CHRISTMAS is a time when most cheese-lovers enjoy some special treats, whether it’s a great Stilton (with or without port) or one of the country’s finest traditional Cheddars, for which we are spoiled for choice! Among the best are the three great Somerset traditional farmhouse Cheddars, from Keens near Wincanton, Montgomerys of North Cadbury and…
DEVON cheesemakers Quicke’s, based on the family farm near Crediton, have produced a new seasonal cheese, the hand-crafted Elderflower Clothbound Cheese. Combining early summer’s grass-fed cow’s milk with the elder tree’s botanical bloom, this six-month matured cheese is a joyous celebration of the land. The new cheese owes much to the ancient hedgerows that the…
SOME of the country’s finest cheese makers, including Montgomery and Westcombe, will be featured on a special five-day tour, Cheese Journeys, introducing cheese lovers to the unique culinary culture of Somerset. The Cheese Journeys visit in April 2019 will include cheesemarkers and affineurs, and begins at London’s historic Borough Market, including a visit to Neal’s…
THE Devon-based online butcher, Pipers Farm is preparing for family feasts this summer with a range of natural, gluten-free sausages, ideal for picnics, barbecues and breakfasts – at home or by the campfire. Wholesome, succulent and full of flavour, these rusk, preservative and chemical-free sausages are handmade on the farm using slow-grown Saddleback pork shoulder,…
DISCOVER the story of one of the world’s great cheeses, when Devon-based Quicke’s opens its doors for a series of tours, monthly from April to September, at the farm that the Quicke family has nurtured for 14 generations. The tours will tell the often surprising story of what goes into a wedge, from the specially…
PHILIPPA Davis, the Shaftesbury-based private chef, is passionate about the food that is grown, produced and cooked in the various parts of the world that she visits. Towards the end of 2017, she was in Italy, and visited the San Miniato Truffle Festival as well as Pisa and Florence … “Darling, I am taking you…
MEAD is an ancient drink – sometimes called honey wine and said to be the oldest known to man – and right now it is having a moment! Sales are up 10 per cent in the past year, with a big demand both sides of the Atlantic, and Lyme Bay Winery is predicting growth like…
MANY visitors to the southern Spanish region of Andalusia head straight for the coast, in search of the predictable trilogy of sun, sex and sangria. They may find what they are looking for, but they experience little of the history, architecture, landscape and food that make this one of the most exciting and fascinating parts…
by Simone Sekers ONLY a month ago we were exploring the Salt Coast of Essex, in Maldon. Now I’m exploring Malton, in deepest Yorkshire, if only from the comfort of my own home. Last week we were sent another book by our old friend Peter Brears. For longer than it is tactful to remember we…
by David Perry THE other day I had to stand up and talk about what we sell. It was impromptu so I didn’t have time to think about it much at the time so I used the theme of making informed choices about food but washing it down with an uninformed choice of wine….