Happy 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.…
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Continue ReadingThey 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…