North Norfolk Eat
North Norfolk Food Bites Tantalise your tastebuds
Sarah Eddison
Quackety quack We love the Duck Inn at Stanhoe, which was opened by Julian Rivett this summer, he brought along his buddy Roger Castel from France to help him kick start the business, and now Roger’s nephew Matthew who has been working alongside him, is helping with ‘front of house’. Julian is hot on ‘directing the flow’ and good staff training ‘on the spot’, aiming to open a good local pub with simple, classy, quality food and surroundings, and yes he’s done it! I guess the man behind so much of Richard Branson’s ‘event planning’ knows his stuff. The Duck is busy, buzzy, with a great atmosphere and good food, with the emphasis on fresh, local and fishy-although the rib-eye steaks are too good to miss. “Proper cooking”, he says, “fish cooked and served on the bone and full of flavour”. and for the winter Julian is serving hearty casseroles accompanied by music/jazz on Monday nights. • The Duck Inn, Burnham Rd, Stanhoe. PE31 8QD. Tel: 01485 518330. www.duckin.co.uk
Essence of Christmas
Locally based Essence Foods produces a yummy range of homemade preserves and chutneys bursting with colour and flavour. We love the blackberry, plum and ginger jam, and bloody mary relish, but perfect for Christmas day breakfast is their Seville and Cranberry Marmalade. • Buy online at www.essencefoods.co.uk or Larners in Holt, Big Blue Sky in Wells, Grooms Bakery in Burnham Market, Village Deli, Thornham and Walsinghams Farm Shop.
Not so Humble Pie
Sue Elton owner of the famed deli in Burnham Market , says that although cooks spend all year trying new foods, and recipes, when it comes to the festive season we all want the traditional food we all grew up with. “Christmas pudding is an integral part of the festive meal. Here we have been making the same Cordon Bleu recipe for nearly 30 years, heavy on the fruit, lighter on the suet and breadcrumbs, and with a zing of lemon and orange zest. We begin cooking them in October: our productions techniques are very domestic, so the lovely Dianne makes the mixture and I cook them in small batches very slowly in the Aga, (the house smells lovely!) Some customers bring in their own bowls for us to fill. Our Christmas cakes are also based on the Cordon Bleu recipe, and we sell them mostly un-iced – ready to be customised at home, or eaten just as they are. They are baked in small batches, anointed with extra brandy, and stored wrapped in greaseproof paper, ready to be handed over by Ben and Sam who collate all the orders with military precision!” • Humble Pie, Market Place, Burnham Market. PE31 8HF. Tel:01328 738581. www.humble-pie.com
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NORTH NORFOLK LIVING Winter 2010
Christmas Cupcakes
Here is the book that cupcake lovers have been waiting for! Gingerbread cupcakes, cakes that look like Santa, baskets of snowmen, and gold and silver glitz cupcakes with all things sparkly. We love the ‘glitter baubles’ cakes (see pic on magazine cover), which are spread with buttercream and decorated with fondant icing baubles dusted in glitter! • Christmas Cupcakes by Annie Rigg is available to North Norfolk Living readers, for the special price of £7.99 inc p&p by telephoning Macmillan Direct on 01256 302699 and quoting reference GLR4BA.
Reach for the pies!
This year Bray’s Cottage launched their ‘wedding pie’- beautiful bespoke tiers of pork pies, using their award winning and famous recipe, for those who want something a little different to the normal wedding cake. There has been much demand for the regular pies too this year at Sandringham Flower Show, North Norfolk Food Festival, Holkham and many more.New customers this year have included The Hoste Arms, Titchwell Manor, several of the Eastern Region National Trust properties, Holkham Hall, and smaller outlets such as Weybourne Village Stores and Picnic Fayre in Cley. www.perfectpie.co.uk