THE Grange at Oborne, one of Dorset’s most attractive small country house hotels, has taken the top award in the 2024 Taste of the West Awards. The hotel, run by Jon and Jenny Fletcher, was named Best Hotel in the South West. Jenny and Jon were delighted and gave “an enormous thank you to all…
THE recent second anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine was a sombre reminder of the trauma and horror that Urkainians have endured – and the continuing need to support the refugees who are living in this area. If most of us didn’t know much about Ukraine’s distinctive culture and history before the Russian onslaught,…
IT is one of the world’s most popular meats, but goat meat is not widely appreciated in this country. The Salisbury Plain-based business, The Gourmet Goat Farmer, is trying to change this. Goat meat is eaten by three-quarters of the global population and makes up 10 per cent of all meat consumption worldwide. The reason…
FIRST generation farmer, chef and internet star, Dorset-based Julius Roberts comes to the Butterfly House at Castle Gardens at Sherborne on Wednesday 8th November at 7pm to talk about his newly published, first book, The Farm Table at Castle Gardens The event is being held to conjunction with Winstone’s Bookshop in Sherborne, and will include…
THE pandemic had a massive (and mainly adverse) impact on the hospitality and catering industry, but post-Covid many have predicted a “new dawn for fine dining” and the recent publication of the 31st edition of the Trencherman’s Guide, the South West’s dining guide, proves it, says Michael Caines, who chairs the Trencherman’s committee. “In the…
The writer Henry James famously wrote in The Portrait of a Lady: “There are few hours in life more agreeable than the hour dedicated to the ceremony known as afternoon tea.” WHATEVER your view on the cream or jam on top scone debate, most of us can agree that the South West has the best…
THIS year’s Somerset Food Trail, from 14th to 30th July, builds on the success of the inaugural 2022 event, with more than 170 producers and retailer, 350-plus events and 100 venues taking part in the fortnight-long programme of dinners, farm walks, open days, tastings and more. The headline theme of The Mile Feast is a…
THE deadline for entries to the 2023 Somerset Food Trail is on Wednesday 15th March. The food trail, which last year attracted 8,500 people to visit more than 190 sustainable food producers and retailers, runs from 14th to 30th July and focuses on smaller scale and more nature-friendly farmers and artisan producers. The 2023 trail…
– the first in a new series by nutritionist Daisy Ilchovska DAISY Ilchovska is an MSc level educated and registered nutritional therapist and founder of Optimal Health Nutrition (www.optimalhealthnutrition.co.uk) She re-trained as a nutritional therapist after her own health quickly deteriorated in her mid-20s when she was diagnosed with a debilitating autoimmune condition. Nutrition and…
SOMETIMES you just need a treat. There are people who claim that they only “eat to live” and others whose attitude is more “live to eat.” Most of us, fortunately, come somewhere in between. But sometimes you need a treat and on those days there are few destinations that offer more than Summer Lodge, the…