest was more in the horses than the cows, sheep and chickens, they were part of the fabric of my life.…