I never understand how time can race past so quickly. It only seems like yesterday when I wrote my blog on the Loddon Swan; it is now over a month later and while much wonderful food has passed my lips, not a word or a syllable has been written here about it. For that, I apologise. However, while I have been busy travelling and working over the past few weeks, Norfolk has been on my mind. To be more explicit, Norfolk’s incredible food and its drink, all of which combines to make up the heart of this wonderful region. There are…
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Continue ReadingIt all began with a bowl of soup. A consommé, to be precise. And when I say, it all began, I don’t just mean that it was the start of the meal. More, it was the start of being impressed, at the fact a local ‘pub’ in south Norfolk could serve a consommé that truly was up there with the best of them. I was in love. The venue was The Swan at Loddon, as featured in my March blog, and I think that you can tell I was more than happy with my dining experience there for Mothering Sunday lunch. Come…
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Continue ReadingNorfolk Wine School launches WSET specialist wine training courses Norfolk Wine School, which launched last September, is delighted to announce that it is now offering the globally-recognised WSET (Wine & Spirit Education Trust) specialist wine education courses. With the Winbirri Estate Bacchus from Norfolk recently winning an international award at the 2017 Decanter World Wine Awards, Norfolk has been rightly thrust into the wine industry’s headlines. With the public’s increasing thirst for information about wine, Norfolk Wine School’s WSET courses are ideally placed to help hotels, bars and restaurants meet this need. All Norfolk Wine School WSET courses will be taught by Chief Wine Tutor, Jeremy Dunn DipWSET.…
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Continue ReadingIn spring, you cannot have failed to notice that Norfolk’s fields were gold. Driving through the beautiful countryside found in this wonderful part of the world, at every turn, you can see field after field of golden flowers, gently swaying on the breeze. It is these flowers that produce one of our native oils – rapeseed oil. As someone who is a big fan of using local produce wherever possible, what can be better than rapeseed oil? Grown here in Norfolk, harvested and pressed here, it is straight from field to shelf with none of the miles. Compared to olive…
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Continue ReadingMonday 8 May saw many of Norfolk’s top restaurateurs, producers, butchers, coffee shops, pubs and other foodie establishments gather together at The Forum Library in Norwich for the launch of The Norfolk Cook Book. Printed and produced by Meze Publishing, who are producing a series of regional cookbooks, The Norfolk Cook Book launch truly celebrates the very best of our wonderful region. Those of us that live in – and love – Norfolk have been very vocal about our county for many years. Now, it seems that the rest of the UK is starting to notice the great produce that comes from our…
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Continue ReadingI have long been a fan of Crush Foods. It was, curiously enough for a company who specialises in rapeseed oil, their granolas that first caught my attention. Naturally sweetened, instead of full of added sugars, their granolas include honey from Norfolk and apple juice from Suffolk. For me, their delicious cereals have been the morning choice for those that care about what they put in their breakfast bowls first thing. And, in case you are wondering, the honey, apple and cranberry is my favourite. I then became familiar with their oils. Rapeseed oil is certainly one of Norfolk’s greatest products and…
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Continue ReadingFriday afternoon, and the winter fog is drifting down outside once more. It is 30 December, and it is hard to believe that we are almost at the end of another year. It certainly doesn’t feel like it – I am not quite ready for this year to be over in many ways. It has been one of so many incredible moments. That said, I very much have enjoyed recharging my batteries the past few days, a chance to rest and reset before all the delights that 2017 will very quickly bring. For many, this time of year is one for…
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Continue ReadingLike me, Tina has spent time in the Middle East and as such, she is very much into flavour. In fact, the biggest compliment I can pay Tina is that I would serve her own food at my own parties, it is that good, and the flavours that she uses are ones that I love.
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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 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.…