VERSUSSweetsavoury

Whether you have a sweet tooth or prefer a wedding cake of cheese, these tasty designs will make your mouth water

Tall Tiers

Anna Briggs is the founder of award-winning The Cheeky Cake Company based in Plymouth, Devon. She’s seeing a trend for simple white iced cakes with a clean, sharp finish decorated with stunning sugar flowers, which take centre stage and are based on the bride’s bouquet. “These sugar flowers make a lovely keepsake after the wedding,” she tells us.

Let’s bake | 07503 070 808 | www.cheekycakecompany.com www.facebook.com/thecheekycake www.instagram.com/thecheekycake

Dessert Tables

Louise Roach is the owner and founder of Ausel Cakes & Catering based in Hayle, Cornwall. Her dessert tables are popular with wedding couples and can be filled with everything from traditional tiered cakes to sweet treats.

Let’s bake | 07590 610 128 | www.auselcakes.co.uk www.instagram.com/auselcakes www.facebook.com/AuselCakes

Flavoured Cheeses

Debbie and Nick Priestly are the owners of The West Country Cheese Co, an online shop based on the North Devon and Cornwall borders selling British and European cheese varieties. Debbie tells us that textured cheese wedding cakes are a feature this year. “Couples are looking for interesting cakes with differing textures and our Angel Cake is a great example, I love the tasty layers, rustic cheddar rind and wrinkled Wensleydale that this cake offers,” she says.

Debbie continues, “We’re also noticing an uplift in flavoured cheeses so we’ve created some half-and-half cakes, pictured below, combining two halves (and four quarters on our larger cakes) of cheese together giving more choice.”

The varieties are all British cheeses, and the quarters on the bottom layer and halves on top provide 10 different kinds of cheese in one cake. The base layer offers four quarters of Quickes Cheddar; Vintage Cheddar; Devonshire Red and Quickes Oak-Smoked varieties.

The second tier provides half a Cornish Yarg and half a Quickes Mature; the third tier comprises 1kg of Cornish brie; the fourth is 1kg of Colston Bassett Stilton; the fifth tier is 250g of Tunworth Camembert and the top layer is a delicious small goats cheese.

Let’s eat cheese | 01271 379 944 www.westcountrycheese.co.uk www.facebook.com/westcountrycheese www.instagram.com/westcountrycheese

Our wedding cakes of cheese can have two tasty halves at the base – one cheddar and one smoked.

Customers can mix and match halves, for example choosing a Caramelised Onion Cheddar and a White Stilton and Apricot variety, or a Wensleydale and Cranberry cheese and then build up different varieties from there.

The Wedding Feast

Nicky and Greg are the co-owners of the Sharpham Dairy based in a beautiful valley overlooking the River Dart in South Devon offering artisan cheese made using milk from their own herd and local family farms. Nicky and Greg reveal how the perfect starting point for an evening wedding reception is delicious sharing feasts and grazing tables which are becoming increasingly popular. The Sharpham cheesemakers enjoy creating the tower of cheese as the table centrepiece, and with a range of ten kinds of cheese to choose from, all made in their South Devon-based dairy, plus guest cheddars and local blues available, there’s a wide variety of choice.

The expert team can also supply individual cheeses to form a modern buffet. Couples can add some variety with seaweed cheese – the Rustic with Dulse & Sea Lettuce is sure to be a talking point, and so is the deeply savoury Rustic with Chive & Garlic. The decadent triple-cream Elmhirst or a Cremet soft goat’s cheese are other ideal choices.

No table is complete without accompaniments. Sharpham has partnered with local Devon suppliers to create a range of delicious sourdough crackers and award-winning chutneys and jams which perfectly complement their cheese range - a brand-new Scotch Bonnet Chilli Jam is just about to launch this summer.

To create a gourmet grazing table assembly, always start with the cheeses and then add in charcuterie, lots of tasty fruit and colourful veg, a medley of crackers, plenty of chutneys and dips, and a range of bread varieties for a table bursting with flavour. Repeat down the table in a super-stylish display. Let’s eat cheese | 01803 732 600 | https://sharphamcheese.co.uk www.facebook.com/sharphamcheese www.instagram.com/sharphamcheese

Dive Straight In

Help! I want to book a spa weekend in Devon for my hen do.

Meet the experts: Spabreaks.com, Europe’s leading spa experience and booking agency, has recently revealed the five most popular spa hotels in Devon.

Gaia Spa at Boringdon Hall has been revealed as Devon’s top spa which totalled 19.55% of all bookings made in Devon this year. Following close behind with 17.03% of bookings was TLH Carlton Hotel & Spa Torquay. In 3rd and 4th place was The Imperial Torquay and Lincombe Spa at Lincombe Hall and in 5th place was the Finlake Resort and Spa.

Spa days are not only the perfect retreat for a special occasion but also a way to improve mental and physical health with regular attendance, perfect during the hectic build-up to a wedding. Abi Selby is the chair of the UK Spa Association (UKSA). She says, “Invest in yourself by prioritising your well-being and it will be the best decision ever made,” she says. Abi added: “Our unbeatable selection of top-quality spa hotels across the country means you’re never too far away from a day or night of luxury.”

Lincombe Spa at Lincombe Hall

The spa is new at this pristine manor house surrounded by elegantly manicured gardens in Torquay. It’s an adult-only hotel located a short walk from the marina and a local drive to the pristine beaches of the South Hams. Dining options range from cream teas to seafood.

Finlake Resort and Spa

Finlake Resort and Spa offers plenty to do, from an outdoor pool and slide with flumes and a water playground, to the South Downs countryside on the doorstep providing ample opportunity to indulge in woodland walks and nature trails. At the spa, guests will find an adult swimming pool, sauna and steam room and a menu of sumptuous spa treatments to choose from, including massages, facials and body rituals.