BY the time you get to our age, you are supposed to forget birthdays, but on the other hand, they are a good excuse to go out with friends and have a meal, so we headed off to West Stafford to meet a friend at the pub she had recommended. West Stafford, just a few…
POOR Philippa Davis – one day she’s in Provence being spoiled by the wonderful seasonal produce and the next she’s in the Highlands serving tea by roaring fires. The life of a travelling chef is so hard … Caught between a midge and … WITHIN minutes of arriving at the lodge in…
MY week was not as planned. My diary had me in the dramatic depths of wild Scotland cooking for my first grouse shoot of the season, slapping on the mosquito spray and cooking up a variety of game themed feasts. Tweed cap, puffy jacket, gloves and various layers were ready to be packed. With a…
Looking at the rain pouring down in torrents on our conservatory roof, we can only grit our teeth at this postcard from private chef Philippa Davis! IF one felt so inclined (or capable) the area surrounding St Remy de Provence is perfect for getting on a bike and busting up some crazily steep hills and…
ON the first stage of our home-bound flight from Alaska, from Anchorage to Seattle in Washington State, I got into one of those unpredictable, expansive conversations you sometimes have on a plane. The passenger next to me was a courtly old man who clearly wanted to chat. He was in his late 80s and a…
If you were among the thousands of cheese lovers who headed to Sturminster Newton for this year’s record-breaking Cheese Festival, you probably bought a selection of the delights on offer, took them home and put them in the fridge. Wrong! Here’s how to do it … Dude, where’s my cheese? THE size of fridges has…
IBIZA hasn’t had the greatest press over the years. It’s not that the island isn’t lovely, with dramatic scenery and a glorious climate. It’s more to do with the notorious wild partying that tended to put off many who might otherwise enjoy this island in the sun. Philippa Davis says, forget your preconceptions: Let me…
JAPANESE chef and cookery teacher Teruko Chagrin, one of the regular Japanese and Thai food tutors at White Pepper Cookery School at Lytchett Matravers, shares her recipe for delicious a Japanese-style omelette with Dorset sweet Kombu seaweed. Teruko was inspired to create this and some other recipes using a small piece of local dried seaweed…
by Simone Sekers IT’s raining again, and so I am searching through my collection of tattered recipe books for something to do with the glut of mulberries we are enjoying. These are fruit about which much is written in terms of flavour, but little in terms of what to do with them. Many people don’t…
SOME of the finest food and drink producers from Dorset and Somerset were at the 2015 Gillingham and Shaftesbury Show, offering sparkling flavours and warm feelings despite the wretched weather. For the first time, this year saw a Dorset Farmers Market marquee with several of the best-known market members selling their wares to crowds who…