They always say, ask a busy person if you want to get things done, but sometimes, that busy person is just too busy even for themselves. Since 2004, I have owned and run The Arabian Magazine, a publication dedicated to the Arabian horse, and that has seen me travel the world and experience my wildest dreams that were, on many occasions, more incredible and ‘pinch me, is this real?’ than I ever dared to dream. I am also Chair of the Norfolk & Suffolk Arabian Horse Group, a committee that I have been involved with since I was 15 years old, and…
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Continue ReadingSaturday afternoon, and it is stormy and wet. I have just conjured up a banana, walnut and chocolate gluten-free loaf cake, and that is now doing its thing in the oven. And while it cooks, and the delicious aromas begin to fill the house, it gives me time to think. Time to try and find the words to attempt to do my meal out yesterday the justice that it deserves. I always like to write any blog, feature or article at least a day after the event. That way, things have had time to settle. Emotions have calmed. Memories have clarified.…
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Continue ReadingGood evening, my lovely Delicate Diners! I hope that you are all well. I like to picture you reading this, sat out in the garden and enjoying the late sun of another lovely June day, a glass of wine in hand and your other half slaving over a hot stove, preparing you a plate of gluten-free deliciousness. Or, maybe you are like me. In from a superb day in Norwich – I have been talking all things The Delicate Diner/Your Gluten Freedom – cat cursing you as you have been out all day and hasn’t been fed yet, and dinner…
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Continue ReadingWOW. That sums up my experience on Wednesday evening, when I went to the launch of Fire & Feast at Relish, as previewed in my blog last week. I have always been a huge fan of all that Jeremy and Rachael Parke do at Relish and on Wednesday, they opened up their fantastic Fire & Feat concept. During course of the evening, I entered my ‘happy place’ – surrounded by scallop shells running with butter, a jug of the sweetest, smoothest sweet potato soup imaginable, complete with wild garlic pesto to play with and drop into your comforting Viking-esque mug,…
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Continue ReadingGood evening, my dear Delicate Diners. How are you today? I hope that you have had a good weekend with friends and family, or equally enjoyed some time just ‘being’. I had a lovely day off on Saturday and went to the Beccles Food Festival, which was being held for the second year. It was a glorious day, with beautiful weather and clear skies. The stalls were plentiful and there was lots of choice available for us Delicate Diners. My favourite was Graze, who have their own restaurant in Beccles in the White Horse pub. Their street food offerings were…
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Continue ReadingThose of you that know me well know that my favourite restaurant is Relish. Located at Newton Flotman and run by husband and wife team, Jeremy and Rachael Parke, Relish has been the scene of many a milestone for me over the years. From dodgy first dates to the ‘I’ll just stop for a glass of wine’ moment – and you roll out four hours later – Relish has been the backdrop to my life over recent years. I even hired out the whole venue for my 40th birthday, back in January, and we all enjoyed what Relish does best – a…
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Continue ReadingAh, my dear Delicate Diners. It’s been a sad time for me the past week as I lost two friends in four days. Grief is always difficult to deal with at the best of times, but add in such loss and an incredibly busy time of year, and you reach a stage where you just need to work through your list of what needs to be done – rather than what you would perhaps love to do. I have blogs lined up about the new Fire & Feast offering at Relish Restaurant, as well as tonka beans at Ragdale Hall, but these…
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Continue ReadingOutside, the sun is shining but it is cold! Mother Nature seems to tempt us with a few days of warmth before sending cold winds back to send us racing indoors in search of jumpers and warming cups of coffee. In spite of this weather rollercoaster, nature’s own bounty is plentiful and for that reason, May remains my favourite month of the year. From the cherry blossom dressing the trees to the arrival of fresh Norfolk asparagus in the shops, there are signs everywhere that summer, is at last, unfurling herself and is ready to warm us in her soothing…
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Continue ReadingThis week is Coeliac Awareness Week here in the UK and my Twitter feed is full of information about this disease, as well as special offers for those affected by it. An estimated half a million people in the UK alone are undiagnosed sufferers of Coeliac Disease. And that is without taking into account those that are intolerant to gluten, such as myself. Awareness of both conditions is essential – as my Two terrible lunches, the ‘odd crumb’ & salvation… blog proved. Your Gluten Freedom has just held its second Expo here in Norwich, and we have only just begun to share things…
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Continue ReadingI don’t know about you, my dear Delicate Diners, but Scotch eggs are something that I miss very much in my gluten-free life. They scream of picnics, of summer days, of eating outside – at the beach, a show, in the garden at a party with family around you, wasps buzzing around a groaning plastic table covered in open jars and jugs of Pimms. Yes, the great British Scotch egg is a thing of delight indeed. The history of this golden ball of crumbed delight is varied. Fortnum & Mason claim to have made the first one in the 18th…