TRAVELLING chef Philippa Davis spent a weekend in Wales just before Christmas, cooking for a family on a farm in Pembrokeshire, which was the start of a new love affair for this energetic and inspirational Dorset woman. “Every home should have a dairy herd,” she says … If I was Father Christmas I would generally…
ONE of Dorset’s best-known farm shops celebrates its 10th anniversary this year. Udder Farm Shop at East Stour, on the A30 west of Shaftesbury, began as a diversification project for farmer’s wife Jane Down and has become one of the success stories of the area. Jane and husband Brian have won many awards for the shop…
TODAY, six days before Christmas, in the newspaper we like, is a photo of three hippotamuses digging into a big heap of Brussels sprouts. As festive photos go, this one is certainly different. The sprouts themselves, firm, bright green and obviously fresh, look tempting enough to a human, never mind a hippo, but I’m afraid…
CHEF Philippa Davies was back home in Dorset recently to prepare a special dinner Dorset Corset theatre company, run by her sister Helen Watts. The Pudding of Christmas Present… What better way to stir up the Christmas spirit than to invite the cast from theatre company Dorset Corset’s adaption of A Christmas Carol to dinner?…
IN the UK, we go crazy for blue cheese at Christmas. There’s something about the spiciness and sense of indulgence that we get from a rich, creamy blue cheese that helps lift mid-winter blues (sorry) and provides a fitting end to the feast, particularly when perfectly matched with port. Sales of Stilton spike to such…
BEFORE heading down to Dorset to cook for her sister Helen’s Dorset Corset Theatre Company, who will be performing A Christmas Carol at the Shelley Theatre, Boscombe, Philippa Davis was cooking for clients in Holland Park, and had a chance to sample the amazing variety of first class food available in the heart of London….
HISTORICALLY, the Brits have been brilliant at producing ham and bacon but rubbish at charcuterie – which is why most of the best-known examples of classic charcuterie have French or Italian or Spanish names, saucisson, confit, salami, guanciale, lardo, pancetta, jamon iberico, chorizo et al. But there is a quiet revolution going on in farms…
WE love Scotland and are green with envy of the amount of time our favourite travelling chef, Philippa Davis from Shaftesbury, spends cooking for clients in the Highlands. On her latest assignment north of the border she found a new best friend … I only have pies for you … I knew this was going…
SUPERMARKETS are losing their power over us all; dodgy accounting on their part and changes in our habits as shoppers are conspiring to make the behemoths nervous. As a result there’s a vicious price war going on – no-one can fail to notice that, and of course we are all going to take advantage of…
SUMMER Lodge at Evershot is the epitome of the country house hotel – a beautiful old house, set in gorgeous gardens, overflowing with flowers, vegetables and fruit, with a mouthwatering menu of mainly locally sourced food, an internationally famous wine list and stunning West Dorset scenery for walks and drives. What Summer Lodge is NOT is…