Eat Sussex Issue 2

I S S U E

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YoUr Free CoPY

toaStY taStY

winter warMerS riVer CottaGe taLeS

raY SMitH Cooking up a Festive Feast the School Meal revolution Gilly Smith is all at sea

PLUS:

tHe

GaStro-GnoMe’S

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contents

COMMENT

CONTENTS

for all your kind emails t and letters about the first issue of Eat Sussex. They have been extremely Hank YoU

encouraging and it’s always helpful to hear what you think of the magazine, good or bad.

I recently visited Axminster to interview River Cottage’s Ray Smith (page 12) and was astonished to see posters proudly displayed in many shops, restaurants, pubs and even the chip shop saying: “We serve free range chicken”. I shouldn’t have been surprised to find that this was all a result of Hugh FearnleyWhittingstall’s new campaign, Chicken Out! The campaign aims to put pressure on the broiler (meat) chicken industry to raise its standards of animal welfare.

According to Hugh, “Rearing conditions for most chickens in the UK are unacceptably intensive, as farmers are put under pressure to produce poultry as quickly and cheaply as possible. Birds commonly develop severe injuries associated with unnaturally fast weight gain and restricted movement, and many die prematurely: 45 million factory-farmed birds are thrown away each year before they even reach slaughter-weight.”

The campaign will be the focus of a new TV series, to be aired in January and was launched with Axminster’s own Chicken Out! Week in October when the town conducted a unique experiment. If more than half the chickens sold in the town during the week were free range, Hugh would declare Axminster Britain’s first Free Range Town.

Unfortunately I wasn’t able to stay for Chickenstock, a street party at the end of the week, but it was clear while I was there just how much the eateries, retailers and residents of Axminster got on board.

Hugh’s now trying to turn this local initiative into a national campaign. “Chicken Out! has so far been led by River Cottage locals, especially in and around Axminster, and we’ve had a fantastic response,” says Hugh.“But now I need your support. I’m asking all of you to support this campaign and get it off to a flying start across the nation.”

Get online at www.chickenout.tv and sign Hugh’s petition for a fairer deal for Britain’s fowl. And if you want to organise your own Chicken Out! Week or something similar, let us know at Eat Sussex, and we’ll be happy to help out by printing some posters. Let’s turn East and West Sussex into Britain’s first Free Range Counties!

And finally, an apology: In the rush to get Issue 1 to the printers, I didn’t notice that I’d put the wrong postcode on our subscriptions’ address. The Post Office kindly ensured that most reached us without any problems but a small number of cheques may have been returned to sender. If this was the case with yours, please accept my sincere apologies and rest assured that the address is now correct.

See you in spring,

Tony Leonard, Editor

23 Recipes: Festive Feast Cook up a perfect Sussex Christmas.

27 Feature: Revolution in a Lunchtime Michael Harwood finds out what’s happening to school dinners.

32 Recipes: Souper Bowls Dominic McCartan makes some sensational winter soups.

03 Comment A few words from the editor.

05 News All the news you can eat.

09 In my own words The Thomas Family of Holmansbridge Farm.

10 Column: Gilly Smith Gilly takes to the high seas in a bid to impress the girls.

12 Interview: Ray Smith: The Butcher’s Tale Tony Leonard meets the River Cottage meat expert.

18 Recipes: In Season Tasty seasonal dishes from Stephen Adams.

36 Eat Sussex Readers’ Offer 20% off your copy of Soup Kitchen

by Annabel Buckingham & Thomasina Miers.

39 The Gastro-Gnome’s Guide to Hove The Gnome continues his culinary journey around Sussex.

45 In my own words Fiona Kay at Cheese Please.

47 What’s on Farmers’ Markets all around Sussex.

48 Subscriptions Make sure you always get your copy.

50 Column: The Wild Side

by Fergus Drennan Festive Fungi and Mycological Mayhem with Fergus.

reCiPe Finder Beetroot Gravadlax ....................................18 Borscht with Sour Cream & Chives ..........32 Bread Sauce ................................................25 Broccoli & Blue Cheese Soup...................34

Jerusalem Artichoke & Oyster Soup........3 Leek Rarebit.................................................1 Mincemeat Catherine Wheels ..................23

Carrot, Squash & Ginger Soup .................35

Pan-fried Venison Medallions in

Chicken & Vegetable Soup with Pasta ....34

Bacon & Red Wine Sauce .........................21

Chocolate Truffles.......................................25 Christmas Pudding Sauce .........................23 Cranberry & Orange Sauce with Ginger ..................................................25 Cream of Leek & Potato Soup..................33 Forcemeat Stuffing.....................................25 Ham Hock Terrine with Sweet Mustard Dressing........................................1

Root Vegetable Rosti with Warm Spiced Pear Chutney...............................................21 Seared Scallops with Black Pudding and Jerusalem Artichoke Puree........................20 Slow Roast Turkey.......................................24 Thai Mussel Broth with Rice Noodles ......33

TO SUBSCRIBE

To make sure you always get your copy of Eat Sussex Magazine, why not take out a subscription. For just £12.50 for six issues, you can have Eat Sussex delivered straight to your door. Just send a cheque, payable to Eat Media Ltd, to Eat Media, 13 Middle St, Brighton, East Sussex BN1 1AL.

Winter 2007

3

News

autumn, 2017: somewhere just outside Lewes by Gilly Smith I’M CYCLING home, my basket full of eggs from the chicken co-op and carrots, beetroots and potatoes from the allotment for tonight’s autumn soup. I steer clear of those grumpy alpaca grazing what was the lawn back in the days when we used a mower, when electricity was something that we barely thought about, and empty my basket of goodies onto the worktop.

Damn; I forgot to get some butter from the food hub at the local primary school this morning. Thank God that the upside of climate change means that I’ll get some good oil from my olive trees! And I might as well get used to not having butter; the government is finally rationing dairy and meat. Apparently animal emissions add up to 18% of total greenhouse gases – much more than transport emissions ever did!

But the local Health and Happiness survey shows a rise in the quality of life. It all seemed so bleak when they first started talking about peak oil in 2007, but my boys love the Hands on the Land training they’re getting.

It’s run by some former netheads who spotted the rural trend back then and brought their 21st century ideas to country life. Now country is cool and rural rocks. Runescape is so last decade!

Could this be our future? Certainly some experts are predicting that Britain will become a nation of farmers as oil reserves run dry, but how can we be more proactive about an uncertain future? Having a vision and an energy descent action plan might just help. Transition Town Lewes, Transition Brighton and Hove and Transition Forest Row are doing just that as part of a movement of transition towns across the UK. It’s open to everyone and free to join. www.transitiontowns. org/Lewes/Lewes. www.transitionbrightonandhove.org.uk/ www.transitiontowns.org/Forest-Row/Forest-Row

HaPPY BirtHdaY o’HaGanS o’HaGan’S SaUSaGeS is gearing up to celebrate 20 years of sausage-making in 2008. o’Hagan’s opened the world’s first specialist fresh sausage shop in Greenwich in 1988.

Founder, Bill o’Hagan, gave up his job as a news editor on The daily Telegraph, bought a butcher shop, stopped selling meat and turned his sausage making hobby into a serious business.

The sausages are high meat/low fat made without the use of mechanically recovered meat, genetically modified ingredients, trimmings, colourings, preservatives or any other artificial additives like monosodium glutamate. Where cereal is included in a sausage, only oats are used. All are wheat-free.

O’Hagan’s was featured six years ago in a BBC2 TV documentary Sausage Wars as part of the Blood on the Carpet series. It highlighted how giant supermarkets demanded the inclusion of cheaper cuts of meat and other additives if they were to sell O’Hagan’s sausages.

But, Bill, who describes himself as a ‘sausage purist’, refused and never got to supply the big chains.

Instead, the sausages are now sold at the company’s shop in Chichester, good quality butchers through Sussex and at Budgens at Selsey and Midhurst. They can also be found on many pub and restaurant menus throughout Sussex and southern England.

O’Hagan’s have recently started producing several varieties of rare breed and organic sausages.

Hand-made Chocolates and Confectionery Celebrating 60 years of hand-made, quality English chocolates.

www.audreyschocolates.co.uk HOVE Telephone 01273 735561 28 Holland Rd, Hove, East Sussex. BN3 1JJ

Audrey's Chocolates 1107.indd 1

5

BRIGHTON Telephone: 01273 325826 16 Regent Arcade, Brighton, East Sussex. BN1 1HR

Winter2/11/07 200712:36:48

News

Taking it Slow

Slow Food Brighton and Lewes are organising a salmon tasting and talk on sustainable fishing

by Caroline Bennett on Wednesday 28th November at Moshi Moshi, Bartholomew Square, Brighton.

Moshi Mosh have agreed to host the event for fellow food lovers and environmentalists, as part of their ongoing commitment to sustainable fisheries. The event will be followed by a meal with wine and costs £25 per ticket.

Places are limited so make your reservation by phoning : 01273 476444.

This is just one of the many events organised by Slow Food Brighton and Lewes.

Forthcoming events include a local seasonal recipe competition in collaboration with Due South Restaurant, Scoff and the Brighton and Hove Food Partnership, a Winter Seasonal Feast, a chocolate tasting and much more.

For inquiries about joining Slow Food or to be put on the mailing list for events, phone 01273 476444, e-mail john.kenward@gmail.com or visit www.slowfood.com

English wine top in blind tasting B

ookers Vineyard in West Sussex is celebrating after its

2005 Dark Harvest red wine came top in a blind tasting of European wines selected by Justin Howard-Sneyd MW. Bookers’ Dark Harvest achieved an average score of 3.5 (out of a possible five) and was the joint highest-scoring wine of the selection.

It was tested against two French wines, including a Les Rouilleres St Nicolas De Bourgeuil 2005, and an Italian wine, all of which were comparable in price.

Two of the judges correctly identified the English wine from the four on test, and comments from the judges included “It’s trying hard with the use of oak, which is sweet and smoky”, and “Best of the four. Light to medium-bodied with a spicy style.”

Sam Linter, chief winemaker, BookersVineyard said,“We are delighted that our 2005 Dark Harvest red wine has triumphed in this blind tasting, conducted by some of the UK’s most respected wine experts. Previously, English wine has enjoyed chequered fortunes but this winning result shows that changes are afoot in terms of quality and demand.”

You can try Dark Harvest for yourself at your local branch of Waitrose or visit www.bookersvineyard.com and pick up a bottle for £8.99.

Say it with Scallops

F

ood festivals

are rather thin on the ground in winter but the sixth annual Rye Scallop Festival, from Friday 15th to Sunday 24th February, is certainly something to celebrate.

Restaurants all over Rye will be dishing up their own tributes to the humble mollusc and many will be matching them with local wines for an extra-special treat.

In many parts of the UK, the dredging of scallops is giving rise to increasing environmental concerns but the fishermen of Rye use a ‘raking’ method. “It’s eco friendly,” fisherman Ronnie Simmons told the BBC. “We’ve been fishing for twenty to thirty years but the stocks are increasing.”

For more information, telephone 01797 229808 or visit to the website at: www.ryebayscallops.co.uk

Brookland White Gets Gold

M

ike Pinard of

is designed to recognise Brookland the very best food and White is celebrating drink being produced after his chickens by f ar mer s and were awarded the businesses working on Gold Standard in the National Trust land.

National Trust Fine The requirements are Farm Produce Awards. rigorous: producers must meet The award, in its second year, with National Trust environment

EAT M EDIA L TD

AD V ERTI S IN G S A L E S

13 MIDDLE STREET, BRIGHTON,

Emma Andrews

EAST SUSSEX. BN1 1AL

Tel: +44 (0)1273 579485

TEL: +44 (0)1273 302968 FAX: +44 (0)1273 272643

Email: emma@eatsussex.co.uk EDITORIA L

www.eat-media.co.uk

Tony Leonard

www.eatsussex.co.uk

Tel: +44 (0)1273 302968

Eat Sussex Magazine: ISSN 1756-3003

Email: tony@eatsussex.co.uk

Winter 2007

A Green Harvest for Sussex!

standards and, for livestock and dairy products, be certified organic or Freedom Food (RSPCA) assured.And of course the products have to look, smell and taste superb.

The award’s celebrity foodie panel tested for appearance, aroma, texture and flavour in a blind tasting.

P ROD U C TION Dean Cook Tel: +44 (0)1273 467579 Email: dean@eatsussex.co.uk P U B L I S H ER Dominic McCartan Tel: +44 (0)1273 302968 Email: dominic@eatsussex.co.uk P RINTED B Y Warners Midlands

Hepworth and Company are pleased to report a bumper crop of Sussex barley and a perfect harvest of Sussex hops for their award-winning ales.

Despite a world shortage of barley, Andy Hepworth has been able to assure a secure organic supply of the crop from Sussex. The grain is bespoke malted to Andy’s precise requirements: as he says, “Good ingredients are the key to success in this business.”The new season’s hops will make their first impact on Harvest Ale, a draught beer specifically designed to show off their full flavour.

“Buying locally is of benefit to everyone” says Andy “We can ensure quality because we literally go to the farms to select the crops; the farmers are sure of a market for their produce and we can reduce ‘food miles’. It’s good for the customer, too, because they get high quality at a fair price” It may not look green when you hold it up to the light, (thank heavens!) but Hepworth’s traditionally brewed and organically sourced ales and lagers are a great example of local producers offering fine, local – and green – foodstuffs. © 2007 Eat Media Limited.

All rights reserved. Eat Sussex Magazine is edited, designed, and published by Eat Media Limited. No part of Eat Sussex Magazine may be reproduced, transmitted, stored electronically, distributed, or copied, in whole or part without the prior written consent of the publisher. A reprint service is available.

Opinions expressed in this journal do not necessarily reflect those of the editor or Eat Sussex Magazine or its publisher, Eat Media Limited.

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In my own words

“People know where the eggs come from, they can come and see the girls”

The Thomas Family Farmers, Holmansbridge Farm Back: Matthew, Glyn, Nickie and Oliver. Front: Ann, Charlotte and some of the girls.

A

nn : Gran star ted

doing the turkeys as a little hobby and it gradually grew. Then my husband took it on and now Glyn and Nickie have taken over. And hopefully Oliver will take over after Glyn.

It’s a real family enterprise.

Nickie’s mum, Jackie, does the farmers’ markets with me. And Matthew, Glyn’s brother, has opened the farm shop.We’re very lucky. It’s very unusual nowadays.

Glyn: We buy the turkeys in at a day old, end of May, early June, and keep them in the heat for four weeks in little pens. As they get older, we make the pens bigger and move them down through the sheds. We do it the way my father used to, and my grandfather before him, three generations, all on this farm.

Everything’s done by hand on the farm, so the birds are plucked by hand. We’ve only got 2000 birds now but it still takes a long

time.We oven-ready all the birds here and through the shop we can sell straight to the customers.

Ann: You ought to come out when the turkeys are hanging up because they do look quite splendid.They are hung for at least ten days in the old-fashioned way.

You’re not allowed to touch them because you’ll leave a mark.

Gran and Grandad came here when it was a really rough time in Wales.The old house was two cottages originally. They bought

one cottage and Gran, bless her, wouldn’t let anyone look around the other so they sold it to her cheap. Bertha Cadwalader was quite a strong lady.

We’re just a smallholding, really, about 20 acres. Through the shop we are building up a really good private clientele.

People know where the eggs come from, they can come and see the girls.We’re at the farmers’ markets, they can come and talk to us about the eggs.

We used to have 50 ducks. One day this duck came up the river and the girls saw him and all of a sudden they just took off after him. They followed him up to Barkham. We went up there to try and get them back but it was hopeless.

Glyn: They came back Christmas day.They came back, I fed them then they just buggered off again.

Ann: I think people are becoming more interested in their food. If you’ve got children you want to know what you’re putting in them. It’s so important. My mum’s 104 and she’s never eaten rubbish in her life. And Gran, my mother-in-law, is 98. It’s because they eat proper food.

Hopefully people are getting more aware of where their animals are coming from and their lifestyle. OK I know we buy a bird, we fatten it up and we kill it but we do it in the nicest way possible, I think. n Holmansbridge Farm Shop, Townlittleworth Road, Cooksbridge, BN8 4TD

Winter 2007

Gilly Smith

Gilly Smith: Fish out of water

Gilly Smith attempts to recapture her foodie childhood as she spurns the supermarket and takes her daughters, Ellie (12) and LouLou (8), deep into the forests, farms and seas of Sussex to find their food.

D

ay One of my trip

10

back to the days when shopping was a social activity and food still had its head on.

The supermarket is already a distant memory. I’ve left the car in the multi-storey and am strolling through the rain to the market, reusable bag (Soil Association logo facing out) in hand and I can’t remember when I’ve felt so excited about buying fresh fish.

The fishmonger, as leathery faced and smelly as I remember fishmongers of my youth, is shooing flies away from the open-jawed aliens of the deep whose body parts I’ve been happily grilling for the past 25 years without a clue to where they came from. Now, I’m going local. I’m thinking baked mackerel for lunch and a cod pie for supper. Remembering Jamie Oliver’s advice, I take a sniff. “Oh, no you don’t,” says the fishmonger. “If you can’t see that it’s fresh by looking at it, you should go to the supermarket.”

Horrified, I put it down quickly and ask sheepishly if he has a wet wipe. Fishmongers seem much friendlier in Sainsbury’s.

I feel a fraud, but he’s right; I am one of those Johnny-comelatelies who’ve watched too much Jamie and think we can save the world by shopping locally and seasonally. As I slope away, I want to stamp my foot and tell him about my childhood summers of crab-filled rock pools; of campside suppers, pulling our freshly-caught mussels from their shells and mopping up the sea-salty, white wine sauce with a hunk of bread; of barbecued mackerel swapped

Winter 2007

for next to nothing from the local fishermen bringing their boats in with the day’s catch. I want to tell him my family’s stories of the Saturday morning door-todoor visits by the women from Penclawdd who would carry their cockles in baskets perched on their heads.

The years between those bygone countryside summers and my citybased parenting have been largely shrink-wrapped instead of linecaught, and I’ve brought my kids up on a diet of Mediterranean goodness rather than local, seasonal produce. My kids’ idea of a coastline is The Brighton Pier and their relationship with animals is based on their eight rabbits, two hamsters, two cats and an ageing dog. My eldest is more likely to liberate a crab from Shoreham Fish Market than snap its claw and suck out the flesh.

I blame the parents. Perhaps it’s time to take them fishing.

Ernie the Fish, whose little boat

has been bringing home the catch from Newhaven for more years than he cares to remember, agrees to take us out. The September morning is a stunner, the sea a glassy green, and the kids are already telling me that this is the best day of their lives. I’ve done it; putting a few twenties in the palm of an old seadog has awarded me the crown I gave my father for strapping crochet hooks to the old broomsticks we used to winkle out our crab dinner from those rock pools, and I haven’t even got my feet wet. I sit smugly and watch my nature girls and their gang of mates move like eels about the boat, studying Ernie as he prepares their rods, even picking up a wriggling ragworm and skewering it with their shiny hooks, eager to cast their line.

An hour later, the tide has turned. Our little boat, which had been puttering on gentle waves for the first few miles, is now rearing wildly on walls of

water as if trying to dump the secret supermarket shoppers it has spotted within. My girls have long since crawled into little green-gilled balls and, mercifully, are sleeping through this freak storm, but their father is fighting with 12-year-old seasick Sam for the mackerel bucket after being hurled against the side of the boat. I think he may be concussed.

As our brutalised little army heads home, the sun shines again, and Ernie stoically suggests to the few of us still standing that we cast our rods and see if we can save the day. The low throb of the engine is the only sound as the worms wriggle and hooks glisten in the now dead calm of the English Channel - until Sam throws the last of his breakfast over the side. Suddenly the rods are bucking and bending, children are screaming as the sea comes alive with fish grabbing at Sam’s CocoPops, and my sleeping girls wake up wondering what happened to their perfect day. One of the dads clings to his five-year-old before his rod pulls him over the edge, and there are cheers now as mackerel after mackerel are reeled in and flung on deck.

Back home, gloves and aprons on, the girls watch solemnly as we gut the fish and lay them on the barbecue. As the skin toasts and shrinks to reveal the perfect white meaty flesh, I pass one to each of my little fishermen, my body language unable to quite conceal my empty hope. Politely they decline, skip off to grab a sandwich at someone else’s house, and I am left with 36 mackerel, staring at me, wondering which of us has won. n

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Vegetarian, gluten and dairy free options available Fair-trade freshly ground coffee & farmer assisted leaf tea Mineral water from the South Downs and apple juice from the Appledram Press

Suprême de Dinde Façon “Christmas” Turkey Supreme, Stuffed and Roasted with Home Made Cranberry and Orange Relish Estouffade de Boeuf Bourguignon Traditional Burgundy Beef Stew Filet de Bar sur Peau, Crème D’Anis et Oignons Confits Fillet of Sea Bass with a Star Anis Sauce and Onion Marmalade

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interview

interview

Ray Smith: The Butcher’s Tale As River Cottage’s genial and unflappable meat and game expert, Ray Smith is familiar to millions. Here he talks to Tony Leonard about changing lives, respect and why he loves The Sopranos — just don’t mention Jimmy’s Farm!

T

he day before I was to

meet Ray Smith at River Cottage HQ, a German couple were attending his Pig in a Day course. “I asked them if they were on holiday,” Ray tells me. “Oh no! It had taken them ten hours to drive over and they are driving back today. They’d come all the way from Germany for a Pig in a Day!” He can’t quite believe that people would travel so far for one of his courses, even though they frequently do. “It surprises me,” Ray says. “When they first asked me to do this I thought they’d be a few people, all my age, going on about how things used to be, but look around today, there are a lot of young people in their twenties and thirties who all want to learn and are interested in where things come from.”

T h e R ive r C o t t a g e phenomenon began in 1999 with Escape to River Cottage, a modest TV series in which chef and food writer, Hugh FearnleyWhittingstall, swapped the London rat race for the good life in rural Dorset with the assistance of a number of local experts, most notably, Ray. The show struck an immediate chord with a public increasingly alienated by industrial food production. Eight years later and River Cottage encompasses a restaurant-cumcookery school, a range of food, books, courses, campaigns, a shop in Axminster and perhaps, most importantly, a shared philosophy

“To me, it’s just sheer enjoyment” about our relationship with the land and the animals we rely on.

If the increasing interest in local, seasonal and sustainably produced food can be described as a social movement, Hugh FearnleyWhittingstall is undoubtedly at its head and River Cottage HQ, a spiritual home.

I’m here today to do the Smoking & Curing Meat course with Ray and chef Gill Mellor. Through the day we’ll be learning to make our own pancetta, ham, air-dried ham, salt beef, pastrami, ox tongue, biltong, salami and how to build a smoker in the back garden. It’s a lot to take in (and sample) but Ray’s an accomplished teacher with boundless enthusiasm and an engaging interest in his students.

We’re a mixed bunch; there are farmers and smallholders with their own animals, others like myself will have to rely on a good butcher before we can

put what we learn into practice.

Throughout the day, on breaks, over lunch and afterwards, Ray gives me his views from River Cottage.

Few TV shows can claim to have affected the lives of viewers in the way that River Cottage has.

As a core member of the team, Ray is always touched to hear of the programme’s influence.At the Taste Festival in Bath recently, a man told him about his sister. ‘“She sold her house, bought a plot of land and keeps cows, pigs and chickens because of you,’ he said.‘You changed her life!”’And River Cottage HQ is a favoured destination for those under the RC influence. “Because of the programme we left London and moved to Wareham,” Ray was told just a few days previously.

“We changed our lives because of you.” He’s heard it before of course, but he’s still thrilled every time. “It’s amazing isn’t it?” He

exclaims in genuine awe.

Ray’s a natural teacher, twinkleeyed and clearly in his element.“I hope you had a good day because I certainly have,” he tells me as we sit down after the course.“To me, it’s just sheer enjoyment. It’s tiring but I love doing it.” But he almost didn’t get involved with River Cottage at all.

He was working as a freelance butcher when the production company came calling. “I was on a farm, doing 25 lambs and the production company were staying there, B&B.” They told him they were looking for a butcher for a new programme but Ray wasn’t impressed. “I didn’t know who Hugh FearnleyWhittingstall was, down here the telly reception wasn’t very good and we couldn’t get Channel 4.

I wasn’t keen to get mixed up with media types.” He said no at first, but then Hugh approached him personally.“In fairness to the bloke, he came across as genuine.

He was thinking the same as me and I agreed to do it.”

However, he insisted on some conditions that Gordon Ramsey would do well to bear in mind the next time he goes spear fishing. “I said to Hugh I’ll do it but we will be upfront about what we do. If we say this pig is one of your pigs then it’s got to be one of your pigs or I’m walking.

And I would have as well.” Hugh readily agreed and the same vigorous standards have been applied across all River Cottage output ever since.Take The River Cottage Meat Book, for instance.

Winter 2007

13

A memorable experience awaits you…

Enjoy a real local tree this Christmas

Through the doors of The White Vine House you’ll find warm holiday cheer and attentiveness as can only be found in a family-run business.

Festive Season 2007

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White Vine 1107.indd 1

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1/11/07 Wilderness 18:55:27 QP (Eat Sussex) 1107.1 1

Winter 2007

31/10/07 14:16:07

interview

While all the animals in the book are from Hugh’s farm, Hugh and Ray went even further. In the charts showing where on an animal the different cuts are from, the very joints pictured are from the actual animals shown.“That’s how true we wanted to be with it and that’s how it’s been,” explains Ray.“If something goes wrong we openly admit it.” He demonstrates this attitude early in the day by telling the class that the time given for curing bacon in an early programme was excessive. “It was far too salty,” he confesses.“The producer was so annoyed because that was the most red wine and beer she’d ever got through when filming.”

Ray Smith was born in North London. In his early teens he got a weekend job at a kosher butchers in Golders Green.

Later he became a Saturday boy in Swiss Cottage, “riding the old bike with the wicker basket on the front.” After picking up a wide range of experience working for other people, he and his wife moved to Dorchester in 1970 and opened their own shop. “We didn’t take the shop on without knowing a lot about what to do, to be honest with you. We knew how to price things and make a profit.

It was hard work to start with but we worked hard and built it up.” Things were going well but when Waitrose announced they were building a big store in Dorchester, the Smiths decided their retailing days were over. “I packed the shop up, made it into two houses and retired.”

Far from feeling bitter, Ray couldn’t be more complementary about his competitor. “I don’t think you can beat Waitrose, to be honest with you. I think their meat is the best of all the supermarkets. I think they are going in the right direction more than anyone.” Recently, when he did a Pig in a Day course for Waitrose top brass, the irony didn’t escape him. “Someone asked me, ‘How did you end up working for River Cottage?’ So I said,‘In a way, I’ve got Waitrose to thank for that.’”

When filming, Ray prefers not know what’s coming up, “otherwise you go in with a preconceived idea, you keep chewing it over and you’re not yourself.”This approach has served him well on the whole, but there is one incident he remembers with a shudder. River Cottage was to play host to a wedding and Hugh announced excitedly that they had a whole venison

to cater for the party. “It was the most stressful thing because it was an actual wedding.” Initially Ray thought he’d bone it out, marinate it and flash-fry it, no problem. But no, it had to be spit roast. The problem was that, unlike pork or lamb, venison is extremely lean so that barbequing it over a flame could easily result in something resembling more closely the contents of Tutankhamen’s sarcophagus than a wedding feast. “Luckily, the week before I’d done a really fat pig at Hugh’s house and saved all the fat so we went to his house, retrieved it and skewered it over the whole animal.

It saved the day because the meat sort of poached underneath that and didn’t dry out at all. But I was worried sick, I really was.”

Equally memorable was the multibird roast, a festive feast made from ten birds, one inside the other, but Ray’s not convinced that the butchering skill involved was fully represented on screen.

“Every one of the birds on that block, I’d boned them all out and I’d tunnel-boned the legs and wings and then put them back into shape to look as if the bones were in them.” Hours of filming were then reduced to one panning shot, onscreen for seconds. “I was really annoyed

about that.They could have just shown one, that it was boneless.

But that’s television innit? And it was good fun doing it!”

At one point, I ask Ray what he thinks the future holds for traditional family butchers. “It depends where you are. There are shops in London that still get queues outside.They are in a good position, with people with money around them.They’ll be around forever. But it’s the more rural butchers really that seem to suffer. When I moved down in 1970, there were 13 independent butchers in Dorchester and two abattoirs. Now, there’s only one butcher, no abattoir.

“There’s a bit of a resurgence but it’s going to take a lot for butchery to come back.” He thinks things are particularly hard for anyone starting out.

“If you are in an existing shop, environmental health tend to leave you alone, they’ll come around and make sure you’re operating correctly which is right, but when you open a new shop, they come along and they are draconian. Everything has to be to the nth degree. It would cost a fortune to set up a new shop now,” he says wistfully.“And I don’t think you’d get the return on it.”

Winter 2007

15

interview

16

Early on in the day, Ray talks about taking animals to slaughter. He gets quite heated on the subject and it becomes clear to me that his views are very much the cornerstone of his attitude to animals. “Before you ever start keeping pigs you should think about how you are going to get it killed.”

It’s vital, he stresses, to get the pigs accustomed to the trailer before you take it to slaughter.

He develops this theme in some detail. “I feel really strongly that you shouldn’t chase any animal to catch it to take it to slaughter,” he concludes.“It should be dealt with in a really respectful way.”

He returns to this idea of respect frequently through the course and during our breaktime discussions as well. It’s only when he’s talking about animal welfare that I notice his jovial demeanour changes, and he becomes very serious and sometimes quite emotional. Over lunch he says how he and his wife have always kept animals: sheep, chickens, a couple of steers, pigs, turkeys for Christmas.“I said, right, if we are going to keep our own animals I’m not going to be the only one who takes them to slaughter, everyone’s got to have a go.” He describes taking them in as “the one day of the year that I really dread, even now. As you look back at the trailer, a little sheep’s got its head out of the window looking and you’re looking back at it… I’ve been doing it for years but I still think it’s most traumatic thing.” A farmer on the course tells his own story about a runt pig that his family had christened Wiglet and reared as a pet.Then the time came to take it to slaughter, he says. “Did I feel a shit that day?”

“But the important thing is,” interjects Ray with some passion, “that you did feel a shit! You haven’t altered, have you?You show respect for the animal however long you’ve been doing it.”

The discussion about respect leads Ray onto a subject that clearly riles him, “that

Winter 2007

“You show respect for the animal however long you’ve been doing it” bloody Jimmy’s Farm!” The TV programme follows Jamie Oliver’s friend, Jimmy Doherty, as he starts a rare breed pig farm.

Ray reels off a string of incidents he feels were unacceptable, becoming increasingly crimsonfaced as the list gets longer.“My wife says I shouldn’t watch it, it makes my blood pressure go up!”

A number of other shows that have featured animals at slaughter also get short shrift.

Later on he tells the class that one of his favourite programmes, however, is The Sopranos. But it’s not the violence, the psychology or the drama that keeps him enthralled. It’s the occasional scenes at Satriale’s Pork Store.

“All the cuts of meat are properly done,” he enthuses.“All the meat products in there are actually Italian.”

It may seem strange for a cookery school so focussed on meat but River Cottage holds a certain appeal to vegetarians.The overriding philosophy of respect for animals and responsibility for their welfare finds a receptive audience in many, and the arguments put forward for an ethical approach to meat-eating have led some to re-examine their most cherished values.“We had two ladies come on a Pig in a Day earlier this year who

hadn’t eaten meat for 40 years,” Ray describes. They’d become vegetarian through concerns about welfare and traceability but River Cottage had persuaded them that they could keep their own. “They had the roast pork lunch, their first for 40 years,” he recalls fondly. “It was lovely to watch them. They couldn’t get enough of it.”

While some vegetarians arrive at River Cottage HQ with the prior intention of returning to meat eating, for others the transformation has been less expected. Ray recalls a Walk on the Wild Side foraging course in the early days, when he was asked to take over for a couple of hours while John Wright identified mushrooms gathered that morning. “They’d thought they’d get me over with some rabbits, pigeons and deer but they hadn’t really made it clear on the website. It didn’t occur to me then that there would be vegetarians.” For the deer, Ray pulled out all the stops with “ a deer’s pluck with all the lights [windpipe, liver, heart and lungs].

There was so much blood and guts you’ve never seen anything like it,” he chortles.“The idea was I was going to come around the corner like Will Scarlet with the deer’s pluck and these rabbits on

“We had two ladies on a Pig in a Day course who hadn’t eaten meat for 40 years”

a stick. Four girls sat at the front went [he makes a face of horror], well two of them were OK but one of them sat there turned the other way, which was a bit off putting.”

Ray soldiered on and Gill fried up the rabbits’ livers and passed them around, past the vegetarians, for tasting. “One of them got a smell of it and said she was tempted to try some.”

After some toing and froing, she eventually gave in.“You’ve never seen anything like the look on her face. She said it was amazing, she hadn’t realised what she was missing!”And what, I enquired, of her friends who didn’t succumb?

“I think they went off in a huff but I didn’t wait to see. I told John I’m not staying, you can take over now.” While I suspect Ray and the River Cottage team are secretly quite proud of they conversions, they do try hard not to gloat. “I’ve nothing against vegetarians at all,” he insists.

“They’ve all got so many good reasons for not eating meat.”And I almost believe he means it.

At the end of the day, head buzzing with recipes and techniques, I ask Ray about his plans for the future. “Just to carry on coming here,” he replies, before telling me about his ‘big project’.“I meet all these people here, from all over the world, with their own enterprises, and they all say to me, ‘If you are passing, pop in.’ Some people say that and don’t mean it but a lot of the people who come here really do.” He’s already been to a farm in Weston-super-Mare, a butchers shop in Morecombe, and he’s off to Inverness the coming weekend to butcher a steer. Further afield, he’s got invitations to a pig farm in New Zealand,Woolworths in South Africa and a pig and pony trekking centre in northwest Spain.“So that’s what I’m hoping to do,” he says with a big smile.

“Now the schoolmaster’s making surprise visits to all his pupils to make sure they are doing as they were taught.”You have been warned! n

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30/8/07 14:49:08

In season

In season Recipes by Stephen Adams. Photography by Jean-Luc Brouard.

As the rain beats at the window and the wind howls around the chimney it’s time for snuggling up in front of the fire and hearty, comforting food that keeps you warm on even the coldest days. Root vegetables are in abundance and game makes a welcome addition to the winter table.

BEETROOT GRAVADLAX Gravadlax, or Gravalax, or Gravlax, a traditional Scandinavian cured fish dish, is amazingly easy to make at home. In this version, beetroot gives the salmon a really stunning colour and a touch of earthiness to contrast with the fish.

Serves SIX.

18

½ side of wild or organic salmon 150g (5oz) salt 150g (5oz) sugar 1 red chilli, finely chopped 1 lime, zest & juice 1 lemon, zest & juice 1 tbsp Dijon mustard 1 bunch dill 250g (9oz) beetroot, cooked

Winter 2007

Mix together the salt, sugar, chilli, lemon and lime. Place the salmon skin-side down on a tray and cover completely in the mixture. Cover with cling film and leave in the fridge for around 12 hours then turn it over and spoon some of the cure on top, cover and refrigerate for another 12 hours.

Blend the beetroot to a smooth paste. Wash the salt mix off the salmon with cold water and pat

dry. Place it skin-side down again and spread the beetroot liberally over the top of the salmon. Put it back in the fridge for three hours more.

To serve, scrape off the beetroot (put it to one side and use it as an accompaniment). Spread Dijon mustard generously and chop and sprinkle the dill over the top. Pat it down with a spatula and thinly slice.

In season

LEEK RAREBIT This cheese and leek bake uses two wonderful Sussex cheeses.

Incidentally,Twineham Grange acquired the nickname,‘Farmers’ Hand’, after Brussels refused to allow the Bookham family to call their cheese ‘English Parmesan’.

SERVE TWO.

HAM HOCK TERRINE WITH SWEET MUSTARD DRESSING Hidden behind all that skin and cartilage, ham hocks have some of the best tasting meat on a pig.This recipe really makes the most of this economical cut of meat.

2 medium sized leeks

150g (5oz) Ashdown Forester’s organic cheese, grated

50g (2oz) Twineham Grange (Farmers’ Hand), grated

150g (5oz) butter

150g (5oz) plain flour

1 tbsp Dijon mustard

2 egg yolks

110g (4 oz) onion, finely chopped

1 clove garlic, finely chopped 30ml (1fl oz) brandy

2 pints milk Oil

MAKES AROUND 1KG (2LB 4OZ) TERRINE. For the terrine:

4 ham hocks

1 onion

1 leek

1 bulb garlic

2 sticks celery

1 bunch parsley, stems and roughly chopped leaves For the dressing:

200g (7oz) Dijon mustard

200g (7oz) sugar 100ml (4fl oz) olive oil Pepper

Place the ham hocks in a large saucepan and add cold water to two inches above them. Roughly chop the onion, leek, celery, garlic and the stems of the parsley and chuck them in. Bring to the boil and then simmer for about two and a half hours or until the meat comes off the bone with ease.

Remove the hocks from the water and leave to cool.

Put 500ml (18fl oz) of the ham stock into a smaller pan and reduce it by two thirds. Leave to cool.

Rub a terrine mould, small loaf tin or large bowl with oil and line with cling film.

Once the hocks are cool enough to handle but not cold, pick the meat from the bone, discarding the fatty skin and cartilage. Add

the chopped parsley and some of the reduced stock to make a stodgy mix, season with a tiny pinch of salt if necessary and fill the mould. Pat down firmly and refrigerate for several hours until it’s set.

To make the dressing, put the sugar and mustard in a bowl and mix with a tablespoon of boiling water. Slowly whisk in the oil, a little at a time, and a little cracked black pepper.

Serve thick slices of your terrine with a drizzle of sweet mustard dressing.

For Aga cooking:

Bring to the boil on the Boiling Plate, then cover and simmer in the Simmering Oven.

Preheat oven to Gas Mark 2 / 150°C / 300°F. Cut the leeks into 20cm (8”) lengths all the way up to the green but leave the dark green tops as they can be a bit bitter. Put a little oil in a nice hot frying pan and brown off the out side of the leeks until golden then put them in a baking tray in the oven.

Gently warm the milk in a small pan but do not boil.

In a separate saucepan heat the butter and flour. Keep stirring it as it forms a thick paste and, eventually, a ball. Start adding your warm milk a little at a time. At first it will be very thick but as you add the milk it will become

velvety smooth. At this point add most of the cheese, garlic, mustard and chopped onion and take off the heat to cool a little.

Check the leeks regularly after 20 minutes.They should be very tender and easily cut with a knife.

Add the egg yolks and brandy to the now warm cheese sauce, stir and season well then pour over the leeks. Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top and put under a hot grill until nicely coloured.

For Aga cooking:

Cook the leeks in the Simmering Oven. Colour the rarebit in the top of the Roasting Oven.

Winter 2007

19

In season

In season

Seared SCaLLoPS witH BLaCk PUddinG and JerUSaLeM artiCHoke PUree This may sound like an unlikely combination but the sweetness of the scallops and the saltiness of the black pudding really are made for each other.The puree is really easy to make and the same technique can be used with lots of other root vegetables.

ServeS TWO. 5-6 king scallops 4 black pudding slices 1 lemon oil Salt & pepper Sprig parsley, chopped For the Jerusalem Artichoke Puree: 350g (12oz) Jerusalem artichokes, peeled and diced 200g (7oz) potatoes, peeled and diced 100g (4oz) onion, chopped 50g (2oz) butter 1 clove garlic, crushed Salt & pepper

20

Winter 2007

Put the Jerusalem artichokes and potatoes into a small saucepan with the onion and garlic, all of the butter and 100ml (4fl oz) cold water. Add salt and pepper, cover, and keep at a fast simmer for about ten minute. If it looks like it’s going to boil dry, add a little hot water. Once cooked and very tender strain off any excess butter and blend until smooth.

Season to taste.

Prepare the scallops by removing them from their shells and discarding all but the orange coral and the white round muscle. Separate the corals from the whites and wash and pat dry. Cut each white into two discs.

Cut the black pudding slices into strips.

Heat a little oil in a frying pan until it is extremely hot, this should take a few minutes. Put the corals and discs in the pan and cook for up to a minute (but no longer) on

each side.Take them out and keep them warm.

Add a little more oil to the pan, heat and then add the black pudding and brown it on all sides.

Put with the scallops and squeeze over some lemon juice.

Serve with the puree, garnish with parsley and a squeeze of lemon and a splash of olive oil.

For aga cooking:

Boil the Jerusalem artichokes and potatoes, garlic and onions in salted water on the Boiling Plate for five minutes, drain then cook covered in the Simmering Oven for 30 minutes to one hour. Add melted butter when blending to taste.

Brush the scallops and black pudding with oil and season.

Sear on a sheet of Bake-O-Glide on the Simmering Plate for two minutes each side or until caramelised.

In season

ROOT VEGETABLE ROSTI WITH WARM SPICED PEAR CHUTNEY The rosti is the Swiss national dish, originally made from just potatoes and eaten by farmers for breakfast.This version can be made with any combination of root vegetables and would certainly set anyone up for a day of hard work in the fields, but I tend to make it for lunch or dinner instead.

Serves four.

Pan-fried Venison Medallions in Bacon & Red Wine Sauce This mouthwatering recipe for venison really couldn’t be simpler, or the results more satisfying. The sauce is based on a traditional recipe for coq au vin, minus the coq, of course.

Serves four.

1 tenderloin of venison

4 rashers free-range bacon

10 baby shallots

2 cloves garlic

200g (7oz) mushrooms 200ml (7fl oz) chicken stock Half glass red wine Oil for frying Salt & pepper

Remove any sinew from the venison and cut it into large medallions.

Peel the shallots but leave them whole, cut the bacon into strips, quarter the mushrooms and crush the garlic.The trick with this dish is to have everything perfectly prepared before you start cooking the meat.

In a large, hot pan, fry separately the mushrooms, then the shallots and lastly the bacon with the garlic. Put them all to one side but don’t wash out the pan.

Season the venison with salt and pepper and, making sure the pan is very hot, sear the venison on one side until it’s gently browned.Turn it over and add a great big splash of red wine.All the flavour from the pan will now soak up into the meat so keep it gently simmering.When the wine has almost disappeared, add the chicken stock, mushrooms, bacon and shallots and gently heat through.

Remove the venison and allow to rest for a few minutes.

Serve on a bed of fluffy mashed potato with the sauce poured over, accompanied by some fresh, seasonal greens.

For Aga cooking:

Cook on the Boiling Plate and place in the Simmering Oven to rest.

For the rosti:

150g (5oz) turnip

150g (5oz) swede

150g (5oz) celeriac

150g (5oz) carrots

400g (5oz) potatoes

3 cloves garlic Salt Oil for frying

For the chutney:

4 pears

1 clove garlic

1 onion

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp mixed spice

1 tsp salt

1 tsp ground coriander

50g (2oz) brown sugar 100ml (4fl oz) malt vinegar

50g chopped sultanas Oil for frying

Preheat oven to Gas Mark 4 / 180°C / 356°F. Peel and grate all the root vegetables, crush the garlic and mix together. Mix in enough salt to give the vegetables a gritty texture and put to one side.

Core, peel and dice the pears and finely chop the onion and garlic. Fry the garlic and onion in a hot pan with some oil until golden brown and then add all the other ingredients together.

Turn the heat down almost as low as it will go and cook for about 2 hours, stirring occasionally, till thick and rich dark brown in colour. Take off the heat and cool. If you make a larger batch of chutney you can put it straight into a sterilized jam jar and seal.

Wash the root vegetables under cold running water and strain.

Roll them in a clean tea towel and squeeze as much of the liquid out as possible.

Heat about two millimetres of oil in a large frying pan. Take a handful of the vegetables, place in the oil and shape into a flat disc, around 6 inches in diameter.

Leave it to cook on one side until you can see it has taken on a deep golden brown colour.At this point the top of the rosti should have started to cook as well. Flip the rosti over, fry for another couple of minutes and then place on a baking tray.

Repeat the process three more times or as required then pop the whole tray in the oven to crisp up to perfection before serving with a large spoon of chutney on the side.

For Aga cooking:

Place the chutney in the Simmering Oven. Place the rosti in the Baking Oven or on the lowest set of runners in the Roasting Oven.

Winter 2007

21

Three Cranberries for Christmas

Three of the 27 condiments available from Woody’s at all good food & farm shops and on line at woodyshomemade.co.uk

Winter 2007

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Christmas

Festive Feast Photography by Jean-Luc Brouard.

Here are some simple recipes to make a Christmas day to remember.

MINCEMEAT CATHERINE WHEELS Recipes by Deborah Miller.

This clever recipe by Aga demonstrator, Deborah Miller, is a really quick and easy version of mince pies. Make up a roll or two, keep them in the fridge and then just slice them up and pop them in the oven as and when needed. Perfect for when friends pop around unexpectedly.

Serves SIXTEEN.

225g (8oz) puff pastry (bought will be fine)

1 Jar good quality mincemeat Flaked almonds Icing sugar

Preheat oven to Gas Mark 6/ 200°C / 400°F. Roll out the pastry in an oblong shape, to about the thickness of a 50p coin.

Spread with the mincemeat.

Trim the edges.

Roll up like a Swiss roll and place in the fridge for at least half an hour to firm up.

When needed, cut slices about 1cm (½”) thick and place them on some non-stick baking parchment or Bake-O-Glide.

Press down firmly with the palm

of your hand.

Scatter some flaked almonds on top and bake in the oven for around ten minutes until puffed and golden.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool on a cooling rack.

Dust with icing sugar and serve with Christmas Pudding Sauce flavoured cream.

For Aga cooking:

Place on the grid shelf of the Roasting Oven. Bake for about 12 – 15 minutes.

CHRISTMAS PUDDING sauce Another great recipe from Deborah Miller. Any dessert will taste of Christmas with the addition of this wonderful sauce. Use as much as you need and keep the rest in a screw top jar in the fridge.Will keep for six months – if no one finds it!

MAKES ENOUGH FOR TWO PINTS OF CREAM

225g (8oz) Barbados sugar (moist, soft, dark brown sugar) 65ml (2½fl oz) port 65ml (2½fl oz) medium sherry

110g (4oz) butter

1 egg

Melt the butter, stir in the sugar and allow to cool slightly.

Whisk the egg and add the butter & sugar and the sherry and port.

Refrigerate.

When needed, add to lightly whipped cream to taste.

Winter 2007

23

Christmas

SLOW ROAST TURKEY

Serves FOUR.

Recipes by Dominic McCartan.

The hardest part of cooking Christmas dinner is the timing. First decide what time you want to eat and then work backwards to the time when the turkey goes in the oven. Prepare the vegetables the day before for a stress-free Christmas morning.

24

Preheat oven to Gas Mark 3 / 170°C / 325°F. Slow roasting turkey at a low temperature keeps the bird moist and tender and will take these approximate times according to bird size: 3 - 4.5 kg (7 – 10 lb) .............. 3 - 3½ hours 4.5 – 6.5 kg (10 - 14 lb).......... 3½ - 4 hours 6.5kg – 9 kg (14 - 20 lb)......... 4½ - 5 hours Make a note of bird’s weight and add 900g (2lbs) for stuffing.

Wash the turkey cavity with cold water and pat dry with kitchen paper. Season the body cavity generously with salt and pepper and insert the onion and lemon.

Stuff the neck end of the bird with the stuffing and cover with the neck skin, pull under the bird and fix with a skewer.

Winter 2007

1 turkey Forcemeat stuffing (see recipe top right)

1 large clove garlic

1 large onion

1 lemon

50g (2oz) butter, softened

2tbsp flour Coarse sea salt & pepper

Rub the bird all over with the garlic clove and then the softened butter then season with the coarse sea salt and black pepper. Tie the back legs tightly.

Place in a large roasting tin and cover loosely with foil and place in the oven on a low shelf.

Baste occasionally with the cooking juices and turn the bird around half way through cooking so the bird cooks evenly.

Half an hour before it should be ready, remove the foil, baste and turn up the oven to Gas Mark 5 / 190°C / 375°F to brown the bird. The turkey is cooked when the juices run clear when the thickest part of the thigh is pierced with a skewer.

Remove from the oven and let it rest covered in foil to keep the heat in.

Make the gravy in the roasting tin by

pouring off excess fat, place on a hot hob and add 2tbsp flour. Whisk the flour, juices and caramelised pieces of turkey until the flour is cooked (about 2 minutes), then add turkey stock, stirring continuously.

Bring to the boil stirring all the time as the gravy thickens. Simmer and season with salt and black pepper.

For Aga cooking:

Place on the grid shelf on the floor of the Simmering Oven and cook for the following times according to size: 3.6 – 4.5 kg (8 – 10 lb)..................8 – 10 hours 5 – 7.25 kg (11 – 16 lb).................9 – 12 hours 7.5 – 10 kg (17 – 22 lb).............. 10 – 14 hours For the last half an hour of cooking time, remove the foil and transfer to the Roasting Oven.

Christmas

FORCEMEAT STUFFING There’s really no excuse to use packet stuffing when this is so easy to make and so much better. If you can’t get good quality sausage meat just buy your favourite sausages and squeeze the meat out of the cases.

Any leftover cooked stuffing is wonderful in turkey sandwiches.

MAKES ENOUGH STUFFING FOR 7KGS (15LB) BIRD. 500g (1lb 2oz) good quality sausage meat

75g (3oz) onion, finely chopped

75g (3oz) breadcrumbs

25g (1oz) butter

1 egg, beaten

1 tbsp parsley, chopped

1 tsp rosemary, chopped Salt & pepper

Fry the onion in the butter until soft and add to a bowl with the breadcrumbs, sausage meat, herbs and beaten egg.

Season and mix thoroughly. Any left over after stuffing the bird can be wrapped in foil and cooked with the roast potatoes.

BREAD SAUCE For the best bread sauce it is important to have very stale breadcrumbs so my mother would always buy a loaf to be put aside specially. One year, our cocker spaniel, Muttley, came upon it and very nearly ruined Christmas.

SERVES FOUR. 300ml (½pint) whole milk

1 onion

50g (6oz) stale white breadcrumbs

1 bay leaf

6 cloves

1 tbsp single cream

25g (1oz) butter Pinch grated nutmeg Salt & pepper

Place the milk in a pan with the bay leaf and onion stuck with the cloves and bring slowly to almost boil then remove from the heat.

Allow to infuse for 30 minutes.

Remove the onion and bay leaf, add the bread crumbs and stir. Put the pan on the heat and warm slowly.Add the butter and stir frequently.

Add a small pinch of nutmeg, season, stir in the cream and serve.

CRANBERRY AND ORANGE SAUCE WITH GINGER You can make this sauce up to a week in advance and keep it in the fridge. Serve warm or cold.

SERVES SIX.

175g (6oz) cranberries 1 orange, zest & juice 75g (3oz) Muscovado sugar ½ quill cinnamon 1tsp fresh ginger, grated

Put the cranberries in a pan with the orange juice, zest, ginger and cinnamon, bring to the boil, cover and simmer until all the berries have popped.

Take off the heat, remove the cinnamon and stir in the sugar until dissolved.

CHOCOLATE TRUFFLES Recipe by Stephen Adams.

This is a really simple way to make the most delicious chocolate truffles.

Feel free to improvise with different spirits, and liqueurs, and be as adventurous as you like with any additions like chopped nuts, stem ginger, dried fruit or even chilli!

Makes about 500g (1lb 2oz).

200g (7oz) good quality dark chocolate, over 70% cocoa solids

200g (7oz) butter, unsalted 200ml (7fl oz) double cream 50ml (2fl oz) spirit or liqueur of your choice

2 tbsp golden syrup Pinch black pepper Cocoa powder to dust

Sit a bowl in the top of a pan of gently simmering water making sure that the bowl is not in contact with the water. Break the chocolate into small pieces and chop up the butter and place them in the bowl.

Add the alcohol, pepper and golden syrup and stir occasionally till everything has melted together.

Remove from the heat and stir in the cream.Allow to cool and place in the fridge for a couple of hours to set.

Dust your work surface with cocoa powder, Using a tablespoon as a measure, scoop out equal sized portions of the truffle mix and roll them in the cocoa powder to form small balls or barrels, then place them on greaseproof paper.

Serve with coffee or drinks, to finish a meal or just for a treat.

Winter 2007

25

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Winter 2007

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Feature

Prue leith rallies the troops

revolution in a Lunchtime With reports of pupils shunning healthier options, has the campaign to improve school dinners failed?

Michael Harwood takes a look behind the headlines.

“J

aMie MaY have spelled end of school meals,” screamed The Telegraph.

Other headlines offered little consolation. “Healthy dinners turn off pupils”, “Jamie slimmed our earnings”.

All this and more came in response to a report by the Local Authorities Caterers Association (LACA) that school meal uptake was down 20 per cent following celebrity chef Jamie Oliver’s campaign to improve school meals. But is Jamie really to blame? And more importantly, how do we reverse the decline? What’s happening here in Sussex?

As I looked further, I found things weren’t quite as they

seemed. There was another story here that never made the headlines.

Long before Jamie Oliver whipped the nation into a frenzy about the sorry state of school dinners, others were already trying to redress the balance.

The Soil Association has been campaigning for years to improve nutritional standards and found a

champion in Nottingham dinner lady, Jeanette Orrey. While some of us have only recently woken up to the horrors of the ‘fishysaurus’ and the ‘pork hippo’, Orrey has been winning over the children at a Nottingham primary school with good old fashioned cooking for quite some time.

In 2000, when a change in the law created a chance for

“I got sausages, carrots, broccoli, and I got the kids to try it all. They are your customers. They’ll soon tell you if they don’t like something” Jeanette Orrey

St Peter’s Primary to opt out from Nottinghamshire’s school meal service, Orrey took on the challenge of cooking 600 meals per week using locally-sourced produce. Having watched fresh meat being replaced by frozen ‘free flow’ mince and the arrival of the dreaded ‘shaped’ foods full of dextrose, salt and sugar, she hit the road in search of high quality produce for the very best price.

First, she visited farmers asking for samples. “I got sausages, carrots, broccoli, and I got the kids to try it all,” she says in her book, The Dinner Lady.“They are your customers.They’ll soon tell you if they don’t like something, believe me.”

Vegetables came from a local

Winter 2007

27

Feature

Jessica Makambo stirs the pot

28

organic grower at the same price as non-organic. Fresh meat was supplied by a farm shop. Roast dinner, the children’s favorite, meant topside of beef from a cow just down the road. The very fact that she restored parents’ confidence in British beef in the wake of the BSE crisis was an achievement in itself, let alone getting the kids to eat it as well.

After years of hard work by Orrey and her team, more than 80 per cent of her school’s children tuck into fresh fishcakes, home-made pizza and vegetable crumble and best of all, the ‘turkey twizzler’ was replaced by real chicken nuggets.

Her efforts have shown what can be achieved in school meal provision when somebody gets it right. Jeanette Orrey now advises the Soil Association on school meals and continues to oversee the catering at St Peter’s.

But it took the efforts of celebrity chef Jamie Oliver to get the issue of school meals to register on the national radar.

Oliver’s TV programme showed the public the truth about the state of the meal system in most schools and sadly demonstrated

Winter 2007

“Most importantly, the manifesto called for schools to invest in proper training for dinner ladies and to pay them for enough hours to enable them to cook food with fresh ingredients” just how exceptional Jeanette Orrey’s dinners were. As part of the campaign, a petition with 271,677 signatures was delivered to Downing Street. His manifesto called for compulsory cooking lessons, nutritional education for parents and a ten-year government plan to get the public on a healthy diet. Perhaps most importantly, the manifesto also called for schools to invest in proper training for dinner ladies and to pay them for enough hours to enable them to cook with fresh ingredients.

Despite supportive noises from Government and an extra £280 million to fund healthier school meals, Oliver’s manifesto has largely been left to gather dust.

The press claimed a great victory for ‘Sir Jamie of Effing Forest’, but most campaigners recognized

that it was only a partial victory at best.

One positive step the government did take was the formation of the School Food Trust in September 2005, with a remit to transform school food and food skills, promote the education and health of children and young people and to improve the quality of food in schools.

The backlash didn’t take long.

Calls for a knighthood soon gave way to stories of Rotherham mothers passing burgers through the school gates and it seemed that a full-blown mutiny was underway.

While Jamie and his middle class fans cried “abuse”, the mothers involved claimed their children were coming home hungry. So, what went wrong? According to Brian Dow of the School Food

Trust, events in Rotherham were not as straightforward as they were reported. “The parents in Rotherham were taking direct action in response to the school canteen actually running out of food,” he said. “The transition over to the healthier school meals was badly organized.

The portion control had been really badly managed leaving some of the pupils without any lunch.” It’s hard to believe that this would have happened if the dinner ladies had been trained as Jamie recommended, but it was widely reported as a failure of his initiative.

What is clear is that whenever school dinners are shunned, whatever the reason, some children are being denied their only opportunity to sit down at a table, interact with their peers and learn basic skills like using a knife and fork. One head teacher estimated that at least a third of his pupils never sit at a table at home and children of all ages struggle with knives and forks. If parents were protesting about the implementation of healthier school meals there was

Feature a real danger that what showed up in their packed lunch might be immeasurably worse than anything from the canteen. In one horrifying case a child’s lunch box was found to contain half a leftover Big Mac, a bag of crisps and a can of Red Bull. He was five years old.

Around the same time that Jeanette Orrey was converting kids in Nottingham to the joys of wholesome, hot meals, West Sussex County Council, along with a handful of other local authorities, chose to axe the hot meal service to primary schools in the county, ripping out the school kitchens and making 550 dinner ladies redundant. Personally I confess I find the decision inexcusable, but a press release of 1999 claimed that hot meals were abandoned “in the knowledge that central government accepts that nutritionally this is an equally satisfactory option.”

While school food campaigners have made many demands on government, local authorities and individual schools, it is now the case that in many places, school meals provision is no longer in the hands of local authorities but has been tendered out to private companies. This is the situation in Sussex, where the UK’s largest school food provider, Scolarest has been awarded contracts for all of East Sussex and Brighton & Hove and for primary schools in West Sussex. One of Scolarest’s main competitors, Sodexho, holds the contract for West Sussex secondary schools.

These massive corporations have certainly come in for their share of criticism as school meals providers.

“The food companies were made out to be the villains,” Peter Melchett of the Soil Association told The Observer. “But they’re only a pipeline and what went in at the beginning was dependent on local authority contracts.”

While Judy Hargadon, the School Food Trust’s Chief Executive, has been quoted as saying, “I am delighted that companies like Scolarest have responded so well to the challenge of transforming school food.”

Scolarest now provides meals for 484 primary, secondary and special schools across Sussex. “For some years we have been at the forefront of improving the quality of school meals in the UK,” Ragan Beale from the company’s press office informed me.

“We remain committed to providing opportunities f o r yo u n g people to exper ience the many benefits of healthy eating.

All Scolarest menus either meet or exceed Government standards for school meals.”

In a response to the concerns about falling school meal takeup, the School Food Trust has launched its ‘Million Meals’ campaign, dedicated to increasing the number of children taking school meals by a million per day. The trust was galvanized into action by an Ofsted report, Food in Schools: Encouraging Healthier Eating. The report surveyed 27 schools across the country. Out of those, 19 experienced a decline in the number of children taking school meals but in the eight schools where uptake had been maintained, increased or improved, the cooks had tried to reflect pupils’ preferences and changed the set menu to reflect both their tastes and the food-based standards. It seems that working with the pupils (or ‘customers’, as Jeanette Orrey refers to them) is the sure fire way of improving nutritional standards and getting children to eat the results.

The real findings of the survey were not, as reported, that children won’t eat healthy meals but that the change to healthy meals had to be made with proper consultation. “In

schools where more consultation with pupils, parents and teachers occurred, the results were astoundingly clear,” said the trust’s Brian Dow.“In fact, in every single case I looked into where a more democratic approach was taken to deciding what goes on the menu, the uptake had increased.”

W h a t , Ofsted, the School Food Trust, Jeanette Orrey, the Soil Association a n d Ja m i e Oliver have all found is that change needs to be cultural as well as nutritional and the actual eating environment, in other words the canteen, has a profound effect on the likelihood of the healthier options seeming more attractive.

“In one horrifying case a child’s lunch box was found to contain half a leftover Big Mac, a bag of crisps and a can of Red Bull”

A concerned friend told me that her daughter complained that whenever she took a packed lunch to school she was forced to sit on the floor, as space at the tables was at such a premium. Another said that she longed for the kind of dining room experience she had as a child, where each table of eight children had to wait for the last one to sit down before eating and were not allowed to leave the table before the last person had finished.

“It seems unbelievable, looking at my daughter’s lunch time routine at school,” she said, “that we had such strict rules to abide by in the canteen. We had genuine respect for the dinner ladies.”

The School Food Trust calls for a ‘whole-school strategy’ and the Ofsted report cites, as an example, a primary school that introduced a waiter and waitress service run by pupils, along with table cloths and proper cutlery and crockery.

As well as the obvious benefits

2

Winter 2007

School Dinners

30

of teaching children social skills it increased the number taking school meals and created a much calmer and less frenetic environment.

Ofsted also highlighted the need for head teachers’ involvement.

There are still some schools where ice-cream vans are allowed on the premises at break time and some head teachers who insist that pupils condense their lunch breaks into 30 or 40 minutes. Heads are under pressure to improve exam results, but it’s doubtful that any head teacher fears for his or her job as a result of school meal takeup falling.

While the new requirements are certainly to be welcomed, what happens to the ones, like the 238 West Sussex primary schools, that no longer have kitchens? Are we going to see a building spree of new school kitchens, given that the Government pledged an additional £150 million towards it? Well no. Even if the funds were sufficient, which they are not, many schools simply don’t have the space for a new kitchen.

Scolarest has responded to the challenge of providing hot, nutritional meals in schools without kitchens with ‘EsteamTM’.

“At the school, the serving dishes are placed in pre-programmed microwave ovens and cooked for four to six minutes,” explained Ragan Beale in response to my questions. “We use microwave energy because it is the only energy source that can generate the steam from within the foodstuffs themselves. The meals are pressure-steamed, which means they naturally retain the nutrients, colour, flavour and texture of the food to produce great tasting, freshly cooked meals.”

So far, the figures are impressive.

“Where Esteam has been introduced in West Sussex, we have seen significant increases in take-up,” Ragan informs me.“The take-up at schools which only have packed lunch provision is six per cent on average. Where Esteam has been introduced, the take-up is between 18 and 30 per cent.”

Winter 2007

in every single case, where a more democratic approach was taken to deciding what goes on the menu, uptake had increased” Brian Dow, The School Food Trust In truth, Esteam seems to be an acceptable solution for providing hot nutritious meals to those schools without kitchens but it also seems a long way from the locally-sourced food freshly cooked by well-trained dinner ladies in properly equipped kitchens that the campaign envisaged.And I worry that, with the obvious financial savings of Esteam technology compared to conventional kitchens, is it only a matter of time before more school kitchens close to be replaced by banks of microwaves?

To be fair, there are no current plans to roll out Esteam beyond the schools without kitchens, but

for cash-strapped schools and local authorities, it will surely be a strong temptation. Brian Dow assures me that if it were to happen, “the School Food Trust would certainly have something to say about it!”

Whilst lack of nutrition was the impetus for the school revolution, it’s clear that we can’t stop there.

So what can be done to restore children’s enthusiasm, and parents’ confidence in school meals? As well as changing the design and implementation of the menus it seems clear that making the dining hall a place where pupils can feel comfortable (and for that matter making sure they get

a seat) and are not forced to rush through their lunch would be a start.Teaching kids about cooking in a practical way would also be of huge benefit in the long term. It seems that ‘food science’ in recent years has been more interested in teaching pupils how to design a pizza box than getting them to squish some dough through their fingers and giving them an opportunity to taste something that has been cooked by their own hand.

My friend’s three-year-old daughter came home from nursery the other day with a bread roll in a brown paper bag.

When she was asked what it was, she proudly announced that she had made it that day. Her mum offered to put some butter on it for her so that she could enjoy it with her tea but Molly declined.

“No Mummy, I don’t want to spoil it.” If a three-year-old can be so proud of her cooking skills, imagine how she’ll feel when, aged ten, she’s asking her mum and dad what toppings they want their pizzas.

It looks like reports of the death of school dinners are premature.

There is no doubt that there have been problems moving to healthier meals, but it is clear that those problems have less to do with a fear of change than the way in which it is implemented.

Looking back, the failings clearly happened when the full extent of campaign’s original objectives were not put into practice.

Technology may well have come to the rescue in schools with no kitchens but if the aims of the Soil Association, Jeanette Orrey, Jamie & millions of parents are to be realised it’s important that Esteam is regarded as a temporary fix, not the blueprint for school dinners of the future.

Nutritional improvements are very important, and we may just settle for that, but if we want to go beyond and make school meals central to a vibrant, locally-distinct food culture, it’s going to take a lot more money, imagination and a great deal of political will. The revolution is only just beginning. n

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Winter 2007

Soups

Souper Bowls Recipes by Dominic McCartan.

Photography by Jean-Luc Brouard.

What could be nicer on a cold winter day than a steaming hot bowl of soup? Here are some recipes to keep your spirits up, no matter whatever the weather throws at us. A good soup starts with a good stock so it’s always worth making you own, but if you don’t have any handy, Marigold Swiss Vegetable Bouillon is a decent alternative.

BORSCHT WITH SOUR CREAM & CHIVES Every Russian family has their own recipe for this classic beetroot soup, a bit like Minestrone in Italy. It’s guaranteed to bring some vivid colour to a grey winter day.

Serves SIX.

250g (9oz) beetroot, raw, peeled and finely chopped or grated

750g (3oz) potato, peeled and chopped

750g (3oz) onion, chopped

750g (3oz) celery, chopped

750g (3oz) carrot, chopped 1½ litre (2½pts) chicken or vegetable stock

3 cloves garlic, crushed

50g (2oz) butter

1 tbsp sugar Squeeze lemon juice 100ml (3½fl oz) sour cream

1 bunch chives, chopped Salt & pepper

Over a gentle heat in a large pan, sweat the onions, celery, garlic, carrot, potato and beetroot slowly in the butter until they soften.

Warm the stock in a separate pan and then add to the vegetables with the sugar. Simmer for about half an

32

Winter 2007

hour or so until all the vegetables are tender.

Blend, add lemon juice and season to taste.

Pour into bowls and serve with a swirl of sour cream and chopped chives.

Soups

CREAM OF LEEK & POTATO SOUP Simple and tasty. You can vary the flavour by adding different herbs or some fried smoked bacon.

THAI MUSSEL BROTH WITH RICE NOODLES Don’t be put off by all the ingredients in this recipe; it takes no time at all and the end result will be stunning.

SERVES SIX AS A STARTER OR FOUR AS A MAIN. 1kg (2lbs 4 oz) live mussels 850ml (1½pt) chicken or vegetable stock

110g (4oz) rice noodles

75g (3oz) leek, chopped into matchsticks

75g (3oz) carrot, chopped into matchsticks

1 small onion, chopped

1 Lime, sliced

3 cloves garlic, chopped

2½cm (1”) galangal (Thai ginger), peeled and chopped

2 red bird’s eye chillies, sliced

1 green bird’s eye chilli, whole

2 kaffir lime leaves

1 stalk lemon grass, remove outer leaves and bash with the back of a knife

1 bunch coriander, stalks and leaves separated and chopped

1 tbsp sugar

2 tbsp fish sauce

1 tbsp soy sauce Squeeze lime juice Sunflower oil Salt & pepper SERVES SIX TO EIGHT.

450g (1lb) potatoes, peeled and diced 350g (12oz) leeks, chopped

110g (4oz) onions, chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped

50g (2oz) butter 850ml (1½pt) chicken or vegetable stock 250ml (8fl oz) double cream Salt & pepper

Sweat the onions, garlic, potatoes and leeks in the melted butter in a heavy bottomed pan over a gentle heat. Season, cover, and sweat for about ten minutes.

Add the stock, bring to boil then simmer until the vegetables are just cooked. The diced potatoes

should be beginning to crumble but try not to overcook, as the soup will taste watery.

Blend and taste for seasoning.

This soup will take a fair amount of black pepper so don’t be shy.

Once seasoned to taste, stir in the cream and serve.

In a large pot on a gentle heat, sauté the chopped onion in a tablespoon of sunflower oil until soft but not coloured.

Add the garlic, galangal, chillies, crushed lemon grass, kaffir lime leaves and the coriander stalks and fry for a couple of minutes to soften.

Add the stock and sliced lime and bring to the boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 40 minutes to allow the flavours to develop.

Taste regularly and remove the whole chilli when the desired heat has been reached.

While the soup is simmering, clean the mussels under cold water, removing the beards and

barnacles from the shells and discard any that don’t close when tapped. Add the carrot and leek, sugar, fish sauce and soy sauce.

Put the rice noodles in a pan of boiling salted water and cook for five minutes so they still have a slight bite, then plunge into cold water.

Add the mussels to the soup and stir well.The mussels will be cooked when they are all fully open, be careful not to overcook.Add some chopped coriander leaf, lime juice and salt & pepper to taste.

To serve, place some noodles in a bowl, ladle over the broth and sprinkle some coriander leaf over the top.

Winter 2007

33

Soups

BROCCOLI & BLUE CHEESE SOUP This is one of my favourite soups and a great introduction to blue cheese for the uninitiated. Blue cheeses vary quite a lot in terms of flavour and also salt content so when you use it in recipes it is very important to taste frequently and adjust seasoning towards the end of cooking accordingly.

Serves four.

450g (1lb) purple sprouting broccoli

225g (8oz) onion, chopped

50g (2oz) butter

110g (4oz) blue cheese 450ml (16fl oz) chicken or vegetable stock, hot 125ml (4fl oz ) double cream

2 cloves garlic, chopped Salt & pepper

CHICKEN & VEGETABLE SOUP WITH PASTA This is a good hearty soup, great for using up leftover roast chicken. It’s worth remembering that it works just as well with turkey!

Serves SIX.

34

In a heavy saucepan, heat the butter on a low heat until foaming and add the onions. Cover the pan and allow the onions to sweat until they are soft but not coloured Prepare the broccoli by removing the florets and roughly chopping the stalks, discarding any woody bits.

Remove the lid and add the garlic and cook for about a minute. Add the broccoli stalks and fry for a couple of minutes, then add the rest of the broccoli and the stock and bring to the boil.

Winter 2007

Reduce the heat and allow to simmer uncovered for about ten minutes, until the broccoli is cooked.

Allow to cool slightly and then blend until smooth.

Return the soup to a pan and heat gently but don’t allow it to boil. If it’s a bit thick, add a bit more stock. Cut the blue cheese into small cubes, add to the soup and stir until it has completely melted into the soup.

Season to taste, stir in the cream and serve.

As much chicken as you can strip from a leftover roast

2 sticks celery, chopped

2 medium carrot, chopped

1 leek, white and light green parts only, chopped

75g (3oz) mushrooms, sliced

110g (4oz) onion, chopped

75g (3oz) cabbage, shredded

3 cloves garlic, crushed

175g (6oz) dried pasta 1.8 litre (3 pints) chicken stock 125ml (4fl oz) white wine

1 tbsp parsley, chopped

1 tbsp thyme, chopped

50g (2oz) butter Salt & pepper

Melt the butter in heavy bottomed pan, add the onion and leek, cover and sweat gently until soft but not coloured. Add the garlic and cook for a minute more.

Add the celery, carrot and mushrooms and sauté for a few minutes until soft.

Pour in the white wine and cook off the alcohol.

Warm the chicken stock, add to the pan and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for about 20 minutes until the vegetables are cooked.

Add the chicken, parsley, thyme and pasta and simmer until the pasta has cooked. Five minutes before serving, add the shredded cabbage, and season.

Soups

CARROT, SQUASH & GINGER SOUP This recipe is from Martyn Grover at Sussex Downs College. It’s a deliciously warming winter soup and its beautiful amber colour seems to glow in the bowl.

Serves four.

400g (14oz) carrots, peeled & chopped 350g (12oz) butternut squash, peeled & chopped 100g (3½oz) onions, diced

20g (¾oz) fresh ginger, grated

1tbsp honey 900ml (1½ pint) vegetable stock

1 lemon, juice Salt & pepper Oil

Preheat oven to Gas Mark 6 / 200°C / 400°F. Gently fry the diced onions in a large pan with a little oil until they are soft but not coloured.Add the grated ginger and cook for another couple of minutes.

Place the carrots and butternut squash onto a roasting tray and roast dry in the oven for about 20 minutes so they are coloured but be careful not to burn them.

Warm the stock and then add to the onions and ginger along with the roasted carrots and squash. Bring to the boil and then simmer for around 20 minutes.

Blend with the honey and lemon juice and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Winter 2007

35

soups

JERUSALEM ARTICHOKE AND OYSTER SOUP This wonderful recipe is by Daniel Woodhouse of McClement’s Restaurant in Twickenham. It appears in Soup Kitchen, an enormous collection of soup recipes edited by Annabel Buckingham and Wild Gourmet, Thomasina Miers, to raise money for homeless charities, including the Salvation Army and Centrepoint. Contributers include Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, Jamie Oliver, Heston Blumenthal, Rick Stein, Sophie Grigson, Marco Pierre White and pretty much every other leading chef you can think of. Eat Sussex is pleased to be able to offer our readers this invaluable book (and perfect Christmas present) at a very special price. See below for details.

Serves EIGHT. 125g (4½oz) butter

2 large banana shallots or four round shallots, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped 800g (1lb 12oz) Jerusalem artichokes, peeled & chopped

1 bunch fresh thyme, chopped

2 bay leaves 1 litre (1¾pints) fish stock 500ml (18fl oz) double cream

20 native oysters, shucked, retaining their liquor Salt & pepper To serve:

150g (5oz) crème fraiche

1 bunch fresh chives, chopped

36

Winter 2007

Melt the butter in a hot pan, add the shallot and garlic and cook until translucent. Add the artichokes, thyme and bay leaves and cook with the lid on until soft, about 15 minutes.

Add the fish stock and simmer until the artichokes become very soft, another five minutes or so.

Add the double cream and the oysters and their liquor, and bring to the boil. Liquidise and pass through a chinois sieve into a clean pan.

Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper.The soup is now ready, served with a dollop of crème fraiche and chopped chives.

EAT SUSSEX READERS’ OFFER To save 20% and order your copy of Soup Kitchen at the special price of £11.99 (RRP £14.99) please call the HarperCollins Hotline on: 0870 787 1732 and quote Dept 274B before Janaury 31st 2008. Or write to Mail Order Dept 274B, HarperCollins Publishers, Westerhill Road, Bishopbriggs, Glasgow G64 2QT, enclosing a cheque made payable to HarperCollins Publishers.

Free P&P for all UK orders. Please allow 21 days for delivery.

Scott Flyer.qxp

31/10/2007

23:19

Page 1

S.A.Deveson Greengrocers are pleased to announce the opening of their new High Class Produce Store in Saltdean, situated along Lustrells Vale, opposite the free public car park. The shop stocks a large range of fruit and vegetables to warm you winter evenings, including a new plant centre. *Be early for christmas ! now stocking a selection of luxury festive goodies, such as mince pies, sauces, chutneys and puddings, orders for christmas welcome* Wide range of infinity products, Zummo fresh orange juice, organic Bread baked daily, Organic milk, butter & cheeses, Range of vegetarian and vegan products.

FREE LOCAL DELIVERY ON ALL ORDERS OVER £10 FIND US AT: 60 High Street, Rottingdean, Tel 303257 71 Lustrells Vale, Saltdean, Tel: 390055

HIGH CLASS FRESH PRODUCE SUPPLIERS WHOLESALE & RETAIL SUPPLY

FREE DELIVERY

Please call us with your requirements, no matter how diverse!

We stock the largest range of fresh produce in the area.

Please call in to see our beautiful new shop in East Wittering

For friendly, professional service call 01243 672121/672722 www.munneries.co.uk 21 Shore Road, East Wittering, Sussex PO20 8DY

e r f ord

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organic vegetable boxes fresh from our farm to your door

all our produce is:

move to a healthier, fresher diet of seasonal vegetables delivered free to your doorstep

• traditionally grown

our award winning vegboxes start from only £7.50

• organic

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ai

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r freigh

t

0845 600 2311 www.riverford.co.uk

Brighton’s Local Farm Shop Accessible to All.

• fresh

• great value we

30/8/07 09:13:48

Park Farm Shop

farm etabl ur o r go a n i c v e go n y o u e st a b l e Organic Certification UK5

Ri v

Munneries QP (Eat Sussex) 0907.i1 1

Just off the A27 in Falmer Village.

Easy parking.

Open 7 days a week Monday to Saturday, 9am - 5pm Sunday, 9am - 12.30pm

Park Farm Shop Park Street, Falmer Village, Brighton. BN1 9PG

Tel: 01273 671 002 Winter 2007 Park Farm Shop 1107.indd 1

2/11/07 12:29:39

reat beers, fine Gwines and

souvenir gifts...

... from the Brewery Shop in Lewes • • • • •

Firkins and polypins 48 hours notice Up to two gallons on demand Wines, spirits and ciders Glass hire service available Selection boxes of bottled beers

Direct from the brewery at brewery prices Open Monday to Saturday 9.30am – 4.45pm

Harvey & Son (Lewes) Ltd The Bridge Wharf Brewery • 6 Cliffe High Street Lewes • East Sussex BN7 2AH Tel: 01273 480217 www.harveys.org.uk

AWA R D W I N N I N G B E E R S E

S T

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For a selection of the world’s finest wines at sensible prices visit:

Winter 2007

Gastro-Gnome’s Guide

the Gastro-Gnome’s Guide to Hove The Gastro-Gnome hits the streets of Hove in the next instalment of a culinary journey around Sussex.

Photography by Paul Cassidy.

Pintxo People

H

oVe Like its bigger

sister, Brighton, owes a great deal of its architecture to the influence of George IV. It’s always seen itself as the more genteel of the two towns, hence it’s unofficial nickname, ‘Hove Actually’ (as in question: “Do you live Brighton?” Answer: “No, Hove, actually.”). It’s seen a bit of a gastronomic revival in recent years with a huge number of foodrelated businesses seemingly springing up all over.

Gastro-Gnome’s trip to Hove starts at The Ginger Pig (3 Hove St), just off the seaside.

It’s the third of the Gingerman restaurants run by husband and

3

The Ginger Pig

Winter 2007

Gastro-Gnome’s Guide

Quaff

Russell’s

Nature’s way

40

The Forager

Winter 2007

wife team, Ben and Pamela McKellar, and in common with their other ventures, the food here is very good indeed. As one of the city’s leading gastro-pubs, the emphasis here is firmly on the ‘gastro’ rather than the ‘pub’ and hearty dishes using top quality, local produce take centre stage, but the leather sofas make a pleasant spot for a quick G&T while you wait for a table.

South African, David, and his German wife, Kat, have taken inspiration from their respective backgrounds and blended in some Latin and North African flavours as well to come up with Coriander (4-5 Hove Manor, Hove St), a truly unique restaurant and deli with a chilled atmosphere and carefully sourced, wonderfully cooked food. The deli has to be one of the best stocked on the South Coast and always has some surprises in stock. Banana Curry Chocolate anyone?

Someone else who takes great pride in his stock is Toby Peirce at Quaff (139/141 Portland Rd), Hove’s independent fine wine merchant. Quaff operates a ‘wine library’ service that can keep track of what you buy so you don’t have to remember it the next time you’re in. Toby also holds regular tasting events so there’s always something new to try.

Neville at Nature’s Way (2

Stoneham Rd) greengrocers and deli is something of a local legend.

“You couldn’t find a more popular man,” said one regular customer to the Gnome. “Everyone says hello. It’s just like shops used to be, before the supermarkets took over.” High praise indeed!

And you’re guaranteed a warm welcome whatever the weather at Russell’s Sussex Farm Goods Store & Deli (40 Wordsworth St), as well. Russell aims to provide a local corner shop, cafe, farm shop and deli all under one roof. He also does organic veg boxes from Ashurst Farm every Wednesday – he stays in so you don’t have to.

The Stirling Arms used to be a pub that no self-respecting Gnome would set foot in but Paul Hutchingson and Bek Misich have transformed what was formerly a dodgy hovel into The Forager (3 Stirling Place), an absolute gem of a gastro-pub. True to its name, much of the food served up comes from the wild and most of the rest is ethically farmed from Britain.The Gnome can heartily recommend the rabbit but there’s always something tasty on the menu that you probably won’t find anywhere else.The place has a friendly community-focussed feel and even plays host to a regular indie night.

Just by the station, Brighton

the festive season in style!

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Coriander QP (Eat Sussex) 0907.i1 1

30/8/07 21:24:27

local food store and cafe award winning organic home produced meat and eggs home cooked organic deli local game, locally landed fish books, art, cut flowers, plants our own nutritionist everything you need a different way of shopping open every day

01435 874852 www.henonthegate.com On the A267 between MayďŹ eld and Five Ashes, East Sussex

Winter 2007 Hen on the Gate.indd 1

2/11/07 13:06:22

Gastro-Gnome’s Guide

Taj Mahal

The Arrogant Frog

Canhams of Hove

Riddle and Finns

42

& Hove Farmers’ Market (Ralli Hall, Denmark Villas) is one of the biggest in the region and possibly the only vegetarian farmers’ market in the country. It’s on the first Sunday of the month, 10am to 3pm. Organic fruit and

Winter 2007

veg, chilli peppers, cakes, curries and preserves, oh my! There’s also a Health Zone with free nutritional advice and even head and back massages.

At the top of George St, Gnome stumbled across Sensational Foods (57a George St), which stocks all kinds of yummy delights but is justly famous for its sausages.

Across the (pedestrianised) road is a delightful Italian deli, Dolce Vita (56a George St) bringing a touch of the good life to Hove’s main shopping street.

On the fourth Saturday of the month between 10am and 3pm, George St is the location of Hove Farmers’ Market (George St).

Those Hovians can’t get enough of their markets! This one sells meat aplenty along with lots of other fresh and baked produce from around Sussex.

A relative newcomer to the area,

Oblong (81 George St) offers a locally-sourced, seasonal menu to enjoy amongst the glittering chandeliers and polished mirrors.

Owner, Mark Stollar, will be familiar to live music fans as the lead singer of rockabilly band, Jailbait, and to foodies as the former manager of The Dorset in Brighton.

Scheduled to open in early December, Riddle & Finns Champagne & Oyster Bar (129 Church Rd), aims to offer all you’ve come to expect of its sister branch in Brighton, with a fresh fish counter and a delicious seafood menu. But upstairs promises a new feel with an extended menu served in ultraplush surroundings, panelled walls, curvy, cushioned seating and thick pile carpet. A special take home service, with all the components of a meal plus easy instructions, is also available.

It’s all change in Hove, on the site of what used to be the post office, Otello’s Food Hall (120 Church Rd), is rather in the style of Bill’s Produce Stores in Brighton and Lewes, brimming with fresh produce and a perfect place to stop for a coffee and a cake while the world rushes by.

Rosario Guarneri, chef/patron of The Arrogant Frog (119 Church Rd), has built a fine reputation for classic French gastronomic food at his previous restaurant,Victor’s. As a father of

a young girl Rosario opened Le Petit Pain, a traditional boulangerie and patisserie, to have more time with his family but this year his passion for gastronomy has proved too strong to resist and he’s closed Le Petit Pain to reopen as The Arrogant Frog.

Canhams of Hove (48 Church Rd) is a real, old fashioned, family butchers shop selling excellent free range and organic meat, along with a great selection of hand-made pies and pastries.

Home-made chocolates, exquisitely beautiful cakes that are almost too pretty to eat and some delicious savouries too are available to eat in or take away at La Fourchette Patisserie (42 Church Rd). The ambience is pure Paris and the cakes taste every bit as good as they look.

Yet another new kid on the block, The Toast of Brighton & Hove (40 Church Rd) will have flung open its doors and welcomed in the party-loving residents of Hove by the time you read this.The Gnome caught a sneak preview of this specialist champagne shop. In addition to a mind-boggling range of bubbly, Toast has all the champagnerelated accessories you could possibly imagine, all displayed in a suitably swish and divinely decadent shop.

At H a r r y ’s E n g l i s h Restaurant (41 Church Rd), owner, Harry Lees, and chef, Claire Nichols, serve up a tasty selection of good old British grub.

Gastro-Gnome’s Guide

Their full English breakfasts are a feast to behold and their best selling dish is Liver and Bacon, although their home-made Steak & Kidney Pie is always very popular too.

As you might expect from the scrummy food on offer at the Hove branch of the deli/ cafe Bona Foodie (75-76 Western Rd), Deirdre Chase is an accomplished chef and even counts a Maharaja among her clients. He’s particularly fond of her jam roly-poly, apparently.

As well as running their delightful shop full of gorgeous things, I Gigi General Store (31a Western Rd), Alex and Zoe have a charming café upstairs. It’s a perfect spot to enjoy a bowl of home-made soup and watch the hustle bustle on the street below.

Graze (42 Western Rd) offers a new concept in dining with their Taster Menu, which allows guests to enjoy many courses of starter size dishes in the elegant Regency-inspired but thoroughly modern surroundings. Of course, for the idea to work, every single dish needs to be guaranteed to really wow, and the GastroGnome’s pleased to report, after extremely exhaustive research, that this is most definitely the case.

Part of an independent group of four café-bars in Brighton & Hove, The Tin Drum (10 Victoria Grove, Second Ave), is a family-friendly eaterie serving breakfast, lunch and dinner plus a range of bar food through the day.

The menu is modern European

with a strong Polish influence.

Fish comes fresh from the boats at nearby Shoreham.

A new venture from Pascal, chef/patron of La Fourchette, Brasserie Pascal (6 Queen’s Place, Second Ave), offers French bistro-style meals in a relaxed, informal setting.

Certainly not newcomers to the area, Audrey’s Chocolates (28 Holland Rd) have been making the most delicious hand-made English confectionary for 60 years now, and have won numerous awards during that time. Their specialities are traditional fondant creams, rose and violet in particular, although they have a varied range including marzipans, caramels and nuts.

Western Rd has a very global atmosphere with restaurants and shops selling cuisine from all over the world. Stepping into Taj Mahal (95 Western Rd) is like taking a magic carpet ride to an Eastern Bazaar. All the colours, smells and flavours of a vibrant street market are crammed into

Coriander

la Fourchette Patisserie

Bona Foodie

Graze

I Gigi

one huge shop specializing in natural, organic, fair trade, exotic, and locally sourced foods. For more familiar fare, there’s always Waitrose (130-131 Western Rd), of course.

Pintxo People (95 Western Rd) (pronounced ‘pincho’) offers a slice of Barcelona in Hove.This gorgeous tapas restaurant has won numerous awards and accolade, and deservedly so. Downstairs, the café/deli has a laid-back atmosphere with wooden tables and walls lined with shelves but upstairs the feeling is altogether more sexy but no less relaxed.

The food and cocktails are extraordinary and the service always comes with a beaming smile.

And last but not least, on the border of Brighton and Hove, the contemporary French cuisine at La Fourchette (105 Western Road) has proved so popular since it opened that the restaurant has now given birth to a patisserie and a brasserie (see above). The menu changes regularly and features locally-caught fish, meat and vegetarian dishes. n

Winter 2007

43

Sussex Special Reserve

Lamb

The Trust’s thriving grazing operation now produces surplus lambs. We offer this high quality product for sale to our members and local people. The income helps make the grazing project self-supporting.

The lamb is: Traditional breeds with distinctive flavours (Herdwick, Shetland, Hebridean, Wiltshire and Southdown) Naturally-reared on our nature reserves Raised to high welfare standards & ‘food-miles’ are low Used to graze internationally-important conservation sites Benefiting key downland species like the adonis blue butterfly and the burnt orchid £55 (half lamb) £100 (whole lamb) Our farm butcher uses traditional finishing techniques to produce a higher quality, full-flavoured, tender meat.

For further details and to place an order please contact: Sharon Beeney at Woods Mill

(01273) 492630

High Class Butchers & Poulterers Specialising in low food miles and free range produce.

All turkeys and chicken eggs are produced on our farm.

Hog Roast, Barbeque and Catering specialists.

HOLMANSBRIDGE FARM SHOP Townlittleworth Road, Cooksbridge, BN8 4TD Tel: 01273 401 964 or 07775 843 155 Email: holmansbridge@aol.com Butchers Shop open: Tuesday to Friday, 9am to 6pm Saturday, 9am to 5pm

Taking Care of Sussex

Holmansbridge QP (Eat Sussex) 111 1

Chicken as it should taste like.

We are a small family farm producing slow growing, addititve-free roasting chicken and Christmas turkeys which are barn reared, plucked, hung and prepared at our farm.

Our chicken are available at: Richards’ Butchers, Lewes • Ben’s Butchers, Lewes • Old Spot Farm Shop, Piltdown • Fletching Butchers, Fletching • South Chailey Post Office and Stores • Great Park Farm Shop, Catsfield • Sharnfold Farm Shop, Stone Cross • Chilley Farm Shop, Pevensey • Beachy Head Farm Shop • Bishop Butchers, Uckfield • Turner’s Traditional Farm Butchers, Ringmer Christmas Turkeys and Lamb are also available direct from Ersham Farm and local Farmers’ Markets: Lewes, 1st Saturday of the Month, Hailsham, 2nd Saturday of the month; Heathfield, 3rd Saturday; Crowborough, 4th Saturday; and East Dean every Wednesday morning.

Ersham Farm

Ersham Farm, Ersham Road, Hailsham, East Sussex. BN27 3LJ Tel: 01323 841272 or 07972 794757.

25/10/07 13:36:24

Turkeys for a feast of real flavour.

‘Bred to be wild’ The KellyBronze® turkey is the ultimate experience in Christmas dining.

Bred and raised by using traditional farming methods, KellyBronze® turkeys are free to roam in pastures. At night they have the shelter of open-sided pole barns, with deep straw and plenty of fresh air.

The birds are grown to maturity over several months and fed on locally grown cereals and vegetable protein – without additives, drugs or growth promoters.

The result is turkey with ‘good old fashioned’ flavour – beautifully moist and a densely textured meat. It’s a real treat to eat.

Nev & Pat Champion Badgers Mead Farm, Five Ashes, Near Mayfield, East Sussex. TN20 6JH Tel: 01825 830421 Fax: 01825 830891 Email: pat_champion@hotmail.com

Winter 2007

Erhsam Farm QP (Eat Sussex) 11071 1

31/10/07 KellyBronze 10:46:39 (Eat Sussex Ad) 11071 1

1/11/07 15:32:01

In my own words

Fiona Kay: Cheese Please O

riginally I was a schoolteacher, teaching in Hove, maths and girls’ g a m e s . Un for t u n at e l y I d a m a g e d my voice through vocal abuse – not by shouting at the children but overuse of the voice and not letting it recover when it went. After an operation I was recommended to retire from teaching. I’d always wanted my own business so here I am with a specialist cheese shop.

I opened in July 2006 and moved to the High St in February 2007 from the Old Needlemakers. It was a bit tucked away but people managed to find us by the smell of wonderful cheeses.

I love cheese.The thing that gave me the idea for the shop was that

“Cheese isn’t just for Christmas.

Cheese is for the whole year round” at Christmastime, you get all these fantastic cheeses from these larger places whose names we shall not say and then after that you’re back to the same old range. It used to really irritate me. Cheese isn’t just for Christmas. Cheese is for the whole year round.

I love running my own business and meeting such lovely customers. We get a really wide range of people, all with very good taste. I get a great feeling of satisfaction at being able to share all these wonderful quality products with people.

I have over a hundred cheeses; I think at the last count it was 105 different cheeses, ranging from a

large selection of cows’ cheeses, sheeps’ cheeses, goats’ cheeses and buffalo cheeses. Mainly from smaller producers around Britain but also good classic continental cheeses as well, e.g. cave-aged Gruyere, cave-aged Emmental, really good Brie de Meaux, and Roquefort.

The cheeses of this area are interesting and very varied. There are some very well established farms and dairies and some quite recent ones. Bestbier Cheese has been around for no more than two years and they are creating some excellent new cheeses. I think they are all very exciting with some great qualities to offer.

I love Wigmore, which is a sheeps’ Brie, but I’m also partial to a lot of the others. I haven’t got an actual favourite but the Wigmore comes close.

Baked fig balls are a wonderful addition to any cheeseboard.

They come from Calabria in Italy.The figs are baked, wrapped in a leaf and then baked again.

Thinly sliced with cheeses they are absolutely amazing, the flavour is just fantastic and complements the cheeses beautifully.

Last Christmas I cut up 48kg of Stilton – the best keep-fit you could ever do. And I must have cut about 30 Olde Sussex for cheeseboards, and at least fifteen Brie. n Cheese Please, 46 High St, Lewes. BN7 2DD

Winter 2007

45

CHANCTONBURY GAME

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7g^Y\Z ;Vgb! 7dlZgaVcY AVcZ! A^c\ÒZaY! HjggZn G=, +9; 8Vaa C^Vaa VcY H]Z^aV %&()' -((-'* $ %,,&*%)*,--# ;Vm/ %&()' -(*(&' :bV^a/ e^\h#^cheVXZ5Wi^ciZgcZi#Xdb

Bridge Farm QP (Eat Sussex) 11071 1

Winter 2007

At Chanctonbury Game we can supply you with the best free-range Game & Venison from the fields and woods of Sussex.

Then we dress and prepare it for the table in modern hygenic premises. Available direct from the farm or farmers markets.

CHANCTONBURY GAME North Farm, Washington, Pulborough, West Sussex. RH20 4BB Tel: 01903 877551 Fax: 01903 872868 OPEN

September to February February to August 6 days-a-week, Friday & Saturday only, 9am-5pm 9am-4pm

2/11/07 15:38:31 Chantonbury Game QP (Eat Sussex)1 1

UK 6368 EC

1/11/07 16:07:52

Farmers’ Markets in Sussex East Sussex

West Sussex

Firle

Battle 3rd Saturday of every month, 9am-1pm, Battle Abbey Green Tel: 01424 751575

Bexhill 4th Thursday of every month, 9am-12noon, Parkhurst Methodist Hall, Parkhurst Road Tel: 01424 222969

Brede Every Friday, 10am-12noon, Brede Village Hall Tel: 01424 882836

Brighton & Hove 1st Sunday of every month, 10am-3pm, Ralli Hall, next to Hove Station Tel: 01273 323200

Brighton & Hove 4th Saturday of every month, 10am-3pm, George Street, Hove Tel: 01273 470900

Crowborough 4th Saturday of every month, 9am-1pm, Wealden District Council car park Tel: 01892 664064

Crowhurst Village market 1st Saturday of every month, 10am-12noon, Crowhurst Village Hall Tel: 01424 830461

East Dean Village Market Every Wednesday, 10.30am-12.30pm, East Dean Village Hall Tel: 01323 423481

4th Sunday of the month, March to November, 10am-2pm, Middle Farm on A27 near Firle Tel: 01323 811411

Petworth

Arundel

3rd Saturday of every month, 9am-1pm, Town Centre Tel: 01903 884772 / 07881 687694

Hailsham 2nd Saturday of every month, 9am-12.30pm, Hailsham Cattle Market Tel: 01323 833359

Billingshurst

Chichester

2nd Saturday of every month, 9am-1pm, East St Tel: 01273 263152

1st and 3rd Friday of every month, 9am-2pm, East St & North St Tel: 01243 785166

2nd and 4th Thursday of every month, 9am-2pm, Robertson Street (next to Debenhams) Tel: 01424 457109

East Grinstead

1st and 3rd Thursday of every month, 9am-2pm, High St Tel: 01932 788001

Heathfield 3rd Saturday of every month, 9am12.30pm, Heathfield Co-op car park Tel: 01435 862798

Hassocks

Lewes 1st Saturday of every month, 9am-1pm, Cliffe Pedestrian Precinct Tel: 01273 470900

Pevensey Bay village market 2nd Saturday of every month, 8.45am-11.45am, St Wilfrid’s Hall, Eastbourne Road Tel: 01323 460178

4th Saturday of every month, 9am-1pm, National Tyres Forecourt Rachellovell@hotmail.com

Henfield

Rye

Horsham

Every Saturday, 9am-5pm, Carfax (Town Centre) Tel: 01403 215386

Midhurst

Uckfield 1st Saturday of every month, 9am-1pm, Luxford Car Park Tel: 01825 760646

Shoreham-by-Sea

Slindon 4th Thursday of every month (excl.

Dec), 8.30am-12.30pm, Coronation Hall, Reynolds Lane Tel: 01243 814777

Southwater Every Tuesday, 9am-1pm, Lintot Square, Tel: 01243 814777

Steyning

Haywards Heath

2nd and 4th Thursday of every month, 9am-2pm, The Orchards Shopping Centre Tel: 01932 788001 3rd Friday of every month, 9am-1pm, Henfield Hall Car Park Tel: 01273 492595

Every Wednesday, 10am-1pm, Strand Quay Tel: 01797 280282

Pulborough Last Saturday of every month, Feb to Dec, 9am-12noon, Pulborough Village Hall Tel: 01798 874388

3rd Wednesday of every month, 9am-1pm, Jengers Mead Tel: 01403 215386

Hastings

4th Saturday of alternate months (Dec, Feb), 8.30am-1.30pm, Market Square Tel: 01243 785166

4th Saturday of alternate months (Nov, Jan), 8.30am-1.30pm, Capron House Car Park Tel: 01243 785166

1st Saturday of every month, 9am-1pm, High St Car Park (opp Clock Tower) Tel: 01403 711057

West Chiltington 2nd Saturday of every month, 9am-12noon, Village Hall Tel: 01798 815455

Wisborough Green 2nd Thursday of every month, 9am12.30pm, Village Hall Tel: 01403 700624

Worthing 4th Saturday of every month, 9am-2pm, South St Square Tel: 01903 203252

Award winning Pasta Products!

Farm made in Sussex, using locally sourced, fresh ingredients.

As seen on BBC1 South today.

The World’s First Specialist Sausage Shop

Available for retail, restaurants, hotels, schools, etc.

Free from additives, preservatives & sugar.

Suitable for Vegetarians and freezing.

Try our Tasty Seasonal Sizzlers

Tel: 01444 881394

O’Hagan’s Extra-Special Christmas Sausages

www.bookhamcheese.co.uk

Our sausages are made using free range and rare breed pork.

Order online at:

www.topsausages.com O’HAGAN’S SAUSAGE SHOP Tel: 01243 532833 The Butter Market, North Street Chichester, West Sussex. PO19 1LQ

7537.indd 1 O'Hagans 1107.indd 1

2/11/07 13:00:14

Winter 2007

2/11/07 12:51:37

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Battle Deli 58 High Street, Battle, East Sussex 01424 777 810

GET CHRISTMAS ALL WRAPPED UP WITH DELICIOUS FOOD GIFTS For lovers of REAL FOOD… We are pleased to offer our customers foods that are made by our chefs with care, a passion for food and attention to seasonal and local produce. Try our vast range of: • Local, English and Continental Cheeses; Homecooked pies, pastries, cakes, cookies and desserts • Fabulous Deli Counter with all you would expect from a good Deli, and MORE Freshly made salads, pates, Hand-carved Ham, cured meats and fish, hummus, pesto • Excellent, freshly ground Coffee with numerous varieties • Cheese biscuits and accompaniments, preserves, pickles, chutneys and condiments • Fine Wines sourced from private and small estates • Great food gift ideas, Hampers, Celebration Cakes, Dinner Party Tokens and more • Affordable Catering – a speciality!

We are new in the neighbourhood, so do come in and see us soon!

HigH Weald dairy

Award winning cheeses, locally made in the heart of Sussex.

At High Weald Dairy we make a range of delicious award winning cheeses from organic sheep and cows milk.

Using organic milk from the cows on Tremains Farm, we make the Gold Award winning Tremains Organic Cheddar, Ashdown Foresters (including oak smoked) and the deliciously fresh Cowslip, plain and with chives. Sheep milk is turned into rich Duddleswell, Sussex Slipcote in three varieties, as well as the Mediterranean Feta and Halloumi.

All are available from independent food outlets throughout Sussex. Please call us for your nearest stockist.

Sussex High Weald Dairy, Tremains Farm, Horstead Keynes, Haywards Heath, RH17 7EA Tel: 01825 791636 Fax: 01825 791641 www.highwealddairy.co.uk

Weald Dairy QP (Eat Sussex)1 1 2/11/07 High 11:48:55

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Heavenly Organics Brighten-up the winter months with a visit to Heavenly Organics, the new ORGANIC FARM SHOP at Heaven Farm.

We stock a delicious selection of organic, local produce, all natural and free from artificial additives.

Browse amongst the unique gifts, choose an organic hamper and treat yourself from our extensive range of scrumptious organic treats. Order your locally reared organic turkey, ham and meats for the festive season, and for the traditional cooks, we sell all the ingredients you need for home baking.

So take time out from the hustle and bustle of the crowded towns and enjoy a warm welcome at Heavenly Organics.

Spend over £10 and receive a complementary re-usable cotton bag when you show this advert.

Ample Free Parking – Credit/Debit cards accepted.

Downsview Farmhouse ice cream is made with the very best cream and milk from our own heard of cows.

As christmas is just around the corner why don’t you try one or two of our specials?

Christmas Pudding ice cream, Coffee with Tia Maria, Whisky Mac, Brandy ice cream.

Or why not try a sorbet, Champagne, Mulled Wine. Melon and Port.

Phone Sarah on 01825 841002 to find out your nearest stockest.

Tel: 07879 421848 E-mail: Jane@HeavenlyOrganicsUK.com

www.downsviewfarm.co.uk

Heavenly Organics, Heaven Farm, Furners Green, East Sussex, TN22 3RG

Downsview Farmhouse, Laughton Road Ringmer, East Sussex. BN8 5UT

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The Wild Side

Fergus’ Nightmare before Christmas

Fergus Drennan Exploring the wild side of fungi

E

arly in October I came

50

upon a friend deep in the woods who, like myself, was on his first in depth, nose to the ground, seasonal outing to size up what the autumnal woods and fields were or would soon be likely to throw up in the way of festive fungal delights (‘Festive?’ you ask. Read on).

A few hours later we crossed paths again and, amazing as it may seem, we had both found exactly the same quantity of mushrooms: a huge, magnif icent and utterly dire load of absolutely nothing! We bemoaned the fact, blaming the now almost predictably dry Septembers of recent years.

Nevertheless, eternally optimistic or mycologically mad as fungi foragers must be, we consoled ourselves in the knowledge that, from past experience, come our respective birthdays, success would be guaranteed. I hadn’t known when his was, nor he mine; yet it seems we were both born to celebrate the height of the mushroom season between October the 22nd (my birthday)

Winter 2007

and November the 5th (his). Of course, between these dates lie two other great occasions for celebration, fun and mayhem: Halloween and Guy Fawkes’ night.

Search in and around large nettle patches on moist, well manured pasture and, with persistence and a generous helping of good luck, chances are youWILL find, not just one Giant Puffball, but lots. Five, six or even more is not unusual; certainly far more than even the most gluttonous mushroom gourmet could possible eat. Last year I found six huge ones on 31st October, Halloween – all big, firm and perfectly white throughout; prime candidates for eating but also absolutely perfect for making ghoulish, flickering, flame-faced Giant Puffball ‘pumpkins’. Light the hallowed fire, slice off the ‘pumpkin’ top, hollow out large chunks of mushroom from the centre, cut into batons, batter (beer, plain flour, a pinch of salt) and deep fry in oil until golden brown. In the meantime, get to work shaping the glaring eyes and jaggedly ferocious teeth.

However, let us not forget the growing popularity of trick or

treating because I’ve a real treat of a trick for you! From the nearest damp and open pine wood, gather together a basketful of a fungus named, with wicked and devilish aptness, Witch’s Eggs.

These are the immature egg-like stage of the Phallus Stinkhorn (Phallus impudicus) that can be readily collected in large numbers.

Despite being separated from their mycelium (a fungus ‘root’ system), placing the unopened ‘eggs’ on walls, in flower pots or any place you fancy will result, a few days later, in the phallic fungus busting forth to erect maturity. Trick or treat? You decide!

However, moving swiftly on to the realm of fungi as objects of beauty and captured memories, let’s examine their Christmas gift potential.

There can be no better way to capture the sensual joy of copper, sun-dappled ferns and the soft, under-foot, resinous damp of late autumn pine woods, than by finding some prefrost Chanterelles (Cantharellus cibarius), brushing them clean and beautifully preserving them in the strongest vodka you can find: 45 per cent plusmakes the perfect gift

and aperitif before any meal (allow to stand for one month before eating or drinking).The gorgeous rainbow mix of colours provided by edible Russula species (the Brittlegills), the vibrant amethyst of the Amethyst Deceiver (Laccaria amethystine), the intense blood red of Scarlet Waxcaps (Hygrocybe coccinea) and the delightful fragrance of Aniseed Funnels (Clitocybe odora) can similarly be captured in spirit! Although do flambé the latter before eating.

Also, all but the chanterelles will benefit from the addition of fresh truffle slices.

Pickling and presenting in an ornate jar or wide-topped bottle is another gift idea. This works well with Cauliflower Fungus (Sparassis crispa), small Bay Boletes (Boletus badius), middleaged Chicken-of-the-woods (Laetiporus sulphurous), Beef Steak Fungus (Fistulina hepatica) and Jelly Ears (Auricularia auricularjudae).

For fresh wild fungi to eat with your Christmas dinner go for Trumpet Chanterelles (Cantherellus tubaeformis) which can be found in huge quantities (last year, into January).These also dry very well and, again, make perfect presents.

Even the first hard frosts need not be a source of fungal despair as frost actually stimulates the growth of some species: Wood Blewits (Lepista nuda – found Oct – Dec), Field Blewits (Lepista saeva – OctMar) andVelvet Shank (Flammulina velutipes – Oct - Mar).

Above all else though, be safe this autumn. There are approximately17 known deadly poisonous fungi and 65 poisonous as well as numerous suspect fungi!

Don’t consume anything unless you are certain it’s edible and then only consume small amounts on the first occasion to make sure your digestive system allows it.

Gather with an experienced picker and buy yourself (or offer as a present) a good mushroom guide. Roger Phillips Mushrooms is excellent as is the new one from River Cottage: Mushrooms by John Wright.

Season’s greetings and happy hunting! n

Thick or thin, rough or smooth, rain or shine.

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