A day of talks and food related events for a tenner with food stalls inside and Kerb outside? I had to go. I chose How to make a career out of food to see what I might have missed. Cake Boy and Plenish had stalls in the foyer and the hour long session with the panel of chefs and foodies was useful and encouraging. John Vincent - founder of Leon - gave the best advice to someone who wanted to know how to make the transition from being employed by someone else to running their own food business.
'Get out your phone', he said, so she did.
'Now call your boss and hand in your notice...'
Fresh look website with recipe collection on the way ...
Written by Ruth
The Mr Cutlets competition was Meatopia's chance for anyone to cook alongside some of the finest chefs from the UK and around the world to showcase a dish this year. The competition ran from 2nd July 2015 to 2nd August 2015 when the team selected a shortlist of six finalists to be invited to London to cook their dish. Two winners were selected from the finalists to cook at Meatopia 2015. Entry to the competition was open to everyone, from members of the public to aspiring young chefs and contestants who needed to supply details of their dish in advance. Inspector X entered and cooked a dish she created for the occassion - we often cook over a camp fire - Red Poll Shin and Tail, and made dumplings on the day. She wasn't selected - but she was the only girl!
Harriet makes courgetti for her work colleagues.They take her courgettes from their gardens and she spiralises away in the evening. Well someone has to do it!
If you are a lucky farmer, someone brings you this in the back of the car every day at tea time, until harvest is finished.
Bang on the toast trend, we are excited about this new company called The Cheese Postie. For a £3.99 a week subscription, a DIY savoury or sweet toasted cheese sandwich will drop through your letterbox. The ready to assemble ingredients will include quality artisan bread (including gluten free) the filling and a toasting bag.
Some days just don't go very well for restaurants and Fornham Fine Foods was having a bad day when we went for lunch. We were surprised that fishcakes, one of the few hot things on the menu, was already off the menu by 12.30. We guessed that there was probably a 'chef problem' as everyone seemed to be waiting and the staff looked frazzled. But we ordered a steak sandwich and a smoked fish platter. It still hadn't arrived forty minutes later. Then when the fish arrived there was no steak sandwich because it hadn't been cooked yet - even though the menu said 'served pink'. The waitress eventually brought the steak, decided enough was enough and said there would be no charge for the meal. The food was very good in spite of the wait so we wanted to pay something, at least for the drinks, but she wouldn't let us. She didn't know we were food bloggers but she does know that messing your customers about while you decide who is going to be your chef isn't a very good idea.
The people who win prizes for writing about food.
This year's SuffolkFoodie annual leave was taken on a 48 hour trip to see the best (and probably the most hyped) of the latest London eat-and-drinkeries. Starting at Taberno do Mercardo (via a really nice tea merchants on the way, and only minutes from Liverpool Street station) we had small pretty plates that featured tinned cold monkfish, runner bean 'fritters' on clam broth, cuttlefish with pigs trotters, drippingly soft cheese with toasted bread, prawn rissoles and the runniest custard tart. The waitress was as excited about the food as we were so even with just one glass each of house sparkling rose - shining like a citrine jewel - it was easy to spend half of our budget on the first meal.
Here is something creative and arty to entertain the children eating at The One Bull, Bury St Edmunds, The Cadogan at Ingham or The Crown at Hartest between 24th July and 31st August. Let their imagination and creativity run wild to turn a plate image into an amazing picture.There are two categories – 5’s & under and 6’s & over.There are prizes too with a £50 voucher for the winner of each category at each pub. (one entry per visit).The winning entries will be displayed at each pub. Look out for the pictures being tweeted under the hashtag #TheGreatGustoChallenge. My favourites so far... The Crown Hartest above and this lovely One Bull.
More...
Oh the things we do in London to entertain ourselves...
Steve Robson is from Middlesborough (where incidentally, Johny Cakes lived for a while a long time ago) but has settled in sunny Suffolk and is Head Chef at The Cookhouse restaurant at Suffolk Food Hall. Ipswich. Here is his recipe for Chocolate Fondant.
Yis' day on my visit to The Cookhouse at The Suffolk Food Hall for lunch, I had the chance to chat to owner Oliver Paul, who jointly runs the business with his cousin Robert. This is diversification on a hooge scale, with former cattle rearing units and silage clamps converted into a massive food hall, garden centre and cookhouse. There are commercial food production units complete with ice cream parlour and a large play area for kids with beautiful views across to the River Orwell. This is the kind of place you can wander for hours, with one area leading you into the next and something new round every corner. The provenance of this food doesn't get much better. Keeping it on the family farms with milk-fed pork, game, carrots, potatoes and onions coming from Broxtead while the Freston farm provides the Red Poll beef. The butcher in the food hall even sends the chicken carcasses to Steve Robson, the head chef (and our new Dish of the Day) to make stock. Nothing is wasted.
I ate a starter of lemon and herb hummus with flatbread and olives, chosen from the Summer Set Menu (2 courses £15.50/3courses £19.00 and hooly good value). Then I chose the Deben mussels which are from local supplier Simpers of Suffolk. Last time I tried their mussels I thought they were on the small size, but these were plump and succulent, although a bit hard going served with two thick doorsteps of bread and chips. There isn't a commercial deep fat fryer? They must be soft in the hid, I thought, but these homemade chips were great. I'm a fan of bite size desserts because you can pretend that you are aren't eating so much, so I pretended that I wasn't eating very much and chose 'A couple o' three'. A properly made mini apple and elderflower turnover, a slice of summer puddin' and - best on the plate - raspberry and balsamic sorbet. A roight old Suffolk feast.
Today suffolkfoodie decided it was time for an AGM - we haven't had one for a few years - so we're off to various places to eat, drink and investigate the general state of foodie affairs. We'll be visiting the new transport cafe on the A14 looking for Johny Cakes' all time favourite dish liver - any kind - and bacon, and trying some organic food in Fornham. Then we'll go somewhere for lunch.