Crumbs Cotswolds - Issue 63

CRUMBS COTSWOLDS NO.63 January 2018

VEGAN ISSUE

A little slice of foodie heaven

THE

What d’you call a cat who eats Jerusalem artichokes?

Puss ’n’ Toots!

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NO.63 January 2018

SHOULD COCO!

VIVA LAS

VEGANs!

16 E M A L U E R J S s E K R O T A ICH

INSIDE STROUD’S COCO CARAVAN, THE VEGAN CHOCOLATIER

E ONLLY VEGEETABLERECCIPEs FROM THE REGION’S BEST COOKS

crumbsmag .com

NOR WILL LL MY SPADE SLEEPP TIHA IN MY HAND WE WVNE GRO

IN THE COTSWOLDS’ COLD BUT PLEASANT LAND

£3 where sold

ARE YOU CHOKING?

LLIVE LI IVE & KICKING! KICK

WHAT FUELS FOREST GREEN ROVERS?

(HINT: IT’S THE WORLD’s ONLY ALL-VEGAN FOOTBALL CLUB)

BRIDAL BREAKFASTs!

NIFTY NOSH FOR YOUR NUPTIALS

PLUS! LYGON BAR & GRILL GREY’s BRASSERIE AT WHATLEY MANOR TO FISH AT SIMPSONs FISH AND CHIPs

IT’S A VEGAN ‘FISH’ SUPPER! (NO, REALLY!)

ThE v sIGn HANDS UP if your New Year’s resolutions have anything to do with eating better or more healthily? I’d like to bet that there are more than a few digits waving around up and down the Cotswolds right now – mine very much included.

But while resolutions might be a bit of cliché (and how many of us actually stick to them for the whole 12 months?), the arrival of New Year is still a good excuse for trying new things and making positive changes.

There’s been a lot of chat lately about how embracing a plant-based diet can be good in all kinds of ways – helping improve health; caring for the environment; all that – so this issue we’ve been inspired by Veganuary, a whole month of embracing a vegan diet and showcasing the fantastic plantbased options out there. Even if you’re not in the market for completely changing your lifestyle, we hope you’ll find something vegan you’ll enjoy in these pages.

To that end we’ve got 16 deliciously veg-centric recipes for you to have a go at, shortlisted some of our favourite vegan cook books, and found some yummy vegan products to stock your cupboards. We’ve also been chatting to the peeps at the world’s only vegan football club – which happens to be right on our patch in Nailsworth – and have been exploring the art of vegan chocolate making.

All in all, it’s a pretty vegtastic issue.

Oh, and a very happy New Year to you all!

Emma Dance Editor emma.dance@mediaclash.co.uk Crumbs is now an app!

Search ‘Crumbs’, or go to crumbsmag.com

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Office: 01453 836817 • Mobile: 07471 905679 • pip@pipmorris.co.uk • www.pipmorrisinteriors.co.uk

crumbsmag.com EDITOR

EMMA DANCE emma.dance@mediaclash.co.uk DEVELOPMENT EDITOR

MATT BIELBY matt.bielby@mediaclash.co.uk ONLINE EDITOR

DAN IZZARD dan.izzard@mediaclash.co.uk ART DIRECTOR

TREVOR GILHAM DESIGN

VICKY MITCHARD ADVERTISING MANAGER

DANIELLE MORRIS danielle.morris@mediaclash.co.uk SALES EXECUTIVE

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SARAH KINGSTON sarah.kingston@mediaclash.co.uk DEPUTY PRODUCTION MANAGER

KIRSTIE HOWE kirstie.howe@mediaclash.co.uk PRODUCTION DESIGNER

GEMMA SCRINE gemma.scrine@mediaclash.co.uk

Table of Contents

NO.63 JANUARY 2018

CHIEF EXECUTIVE

JANE INGHAM jane.ingham@mediaclash.co.uk

STARTERS

CHIEF EXECUTIVE

GREG INGHAM greg.ingham@mediaclash.co.uk large version

MediaClash, Circus Mews House, Circus Mews, Bath BA1 2PW; 01225 475800 www.mediaclash.co.uk © All rights reserved. May not be reproduced without written permission of MediaClash.

MediaClash reserves the right to reject any material and to edit such prior to publication. Opinions are those of individual authors.

Printed on paper from a wellmanaged source. Inks are vegetable-based; printer is certified to ISO 14001 environmental management.

This month we’ve been checking out some epic refurbs, feasting at a game supper club with Tom Kitchin – and drinking anything mulled we can lay our mitts on!

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8 HERO INGREDIENT This artichoke’s no joke...

12 OPENINGS ETC Find out what’s cooking 14 IN THE LARDER Vegan eats that get our vote 16 ASK THE EXPERT The football club that’s harnessing plant power 20 TRIO Creative kitchen designers

CHEF!

AMAZING RECIPES FROM THE REGION’S TOP KITCHENS

26 Trio of vegan bao,

by Barbora Ormerod 28 Superpower granola,

by Fiona Lannon

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30 Butterbean and cashew burger, by Jos Fletcher 32 Warming noodle soup,

by Celia Duplock 34 Moroccan Berber couscous, by Jamie Raftery ADDITIONAL RECIPES

10 Roasted Jerusalem artichokes with romesco sauce, by Riverford 23 Pearl barley and clementine Brussels sprout salad, by Rita Serano 36 Persian(ish) cauliflower rice, by Kathy Slack

KITCHEN ARMOURY 40 CRUMBS COOKS WITH Totally vegan, totally lush chocolate from Coco Caravan

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45 THE WANT LIST Fine looking fruit and veg

MAINS 48 READY, VEGGIE, GO! Top chefs share their ideas for putting veg front and centre 54 RULES OF ENGAGEMENT How to make your wedding divine and delicious

AFTERS

NEW & NOTABLE RESTAURANTS, CAFÉS, BARS

60 Grey’s Brasserie 62 Lygon Bar & Grill 64 Tofish at Simpsons PLUS

66 LITTLE BLACK BOOK Where chef Jamie Raftery likes to hang out

INNOVATIONS, REVELATIONS AND TASTY AMUSE-BOUCHES

GLAmmEd UP GLA CHELTENHAM’S GLAM NEW HOTSPOT, THE IVY MONTPELLIER BRASSERIE, IS NOW OPEN – AND WOWING ALL AND SUNDRY

This new restaurant, in the town’s iconic Rotunda building, has retained many of the original features of this 19th-century banking hall to create a venue with a real wow-factor. It’s the latest offshoot of London’s iconic restaurant The Ivy, on West Street in Covent Garden, which first opened 100 – yes, 100! – years ago. The Ivy Montpellier Brasserie offers accessible all-day dining, running from breakfasts and elevenses to weekend brunches, lunches, afternoon teas, light snacks, dinners and cocktails – Ivy classics (like their shepherd’s pie, eggs Benedict and chocolate bomb with hot salted caramel sauce) are very much included, as well as a special Cheltenham-inspired cocktail – the English Spa Royale. theivycheltenhambrasserie.com

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S T A R T E R S

JerusaLem artiChOke WE LOVE IT WHEN A FOODSTUFF HAS A BUNCH OF CRAZY NAMES, AND DELICIOUS JERUSALEM ARTICHOKE’S ARE ESPECIALLY SILLY…

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nyone fancy a sunchoke? A lambchoke? Or an earth apple? No? Well, what about a Canadian truffle?

Whatever the name – and that little lot are just the tip of a particularly lumpy iceberg – the nutty, silky-textured Jerusalem artichoke is one of the real treats of the midwinter larder. If only it didn’t insist on lying to us so...

You see, despite its protestations, the Jerusalem artichoke isn’t actually an artichoke at all. Rather, it’s a type of sunflower – the bit we eat is its lumpy, brown-skinned, ginger lookalike of a tuber. And it’s got nothing to do with Jerusalem, either.

In fact, this guy is from the New World, and the name is probably vaguely Italian – an English corruption of the word ‘girasole’, meaning sunflower – with the ‘artichoke’ bit tacked on to explain the globe artichoke-like flavour, something first spotted by French explorer Samuel de Champlain, who brought them across the Atlantic around 1605.

Native Americans had been harvesting them long before they ever saw a European face, but while tubers sent back to the Old World proved a hit, becoming a popular naturalised crop – especially in France, where they recently voted Jerusalem artichoke the ‘Best Ever Soup Vegetable’ – they were quickly forgotten about in the US, except as animal feed.

The name may be misleading, but two things we’ve always been able to trust about Jerusalem artichokes are their taste – earthily sweet, with elegant hints of garlic or mushroom – and their healthy qualities, being stuffed with iron, potassium and vitamin B1. They’re friendly to type 2 diabetics too, and not fattening. Chefs love ’em because they’re more interesting than the broadly comparable swede – as do farmers, as they’re high yielding, disease-resistant, and easy to grow. (Sometimes too easy, and extreme measures can be needed to stop their spread.)

As an intrinsically knobbly thing, Jerusalem artichokes can be hard to peel or scrub clean – so probably best to pick ones that are only moderately knobbly – while any with dark, wrinkled or soft patches should be avoided. Keep them unpeeled (they’ll last well over a week in a cool, dark place) until using, as the flesh will discolour in the air, but if you really have to peel them, plop them into a bowl of

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acidulated water (water with a bit of lemon juice or vinegar added) to keep until needed.

To cook, treat Jerusalem artichoke like any winter root veg, so roast ’em like mini jacket potatoes (perhaps with the likes of garlic, sage, thyme, bay or rosemary); purée them for soup; have them either raw (so sweet, crisp and nutty) or cooked (smooth, aromatic and artichokelike) with the likes of feta and bacon in a salad; pop ’em into a casserole or stew; or sauté, braise or stir fry. When cooking keep half an eye on them, though, as they can go a bit mushy if you’re not careful.

Jerusalem artichokes make for the silkiest, lightest of mashes, and – with breadcrumbs, cheese and cream – work brilliantly as a topping for fish pie. Indeed, we’ve seen these guys served with everything from game birds to beef, shellfish to lamb, and the combo almost always works. You can even make an intense brandy or digestif from them, as the Germans are wont to do. This – ironically enough, as we’re about to find out – is often considered a remedy for diarrhoea or abdominal pain...

Which brings us to our unfortunate last few paragraphs. You see, the carb these things are full of – inulin – is hard to break down, which can send the digestive system into overdrive to cope, often with Ex-Lax-esque results. Basically, don’t be too surprised if, after eating, you experience tummy rumbling and a clear understanding of where another of Jerusalem artichoke’s nicknames – ‘fartichoke’ – comes from.

Some say this is mainly caused by the skin (so maybe you do want to peel them after all), while others claim it only happens when you eat them whole (rather than chopped into pieces), or when you eat them raw. And many, of course, claim to have never experienced any of these ill effects at all... Hmm. What we do know is that this unfortunate quality has long been commented upon, with the celebrated English botanist John Goodyer writing in 1621 that they “cause a filthy loathsome stinking wind within the body” making them “more fit for swine than men”.

To which we can only say, lucky porkers. But also: just buy a few to start with and see how you – and the intestinal flora you’ll be relying upon to break these things down – get on. Hey, when a veggie has so many undeniable upsides, surely it’s worth the risk...?

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R E C I P E

ROASTEd JERUSALEm ARTIChOKES wITh ROMESCO SAUCE

BY RIVERFORD

Romesco sauce is a Catalan classic: a fullbodied, textured nut and red pepper-based mix. It’s excellent here with tender roast Jerusalem artichokes as a vegan dish – but would be equally good on sourdough toast, on baked eggs, with roast potatoes, lamb, grilled fish... Indeed, it’s highly recommended to make double quantities and keep some in the fridge!

INGREDIENTS SERVES 4 1 garlic head 2 red peppers 75g blanched almonds, toasted until golden 25g whole hazelnuts, roasted and skinned ¼ tsp smoked paprika ½ tsp paprika 1 dried chilli, crumbled ½ tsp dried mint 1 tsp red wine vinegar, plus a little more to taste olive oil 600g Jerusalem artichokes (scrubbed clean, skins left on) salt and pepper METHOD 1 Preheat oven to 200C/400F/gas mark 6.

2 Slice the top off the garlic bulb to reveal the tips of the cloves. Drizzle with a little oil and wrap in foil. Put the peppers in a baking dish.

3 Put the garlic and the peppers in the oven and roast for 45 minutes, turning the peppers once during cooking, until the pepper skins are blackened and the garlic soft.

4 Put the peppers in a plastic bag and leave for a few minutes, until cool enough to handle, then peel off the skins and discard the seeds.

5 Put the almonds, hazelnuts, peppers, both paprikas, dried chilli, mint and vinegar in a food processor with a good pinch of salt. Squeeze in about half the head of roasted garlic.

6 Blitz, adding enough olive oil to make a thick sauce. Taste and add more vinegar, seasoning or oil. Transfer to a bowl.

7 Cut the artichokes in half lengthways and toss in a baking dish, in just enough oil to coat. Roast until tender and golden, 30-40 minutes.

8 Season with salt and pepper and serve with the romesco dipping sauce.

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For more veg-tastic recipes, go to riverford.co.uk

wintertime••maytime

DON’T BE DRY THIS JANUARY,

COME AND CELEBRATE GIN-UARY AT THE MAYTIME WITH OVER 100 TYPES OF GIN TO KEEP YOUR SPIRITS UP!

01993 822068 info@themaytime.com www.themaytime.com Asthall, Burford, Oxfordshire OX18 4HW

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SOmETHING FISHY

Big up to Simpsons takeaway chippy in Stroud, which has become the 100th business to be given a coveted sustainable fish certificate from the Marine Stewardship Council. This means customers can rest assured that their haddock and cod has been caught using sustainable methods – and can even be traced back to the fishermen that caught ’em. There really are plenty more fish in the sea… simpsonsfishandchips.com

GETTING DIRTY

Dirty Bones is the latest arrival in the foodie collection at Oxford’s Westgate centre.

The NYC-inspired comfort food menu here has already gained fans at its London sites, but the Oxford restaurant is the biggest yet, with a menu featuring new on-the-bone dishes like sweet peach and BBQ glazed smoked baby back ribs, as well as the famous hotdogs from the Kensington original. (A dirty dog topped with BBQ pulled pork, crispy bacon and jalepeño cheese, anyone?) We’re also a bit enamoured by the sound of the brunch menu, which features the likes of deep dish double dutch pancake, short rib pastrami hash and bottomless boozy brunch cocktails. dirty-bones.com

WINNER, WINNER

Big round of applause, please, for Rob Cox, head chef at the Tudor Farmhouse, who’s just gone and bagged the title of South West Chef of the Year!

But not only that, he also returned home with Best Menu and Best Dish accolades, based on his starter of cured brill, scallop tartare, smoked bacon hollandaise and pickled shallots with puffed spelt. “I’m so thrilled to receive this recognition for my cooking,” he says, “and it’s an honour to represent not only Tudor Farmhouse, but also our beautiful region. The Forest of Dean and Wye Valley are packed full of amazing produce and dedicated suppliers, which makes the job of sourcing great local produce an absolute joy.” tudorfarmhousehotel.co.uk

GREAT BAKES Congrats to Stonehouse’s Dominic Salter from Salt Bakehouse, who has only gone and won the World Bread Award for Best Ciabatta with his Stroud Wild recipe. Dominic’s a bit of a champ at the World Bread Awards, in fact, having been recognised every year for the five years they’ve been running.

(Last year he was crowned Baker of the Year, no less). “It’s fantastic to have won another award,” he says, “and I’m even more delighted to have won with Stroud Wild, a bread with real local heritage, made with organic flour milled in Tetbury.”

saltbakehouse.co.uk

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RING MY BELL

The Bell in Langford, near Burford, has just reopened under the stewardship of two born and bred Cotswolds gents – Peter Creed and Tom Noerst.

Peter will be heading up front of house, while Tom will be working his magic in the kitchen. Woodfired food is taking centre stage on the menu, so expect to be chowing down on delights like Cotswold IPA rarebit with pickles and soldiers, a massive rabbit, bacon and prune pie designed for sharing, and freshly prepared sourdough pizzas. thebelllangford.com

BARN CONVERSION

The peeps at Severn and Wye Smokery have opened an epic foodie emporium in an old barn and its outbuildings after a massive three year renovation project. The Barn is now home to the ‘Chef’s Larder’, stocked with all manner of yummy treats (think meats, cheeses, pies, antipasti, cakes, jams and wines), plus the ‘Fish Market’, with a vast array of fresh and seasonal fish and shellfish, as well as a café for lighter bites and a restaurant specialising in seafood. severnandwye.co.uk

FREE FLOWING

Massive congrats to the Amberley Inn, which has just scooped a Bronze award in the pubs/restaurants category at the 2017 FreeFrom Eating Out Awards.

“We worked with our head chef, Gerry Sweeney, to develop a menu which isn’t just paying lip service to gluten free dining,” says owner Jane Bandey, “but where everything is cooked freshly to order and prepared in-house too. It means we can guarantee provenance, and promise that gluten free really does mean gluten free!” theamberleyinn.co.uk

IN THE DIARY...

(January 19) AN EVENING OF BIO-DYNAMIC WINES AT RESTAURANT HYWEL JONES Lucknam Park is hosting a dinner, in collaboration Dynamic Vines, which sources the best organic and biodynamic wines from around the world.

There will be Champagne and canapés, followed by with four delicious courses, each paired with a wine chosen by Master Sommelier Edouard Oger.

Tickets cost £120pp. lucknampark.co.uk

A MATTER OF TASTE

There’s a new tasting room at Tivoli Wines in Cheltenham. The Wine Library is kitted out with a snazzy state-of-the-art wine tasting machine, which means we can all buy samples of 32 different wines to try. You simply load up a top up card and choose your poison, in sizes of 25ml, 75ml or 125ml, starting at less than £1 for a shop favourite, but going through to £80 for tasters of some of the world’s finest vintages. Pretty ace, right? tivoliwines.co.uk

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(January 25) MALT WHISKY BURNS SUPPER Head to Hotel du Vin Cheltenham for a Burns Night supper and an introduction to the world of Scotch whisky. There will be three courses, and four whiskies from some of Scotland’s most distinguished distilleries. Tickets cost £55. hotelduvin.com

S T A R T E R S

In the Larder

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The v Sp SpOt

STOCK UP YOUR CUPBOARDS WITH THESE TASTY VEGAN MORSELS 1 WHITE RABBIT CO SMOKIN’ VEGAN PIZZA £4.99 The guys at Oxford-based White Rabbit Pizza Co have added a couple of rather delish vegan variations to their gluten-free range of pizzas. There’s the Viva La Vegan with vegan cheese, sundried tomatoes and vegan pesto, but we really love the subtle smokiness of the Smokin’ Vegan, with its smoky vegan cheese, peppers and olives.

Available from places like Abel & Cole and Sainsbury’s. whiterabbitpizza.co.uk

the whipping cream that’s used in the original recipe) so is totes vegan friendly. We’re big fans of this selection box, as it means we don’t have to choose between the yummy varieties – Gorgeous Ginger, Sea Salted Caramel, Cinnamon Spice, Dark Chocolate and Sea Salt, Chocolate Hazelnut Heaven and Dreamy Coconut Chocolate. At this time of year, it’s a warming, comforting mugful, but it’s equally good drunk frappéstyle in the summer. From Fudge Kitchen in Oxford and Bath. fudgekitchen.co.uk

2 DAIRY-FREE DRINKING FUDGE SELECTION BOX £10 Fudge Kitchen’s Drinking Fudge is pure indulgence in a mug! It’s made using soya milk (instead of

3 SQUIRREL SISTERS COCONUT SNACK BARS £1.99 each Not only are the Squirrel Sisters snack bars vegan, but they’re

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also made entirely from natural ingredients, are free from gluten and refined sugar, and are 100% raw! There are four flavours in the range – Cacao Brownie, Coconut Cashew, Cacao Orange and Raspberry Ripple, all equally delicious. You can get them from Boots or Ocado. squirrelsisters.com 4 BOOJA-BOOJA DAIRY FREE HAZELNUT CHOCOLATE TRUFFLE ICE CREAM £5.99/500ml Rich and chocolatey and laced with swoonful chocolate hazelnut truffle swirls, you’d never guess that this decadent ice cream was dairy free. We promise it is, though! We also promise that you won’t want to stop going

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back for ‘just one more spoonful!’

Available from all sorts of local independent stockists, including Sunshine Health Shop in Stroud and Oats in Chipping Norton. For a full list of places to buy, visit the website. boojabooja.com 5 DAYLESFORD ORGANIC MUSHROOM VEGAN BROTH £3.99/500ml This broth is made especially for Daylesford, using deeply savoury mushroom varieties which are seared in olive oil and simmered for eight hours to release the rich umami flavours.

Add it to soups, stews and sauces, but it’s also delicious as an invigorating drink. Get it from Daylesford organic farm shop. daylesford.com

Good food, family and community are the three pillars of our Stroud café.

We offer a changing menu of seasonal, fresh and innovative food. We use organic ingredients wherever possible and endeavour to source from local businesses.

Our menu is predominantly vegetarian with the occasional fish dish, and we always cater for vegan and gluten-free diets.

We also know that the community of Stroud makes us what we are. We open up our space to the community in whatever way it is served best - holding community run events, providing work experience opportunities and simply being here for people to come in, have coffee and do their thing.

Star Anise Arts Café, 1 Gloucester Street, Stroud, GL5 1QG 01453 840021 • www.staraniseartscafe.com

S T A R T E R S

Ask the Expert

LIVING GREEN EMMA DANCE FINDS OUT MORE ABOUT THE NAILSWORTH FOOTBALL CLUB THAT’S GIVING ANIMAL PRODUCTS THE OLD HEAVE-HO

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et’s face it, football grounds are not best known for the high standards of their catering. (Except, maybe, if you’re in a swanky sponsors box at Old Trafford or something.) More usually, they’re associated with over-priced greasy burgers, disappointing pies, and that old beef-stock favourite – Bovril. Not exactly the stuff of gastronomic dreams.

But Forest Green Rovers – a club based in Nailsworth, which last year was promoted to the Football League for the first time in its 128-year history – is bucking the trend. In fact (dare we say it?), it may even be better known for its food than its football. Why? Because this is the first and only football club in the world to go completely vegan. In fact, it’s just celebrated its second veganniversary.

The man behind the decision to take all animal products off the menu, for both players and fans, is the club chairman, a former hippy-turned green-energy tycoon.

Meet the founder of Ecotricity, Dale Vince.

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“It was on the cards since we took responsibility for the club back in 2010,” Dale says, as we sit in the club’s boardroom, overlooking the perfectly manicured organic pitch. “But it was a gradual thing – we didn’t do it all at once.

“It started when I saw the players eating lasagne before a match. Red meat is notoriously hard to digest, so I decided that we would stop feeding them lasagne specifically – and then stop serving red meat altogether.

That was the beginning of the path, and over the course of two or three seasons we stopped serving any meat, then fish, and then we removed animal products entirely.

“Milk was really the final frontier for us. It was the last challenge for our fans, not being able to have cow’s milk in their tea or coffee, but we tried different kinds of milk and asked them what they thought. Oat milk emerged as the favourite, so that’s what we serve. The whole process took us a bit longer than it might have done, though, because there were all kinds of ridiculous stories in the media about our ‘red meat ban.’ It’s not that at all. Players can do what they want at home, and fans can bring their own food in if they really want to.”

It doesn’t seem that many do want to, though, and since 2010 food sales at the club have quadrupled. A firm favourite is the Q-Pie – a pie filled with Quorn and topped with crispy leeks – and, of course, there’s an ace gravy to pour over it. So good is the Q-Pie, in fact, that it came in the top three at the 2017 British Pie Awards. (Probably not what you’d expect from football ground grub, right?) There’s a changing special at every home game too – imagine dishes like sweet and sour tofu balls – so it’s pretty easy to see why the food’s proved such a hit with fans and players alike.

In charge of the kitchen, and keeping the menu fresh and exciting for both players and fans, is chef Em Franklin.

“I’d cooked a lot of vegan food before, but never only vegan food,” she tells me. “It’s really exciting to embrace a plant-based diet. I have a lot of freedom – my only real directive is to cook healthy vegan food and make it enjoyable for everyone who comes in. It’s actually a really lovely way to cook. We always focus on what is in

Top left: Here’s club chairman Dale Vince Top right and bottom: Some of the delish vegan dishes eaten by players and fans at Forest Green Rovers Right: The popular (and now quite famous) Q-Pie

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S T A R T E R S

the dish, not what isn’t. So we would never say something like ‘meat-free lasagne’, for example; instead we’d say ‘black bean lasagne’. And, of course, we always cook seasonally, because that’s when there’s the most goodness in the ingredients.

“The biggest challenge I have is just the volume! At the next match we’ll be cooking around 200 pies, plus the other dishes, and – of course – we have to feed the players, too.

And we have cake at half time, so there will be 400 portions of that as well! We’ve had to get new, bigger ovens to cope with all the pies, but it’s great to see so many people wanting them.”

Of course, there were those who objected when Dale first announced that meat would be off the menu.

“The naysayers said it would kill the club, but it’s actually done quite the opposite,” says Dale. “I meet so many fans who say they love the food, and many of them have since turned vegan or vegetarian because of it. There are even some people who come here primarily for the food, and only second for the football. And that’s fine – as long as they’re coming here!”

Winning over the fans is one thing, though, but what about the players? After all, protein (very often chicken) is regularly touted as the must-have fuel for athletes.

“People get so hung up on protein, and that’s why they eat meat,” says Dale. “But we’re organic organisms, and we recognise natural produce. All of the nutrients we need can be got from plants. We feed plants to animals, so we can get the nutrients from eating those animals – but we get bad things from eating animals, too. It makes much more sense just to eat the plants directly.

“And, actually, chicken has become much less healthy than it was. There’s something like 25% less protein in chicken than there used to be, at least partly because of intensive agriculture.

Above: Chef Em is in charge of keeping standards high, and everyone well fed Below: A meadow of wild flowers has been planted at the entrance to the New Lawn Stadium to encourage the local bee population

“The players are primarily interested in performance, and that’s how we approached it with them – and they were receptive to the message. Last season we got to Wembley, and we didn’t have a single soft tissue injury all season. That’s pretty much unheard of in football, and I think it can be largely attributed to the vegan diet.

“There are lots of sports people who are going vegetarian and vegan because they think it helps their performance, and because it benefits soft tissue. Lewis Hamilton is one that’s recently said he’s going vegan – it all adds to the credibility. It’s interesting how food grabs the attention of the media. Being the world’s only vegan football club, we’ve reached a billion people through all forms of media and our message has been carried around the world.”

And Dale’s keen to stress that the message is far from being solely about following a plant-based diet. In fact, that’s just part of a much bigger mission to get people thinking more about sustainability, carbon footprints and other ‘green issues.’ There’s no doubt that they have some pretty impressive green credentials at New Lawn stadium – there are electric vehicle charging points in the car park, the pitch is chemical free (the groundskeeper does the weeding by hand) and there’s a solar-powered lawn mower known affectionately as the Mowbot, which cuts the grass. More than 90% of the club’s waste is recycled, too.

In fact, the club has such a reputation as a green pioneer that Dale’s just been to the UN to talk about the role of sustainability in sport, sharing his expertise with huge sports teams from around the world. (We’re talking the likes of the San Francisco 49ers).

“The club is a campaigning piece of work,” says Dale.

“So it’s great to have other sports interested in what we do.

We are driven by outcome and quality – not cost. It’s about taking our chance to influence people; we just try to show people what works and what’s good, not preach or instruct.

We put the information in front of them and, when they pick it up and run with it, it’s a great feeling.” forestgreenroversfc.com

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In the Saxon town of Cricklade 38 High Street, Cricklade, SN6 6AY 01793 299079 www.thecrickladeclub.co.uk

S T A R T E R S

Trio DESIGN ER FASHION THESE THREE KNOW WHAT’S WHAT WHEN IT COMES TO DESIGNING A KILLER KITCHEN

1. Phil Harflett Head of design and sales at Hobsons Choice, Swindon

So, Phil, been doing this long?

It’s been more than 20 years now.

How did you get into the industry?

I completed an A-level work placement with a luxury KBB retailer – and was offered a job at the end of the week, as they were so pleased with my attention to detail and work ethic. The rest, as they say, is history!

What’s the most important bit of information you need to design a kitchen for someone?

It’s vital to understand how the space will be used, so that the design can be considered correctly in terms of both form and function – be that for budding chefs to cook in, for hosting dinner parties, or as a place to study, to work from, or to relax in…

What is the most challenging issue that you have to negotiate when designing kitchens?

Traditional kitchen planning hasn’t really moved on sufficiently to reflect the way in which people now live. The kitchen is such an important social space these days and, accordingly, the design of the kitchen needs to reflect that importance. That tends to mean that we might design a kitchen quite differently from what our clients are expecting to see. hobsonschoice.uk.com

2. Anthea Vale

Designer at The Vale Group, Evesham How long you have you been designing kitchens, then?

27 years – so a long time!

And what first made you want to get into this line of work?

A long-standing fascination with interior design, and the love of a job which combines creativity with meeting people and variety.

So, what’s hot in kitchen design right now?

The current trends are for either modern handleless kitchens, or more traditional painted wood Shaker styles. Personally, I’m loving the Quooker Flex all-in-one boiling water tap. It provides hot, cold and boiling water from a

1

2 single tap, and has a pull-out spray attachment.

It’s definitely top of my wish list.

What’s the most important question you ask each client before you start work on their design?

There isn’t one most important question – there are a multitude of questions to establish each client’s individual requirements. That said, I do often ask them to describe their dream kitchen using adjectives, to give me an idea of how they want the finished room to look – words like homely, minimalist, clutterfree or relaxing are good examples. valegroup.com

3. Pip Morris

Interior architect and designer at Pip Morris Interiors What made you want to get into interior design, Pip? When I was 10 years old my parents bought a ruined barn, and we all lived on-site while we converted it. My love of building sites and

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3 architecture and interiors stems from that time, for certain. I’ve now been in the industry for 22 years.

What are the kitchen looks you’re loving right now?

I'm a big fan of sawn timber mixed with sleek black and shiny metals, such as copper, all combined with a dramatic lighting design.

Is there anything that you’re finding lots of clients asking for?

They’re usually wanting to knock through rooms and maximise their property to achieve a large open plan space, incorporating the kitchen, dining room, and a comfortable family room. I’m also seeing a lot of requests that include a cosy book nook!

Is there any particular challenge you regularly face when designing kitchens?

It’s always about the bin requirements, as every district does recycling differently! pipmorrisinteriors.co.uk

S T A R T E R S

IN HONOUR OF VEGANUARY, JESSICA CARTER TAKES A LOOK AT SOME TOP VEGAN RELEASES

BOOK OF THE MONTH

VEGAN IN 7 Rita Serano Kyle Books, £16.99

RIVER COTTAGE: MUCH MORE VEG

VEGAN: THE COOKBOOK

VEGAN 100

A follow up to River Cottage: Veg Every Day, Hugh FearnleyWhittingstall’s new book aims to encourage and inspire us to get more vegetables and fruit on board. So, not only does it make them the heroes of each dish, but the only players.

As well as no meat, fish, dairy or honey, the recipes also steer clear of bread, pasta, noodles and pastry. Not to insinuate they’re no good for us, but rather to show that we needn’t rely on them as much as we perhaps do. From hearty stews, roasts and soups to raw salads, dips and sides, the recipes cover all bases, making thoughtful use of beans, pulses, nuts and seeds throughout. The roast fennel, new potato and tomato stew; turnip and red lentil chilli; and spicy sweet potato soup with orange look particularly comforting and nourishing for this time of year.

A French chef specialising in plant-based and raw food, Jean-Christian Jury flexes his creative muscles and uses his encyclopedic knowledge of plant-based ingredients in this varied and comprehensive collection of recipes. Approaching a whopping 500 in number, the dishes are inspired by cuisines from all over the world – from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe via Ireland, Peru and Sweden – using a host of ingredients and cookery methods.

So many recipes are packed in here, in fact, that there are no fewer than four indexes, so the reader can search by dish, ingredient, country of origin or course. Picking out highlights, then, is tricky, but the Greek potato and kalamata olive stew; Indian tofu and paneer tikka masala; and Mexican tortilla casserole all rep both the range and enticing nature of Jury’s vegan recipes.

When chef Gaz Oakley went vegan and started experimenting with plantbased recipes, he took to social media to share his creations, and the Avant-Garde Vegan was born. Now, with 120,000 YouTube subscribers and 150,000 Instagram followers, Gaz has found a home for 100 of his plant-based recipes in print. Fresh, modern and especially appealing to young foodies, the collection is split into sections such as ‘burgers, dogs and wraps’, ‘breakfast and brunch’, and ‘health potions’, each enhanced with imagery that’s rich in colour and texture, echoing the enthusiastic and up-to-date approach that this chef cooks with.

Featuring everything from comfort food like sweet and spicy broth to sharing dishes like loaded nachos, this is a collection of vegan recipes with real attitude.

Jean-Christian Jury Phaidon, £29.95

Gaz Oakley Quadrille, £20

Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall Bloomsbury, £26 Having been cooking plantbased food for more than two decades, Dutch blogger and recipe developer Rita Serano has used her experience to put together a collection of straightforward, approachable vegan recipes – all of which involve seven or fewer ingredients.

This fuss-free approach makes Vegan in 7 a great pick not only for plant-only foodies, but any time-poor home cook looking for nourishing and practical recipes, which can be made largely using store cupboard staples. As well as main meals like lentil and porcini ragout, mushroom polenta tart, and fennel and saffron stew, there are sides and desserts, too. An additional section of ‘basics’ also shows you how to make the likes of almond milk ricotta, and feta, cashew and coconut milk yoghurt, stocks, sauces, oil-free dressings and pickles.

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B O O K

O F

T H E

M O N T H

Recipe from Vegan in 7 by Rita Serano, published by Kyle Books

PEARL BARLEY AND CLEMENTINE BRUSSELS SPROUT SALAD SERVES 4

P HOTO GR A PH Y BY L AU RA E DWA RD S

Salads don’t just have to be for the summer. As the weather gets colder, simply add grains, beans and warm seasonal vegetables to make a nourishing and comforting meal. This dish uses Chioggia ‘candy cane’ beetroot, named because of the distinctive pattern on the inside of the vegetable.

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INGREDIENTS

150g pearl barley 1kg Brussels sprouts juice of 2 clementines 1 tsp fennel seeds 1 Chioggia beetroot, finely sliced 75g pumpkin seeds 3 tbsp olive oil (optional) METHOD

1 Cook the pearl barley in water or stock according to the packet instructions. Drain (if necessary) and set aside.

2 Remove and discard the outer leaves of the Brussels sprouts and thinly slice them on a mandoline.

Quickly stir-fry the sliced sprouts with 2 tbsp clementine juice, the

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fennel seeds, and salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. This will take only a minute or two – there should still be some crunch to the Brussels sprouts.

3 Transfer the sprouts to a bowl and add the pearl barley and Chioggia beetroot.

4 Dry-roast the pumpkin seeds in a hot pan, stirring often to prevent them from burning, until they pop and are golden brown. Add the pumpkin seeds to the bowl and drizzle over the remaining clementine juice and olive oil, if using. Add salt and pepper to taste, then gently toss to combine, and serve.

Food Fanatics Food Hall

Stocking a range of local, regional and international foods.

From every day necessities to that little indulgence.

Whilst you are browsing, why not stop for a sweet or savoury snack in our coffee shop and soak up the surroundings.

OPEN EVERY DAY 12 North Street, Winchcombe, Gloucestershire GL54 5LH

01242 604466

CH E F !

WHAT TO MAKE AND HOW TO MAKE IT, DIRECT FROM OUR FAVOURITE FOODIES

These jewel-like nibbles really are super seeds!

H I G H L I G H T S

BANGIN’ BURGER

A vegan burger to sink your teeth into Page 30

MOROCCAN MAGIC

A salad bursting with exotic flavours Page 34

SOUPED UP

Warm, nourishing and nicely noodley Page 32

P L U S

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FABULOUS FILLINGS to stuff in a bao CRUMBSMAG.COM

C H E F !

BAO DOWN

THREE DELICIOUS WAYS TO ENJOY A BAO BUN. CHEERS, BARBORA ORMEROD

TRIO OF VEGAN WHOLEMEAL BAO BUNS

SERVES 4 (THREE BUNS EACH PLUS A FEW LEFT OVER!) The Devilled Egg is an online kitchen academy designed to help anyone master the art of home cooking at their own pace.

With new seasonal recipes – like this one for vegan bao buns – and tutorials added weekly, and direct access to the experts through the academy's online community, The Devilled Egg is on hand 24 hours a day to provide guidance, inspiration and geeky facts for home cooks to get their teeth stuck into.

Director Barbora Ormerod says, “Our goal is to deliver the best possible instruction in the most convenient way. Now people can learn from us anywhere, at any time of day, and direct their own progress.” thedevilledegg.com

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INGREDIENTS For the bao buns 200g wholemeal flour 325g plain flour 1 tsp easy bake yeast 1 tsp baking powder ½ tsp salt 50ml oat or rice milk 1 tbsp rapeseed oil 1 tbsp white wine vinegar 200ml water sesame seeds, chilli or seaweed (optional), to garnish

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4 Knead for 5-10 minutes until the mixture is smooth and elastic.

5 Leave in an oiled bowl to rise for 1-2 hours, until doubled in size.

6 Split into 16 balls.

7 Roll each ball on an oiled surface into an elongated oval shape (about ½cm thick).

8 Oil the rolled out dough and fold in the middle to create a bun.

9 Leave to rise covered with oiled cling film for another 90 minutes.

10 Sprinkle with sesame seeds, chilli or seaweed (optional).

11 Steam in a steaming basket over a pan of simmering water for 8 minutes, then remove from the heat and leave to cool.

12 Separate the halves and fill.

For the ‘buttered’ celeriac with cumin beetroot filling 1 tbsp red wine vinegar ¼ tsp cumin seeds 2 small beetroots, cooked, peeled and thinly sliced 1 small celeriac coconut oil (for frying) dill, to garnish For the tempeh, smashed avocado and quick pickle filling 150g plain tempeh, sliced 3 tablespoons of soy sauce 4 tablespoons of wholemeal flour 1 teaspoon of tikka masala powder 2 avocados lime juice, to taste chilli powder, to taste 1 kohlrabi, peeled and cut into matchsticks 1 carrot, peeled and cut into matchsticks 1 tbsp vinegar 1tsp oil pinch of salt

For the ‘buttered’ celeriac with cumin beetroot 1 Heat the red wine vinegar with the teaspoon of cumin seeds in a pan, add the sliced beetroot and take off the heat. Leave in the liquor for at least 20 minutes.

2 Peel the celeriac and cut into rectangles, roughly the same size as the buns.

3 Melt a couple of tablespoons of coconut oil in a frying pan, season the celeriac with salt, and fry on a medium heat until golden all over and cooked.

For the tempeh, smashed avocado and a quick pickle 1 Marinate the tempeh in the soy sauce for 20 minutes.

2 Combine the flour and tikka masala powder in a bowl.

3 Dip the tempeh slices in the flour and fry gently until crispy.

4 Using a fork, smash the flesh of the avocados, then season with salt, lime juice and chilli powder to taste.

5 Combine the kohlrabi and carrot with the vinegar, oil and salt and leave to pickle for 20 minutes.

For the cauliflower pakora and mango chutney filling ½ small shallot, finely chopped large pinch of cinnamon ½ tsp mustard seeds 2 large pinches of ground chilli 1 mango, cubed 1 tbsp vinegar 1 tsp coconut sugar 150g corn flour 150g plain flour 2 tbsp dessicated coconut 1 tsp black sesame seeds 150-200ml sparkling liquid (water, beer, Champagne) 1 small cauliflower, cut into florets METHOD For the bao buns 1 Combine the flours, yeast and salt in a bowl.

2 Combine the milk, oil, vinegar and water in another bowl, and then pour into the bowl of dry ingredients.

3 Bring together the ingredients (adding a splash more water if the mixture is too dry) and turn out onto the work surface.

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For the cauliflower pakora with mango chutney 1 Fry the shallot in a little oil with a pinch of salt, until golden.

2 Add the cinnamon, 1 pinch of chilli powder and mustard seeds and cook for one minute.

3 Add the mango, vinegar and coconut sugar, then cover and simmer for 10 minutes until the mixture is soft.

4 Remove from the heat and leave to cool.

5 Combine the flours, dessicated coconut, 1 pinch of chilli and the black sesame seeds in a bowl.

6 Add the liquid a little at a time, whisking constantly to avoid lumps, until the mix is the consistency of single cream.

7 Dip the cauliflower in the batter and deep fry at 190C for 3-5 minutes, until golden.

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WILd OATS

SUPERPOWER GRANOLA SERVES 12-14

INGREDIENTS 300g gluten-free oats 150g unsweetened desiccated coconut 2 small handfuls of pumpkin seeds 3 small handfuls of sunflower seeds 1 tsp cinnamon 150ml vegetable oil 1tsp vanilla extract 8 tbsp carob syrup (sometimes called carob molasses) or date syrup 2 small handfuls of dried cranberries and/or raisins

GET THE KIDS INVOLVED MAKING THIS EASY-PEASY GRANOLA RECIPE, SAYS FIONA LANNON Fiona runs Cookery Doodle Doo, which offers cookery classes for children from her home in Cheltenham. “Cooking has been a large part of my life from an early age,” she says. “It started with my own mother, who always produced freshly prepared food for the family. This is something that I have continued with my own son who, while being a very typical eight-year old boy, enjoys our time together in the kitchen – it’s very hands on and allows for lots of creativity, not to mention the satisfaction of the end product!”

Cooking is a fantastic activity to do with children, as it keeps them busy and allows them to learn a whole range of skills, as well as an understanding of food and where it comes from.

“Based in the Cotswolds, we are fortunate to have fabulous local produce on our doorstep.” says Fiona, “and, through Cookery Doodle Doo, I look forward to sharing recipes that deliver on nutrition, flavour and, most importantly, fun.”

This quick and easy granola, without all the refined sugar or wheat, makes for a healthier breakfast choice.

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METHOD 1 Pre-heat the oven to 130C/250F/gas mark ½.

2 Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl, except for the cranberries and raisins. Add a dash of water to help mix.

3 Spread the mixture out on a baking tray.

4 Bake for 15-20 minutes, stirring halfway through.

5 Leave to cool before stirring through the cranberries and/or raisins.

TIP: THIS GRANOLA TASTES GREAT ON ITS OWN OR AS A SNACK LAYERED WITH YOGHURT, HONEY AND FRUIT. IT ALSO MAKES A WONDERFUL GIFT WHEN SPOONED INTO GLASS CANISTERS OR CELLOPHANE BAGS, TIED WITH A PRETTY RIBBON cookerydoodledoo.com

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PI CT U RE S BY JE N N IFE R H O L L IDAY

C H E F !

FULL OF BEANS

TUCK IN TO THIS VEGANFRIENDLY BURGERLICIOUS DISH FROM JOS FLETCHER

Jos, our foraging and fermenting expert, came up with this vegan recipe, writes Ryan Kelly, director at Thistledown Farm, and customers at our Thistledown Café frequently tell us it’s the best veggie burger they’ve ever had! The ingredients do tend to change, though, as we try to use seasonal ingredients and pick, pickle and process as much as possible ourselves.

If making the sauerkraut rather than buying a jar, you will need to start at least a week in advance, but it’s always worth having your own kraut on the go. We also use dried butterbeans, as we think this tastes better – and is much cheaper – but to save time you could use tinned beans.

Aquafaba (literally ‘bean water’) is the thick liquid from a tin of legumes – usually chickpeas, but butterbean water also works. If you’ve not tried making aioli or mayonnaise with this then you might be a little sceptical, but it really does work. You can use it as an egg substitute in a whole range of dishes.

We serve this burger with seasonal seasonal slaw and tabbouleh. At this time of year that means red cabbage, apple, cinnamon, allspice and nutmeg with cider vinegar and a little brown sugar for the ’slaw, and a two-grain tabbouleh with roasted squash, the last of our polytunnel herbs and our preserved lemons. For the bread we use Salt Bakehouse’s vegan brown roll. thistledown.org.uk

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C H E F !

METHOD For the sauerkraut (Making sauerkraut is very simple, but it does need to be done about a week in advance.)

1 Shred the cabbage finely and massage the salt into it for about 10 minutes, adding the caraway and sloes at the end.

2 Place in a large jar or crock and add weights to hold the cabbage down.

3 Cover tightly with fabric such as cheese cloth so that it can breath, and move to a cool place (a cold room is perfect – a fridge will slow the process too much). It will slowly release moisture, and the cabbage should be fully submerged after a day or two. It’s important that this happens, as the brine allows the lacto-fermentation to occur and protects the mixture from unwanted bacteria and moulds. If the water level is low then you can dissolve 1 tsp salt in half a pint of water and add to the jar.

4 Start tasting the sauerkraut after 5 days.

5 When it tastes good to you, move it to the fridge to stop the process.

For the aioli 1 Start by making the confit garlic (if using). Peel the garlic and then put the cloves in a small pan and cover them with oil. (You can add a few aromatics like peppercorns or bay leaves for more flavour, if you like.)

2 Put the pan on a medium heat until the oil just begins to simmer, then reduce the heat as low as it can go (you want to poach the garlic, not simmer it) and cook for around 45 minutes, or until the garlic is soft but not completely falling apart.

3 Remove the garlic from the pan and TIP: YOU CAN USE leave to cool.

WATER FROM COOKING 4 Add the aquafaba, vinegar and YOUR OWN CHICKPEAS mustard to a blender. Blend for a OR BUTTERBEANS, minute until it thickens.

BUT YOU’LL NEED TO 5 Slowly add the oil in a careful trickle.

REDUCE IT FURTHER. If you find that oil is building up above THE PROTEINS IN THE the mixture, then stop pouring and LEGUMES PLAY THE allow it to combine.

SAME ROLE AS EGG IN 6 When you’re happy with the THE EMULSIFICATION consistency, add the remaining ingredients (including the confit garlic), blitz to mix thoroughly and adjust seasoning to taste. The aioli is best after a day or two, as the garlic will infuse. It will keep in the fridge for up to a week.

BUTTERBEAN AND CASHEW BURGER WITH VEGAN AIOLI, SAUERKRAUT AND APPLE MAKES 4 BURGERS

INGREDIENTS For the sauerkraut 1 medium head of cabbage 2 tbsp good quality salt 2 tsp caraway seeds 10 sloes (at this time of year) For the aioli (makes approx. 600ml – more than you need for this recipe, but it goes with almost everything) 6 tbsp aquafaba 2 tbsp sherry vinegar 1 tbsp Dijon mustard 450ml cold pressed oil (vegetable/sunflower) 3 cloves garlic, minced 2 tsp lemon juice 1 tsp salt 8 cloves confit garlic (optional, but recommended)

For the burgers 1 Start by simmering the butterbeans for 45 minutes, if you aren’t using tinned beans.

2 Whilst the beans are cooking, toast the cashews in a pan or oven.

When golden, remove from the heat and set aside. Then, when cool, grind to a fine powder.

3 Fry the onion in oil and, when it’s starting to colour, add the leek and celery and a little salt. Cook until caramelised and then allow to cool.

4 Add the cooled and drained butterbeans, herbs, maple syrup, garlic, cashews and gram flour to a bowl with the cooled veg and work the mixture by hand. You want to combine the ingredients and partly mash the beans, leaving some fairly intact. If the mixture seems too wet then add more gram flour. This helps bind the mixture and gives the cooked burger a bit of bounce and body. Try a little of the mixture and season to taste.

5 When you’re happy with the seasoning and texture, chill the mixture and then form into patties approximately 1 inch thick.

6 To cook the burgers, fry in oil in a heavy bottomed pan over a medium heat for 5 minutes each side, or until golden brown.

7 To serve, add the sauerkraut to the bottom of the bun and place the burger on top. Add a couple of apple slices and top with a dollop of aioli.

For the burgers 400g butterbeans, soaked overnight or tinned 120g cashews 1 large onion, diced 1 small leek, diced 1 stick of celery, diced 2 tbsp thyme, chopped 2 tbsp parsley, chopped 2 tsp sage, chopped 2 tbsp maple syrup 2 cloves garlic, chopped 50g gram flour To serve apple slices, about 4mm thick your preferred burger bun

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C H E F !

SIMPLY SOUP-ER

CELIA DUPLOCK HAS SHARED HER RECIPE FOR A NOURISHING WINTER WARMER Mid-winter is the season for warming soups and stews, and this vegan recipe is perfect for the time of year. Substantial and satisfying, it’s rich in protein, minerals and probiotics, and makes a good hearty lunch or supper dish.

Tofu provides the protein element in this recipe, fried in a little sesame oil for extra richness. Tofu is a good source of omega-3 fatty acids, iron, magnesium, zinc, and vitamin B1. It has very little natural flavour and can be marinated first in shoyu, ginger and mirin for a saltier taste.

This soup also includes white miso and mineral rich sea vegetables for flavour and added nourishment. Western cultures are only recently beginning to enjoy the taste and nutritional value of sea vegetables, which have been a staple part of the Japanese diet for centuries.

Packed with iron and antioxidants, sea vegetables are a great food to include in your diet on a regular basis.

Udon noodles and mochi provide a good balance of carbohydrates, making this dish a substantial snack that will keep you feeling full and well nourished. Noodles are satisfying and versatile and can be used all year round in a wide range of Asian and Western dishes. Mochi, meanwhile, is a popular food in Japan, and is made from a short grain glutinous brown rice which has been steamed, pounded into a paste and shaped into blocks and dried. When cooked, mochi softens and puffs up, becoming delectably moist and chewy.

WARMING NOODLE SOUP SERVES 3-4

INGREDIENTS 120g wide udon noodles (dried weight) 150g firm tofu 100g mushrooms 1 tsp shoyu or tamari 1 tsp lemon juice 80g dried mochi 100g fresh kale, broccoli or similar seasonal green vegetable 3g dried wakame (approximately 2-3 10cm strips) 5cm strip of dried kombu (kelp) 1 tbsp white miso paste 1 tbsp freshly squeezed root ginger juice 800-1000ml vegetable stock (made with fresh vegetables or vegetable bouillon) 1-2 tbsp sesame oil 1 tbsp chopped parsley

METHOD 1 Pre-cook the udon noodles for 8-10 minutes in plenty of boiling water.

When tender, rinse in cold water and set aside.

2 Drain the tofu and press out most of the liquid with a kitchen towel.

Chop into 1cm cubes.

3 Heat the oil and gently fry the tofu cubes in the sesame oil until golden (10-15mins) and set aside.

4 Chop the mushrooms and fry gently in the remaining oil for 3-4 minutes. Season with the shoyu and a splash of lemon juice and set aside.

5 Chop the mochi into small cubes and bake in a medium oven for 8-10 minutes until it puffs up. Remove from the oven and set aside.

6 Blanch the green vegetables in boiling water and set aside.

7 Rehydrate the wakame in cold water for 5 minutes, remove any hard stems, chop coarsely and set aside.

8 Bring the vegetable stock to the boil in a large saucepan with the kombu and simmer for 8-10 minutes.

9 Mix the miso paste with a little cold water (1-2 tbs) and add to the stock.

(Do not boil the soup after adding the miso paste, as it is a living culture.)

10 Grate the ginger root and squeeze the juice into the stock, discarding the pulp.

11 Add the remaining lemon juice and adjust seasoning.

12 Add all the pre-assembled ingredients to the pan and heat gently for 2-3 minutes before serving. (Alternatively, assemble the ingredients in individual bowls and pour the hot stock over each one.)

13 Garnish with chopped parsley or spring onions. Celia is running a Spring Detox workshop at the Organic Farm Shop in Cirencester on Wednesday, February 7. Celia offers macrobiotic consultations, food coaching, menu planning and cooking lessons for individuals in their own homes, or for small groups by appointment. She is also a visiting cooking teacher at the International Macrobiotic School in Devon. For further information, visit cotswoldmacrobiotics.com. To contact Celia, phone 07831 342214 or email her at enquiries@cotswold-macrobiotics.com.

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DI DIE SCHOOL REUNION

SATURDAY 3RD FEBRUARY You are invited TO A LAVISH INTERNATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL REUNION WHICH QUICKLY GOES SOUR IN A DRAMATIC TURN OF MURDEROUS EVENTS.

ARRIVAL TIME 6:30PM STARTS AT 7PM 5 LIVE ACTORS & A 2 COURSE MEAL

£39.95 per person BOOK BEFORE THE 15TH OF JANUARY TO RECEIVE A STANDARD GLASS OF WINE. BOOKINGS ARE ESSENTIAL ALONG WITH PAYMENT IN FULL BEFORE THE EVENT. Cotswold Gateway, 216 The Hill, Burford OX18 4HX Tel: 01993 822695 • Email: cotswoldgateway@wadworth.co.uk Web: www.cotswold-gateway.co.uk

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C H E F !

TAStE OF AdVeNTURE

THIS DISH BY JAMIE RAFTERY HAS BEEN INSPIRED BY MOROCCAN ADVENTURES…

It’s high time for a January Veganuary conversation, writes Jamie, also known as The Holistic Chef. This is a time of year close to my heart.

It marked a career turning point, and the beginning of a worldwide plant-based culinary adventure. My Veganuary ‘conversation’ started with a project called 31Days – an intensive creative social collaboration from 2016, involving more than 100 creatives, including chefs, foodies, writers, photographers, poets, scientists, artists, trend analysts, philosophers and vegan rookies.

This conversation introduced me to The Taste of Argan Oil, a Cotswold based family business, which works closely with an argan cooperative in Essaouira, Morocco, supporting the local Berber communities and the preservation of ancient argan trees, which are a vital natural resource for the area. We have been working closely together to focus on this incredible oil; it has a unique flavour and rare nutritional benefits, and I’ve used it in this recipe.

This relationship then led me to Soul Circus, a Cotswold yoga and wellness festival. Now I am their ‘head chef guru’.

Embracing veganism is in no way a limiting or restricting lifestyle; it just takes a new mindset and basic skills set. The varied benefits to our health and wellbeing are good grounds for starting a Veganuary conversation. After all, our health is our greatest wealth.

This delicious recipe is inspired by Moroccan adventures. It’s high in complex carbohydrates, protein, fats, vitamins, fiber and minerals, and can be enjoyed as a meal in itself – or as a side dish to complement a warming winter vegetable tagine.

MOROCCAN BERBER COUSCOUS SALAD SERVES 4

PHOTOS: ANDY HOCKRIDGE

INGREDIENTS 30ml rapeseed oil 250g wholegrain couscous 500ml water 3g ras-el-hanout 20g almonds 20g pumpkin seeds 20g harissa 50g cucumber, diced 50g apricots, diced 50g olives, pitted and diced 50g cherry tomatoes, cut in halves 5g mint, washed and finely sliced 50g pomegranate seeds zest and juice of ½ lemon salt and pepper, to season 20ml argan oil

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METHOD 1 Heat the rapeseed oil over medium heat in a large saucepan. Cook the couscous, stirring frequently, until golden (4 to 5 minutes).

2 Add the water, ras-el-hanout and a pinch of salt and bring to a boil.

Reduce the heat to low and cover and simmer for 9-10 minutes until the couscous is just tender and the liquid is absorbed. Set aside to cool slightly.

3 Lightly toast the almonds and pumpkin seeds in a frying pan for 3-4 minutes with a splash of rapeseed oil.

4 Season the warm couscous with harissa.

5 Add the cucumber, apricot, olives, tomatoes, mint, pomegranate, almonds and pumpkin seeds and mix gently to incorporate.

6 Add the lemon juice and zest and season with salt and pepper.

Transfer to a serving bowl and serve drizzled with argan oil. holisticchef.co.uk

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Veg Out

hELLO ’FLOwER BLOGGER, PRIVATE CHEF AND KEEN KITCHEN GARDENER KATHY SLACK TELLS YOU WHAT TO GROW AND HOW TO COOK IT. THIS MONTH SHE’S EXTOLLING THE VIRTUES OF THE HUMBLE CAULIFLOWER

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I

n a previous life I was hectored into attending a team building workshop with my ad exec colleagues. You know: trust exercises, visions for the future, pushing of envelopes, that sort of thing. Ghastly. We were asked to bring an item that, to us, represented ‘challenges overcome’. One person brought their running trainers, another brought a picture of her son’s graduation, one guy brought the complete works of Proust (he’d finished it). I took a packet of cauliflower seeds.

Because, to me, the cauliflower is the kitchen gardener’s greatest challenge. Fiendishly difficult to grow, it requires skill, a lot of space (each plant needs minimum ½ m², ideally 1m²) and at least six months in the ground. And they are tricksy, stubborn little buggers. If you have the wrong soil pH they will be stunted. If you don’t cover the crowns they will brown. If you don’t net them they will be ravaged by aphids or cabbage whites. Heck, if you don’t look at them nicely every Tuesday they will have a paddy.

And yet the cauliflower is one of the cheapest and most unloved veg harvested in the UK. They cost barely a quid, perhaps two for an organic one. But still, one cauliflower will feed two gluttons and three – if not four – modest eaters. One pound!

For all that space, time and effort. And, until recently, all we ever did is sling some cheese sauce on them.

We, as a nation, have ventured beyond cauliflower cheese in the past year, but still, it’s a miracle cauliflower farmers stay in business. All hail the cauliflower growers of Great Britain, then, for you have a thankless task – and a tough one, too. I salute you.

I do not grow cauliflowers. Unsurprisingly. I’m fully prepared to admit that my skill does not extend that far, and I’m delighted that – in my failing – I am able to support the heroic cauli’ farmers of the UK by purchasing my cauliflowers instead.

Kathy is a supper club host and cookery teacher. She writes the food blog Gluts & Gluttony about the gluts she gets from her veg patch and the ensuing gluttony in the kitchen. You can sign up to the blog at glutsandgluttony. com, or follow her on Twitter and Instagram @gluts_gluttony for more seasonal recipes.

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PERSIAN(ISH) CAULIFLOWER RICE SERVES 2

Cauliflower rice is fast becoming the next avocado on toast.

Or, worse, the next courgetti. I do not claim this tastes ‘just like’ rice/pasta/couscous or whatever today’s apparently evil carbohydrate is. But it’s tasty in its own right.

I love this dish on its own, but it’s perfect with ras-el-hanout roast chicken or spicy prawns.

INGREDIENTS 1 tbsp barberries (or dried cranberries, if you can’t find them) pinch of saffron 1 tbsp olive oil ½ cauliflower seeds of 4 cardamom pods pinch of salt 4 dried apricots, finely chopped 2 tbsp pumpkin seeds a few pomegranate seeds METHOD 1 Soak the barberries in a little bowl of hot water for 10 minutes.

2 Pop the saffron in a small bowl and mix with 1 tbsp hot water. Set aside for a few minutes to infuse.

3 Chop the cauliflower into rough chunks and blitz in a food processor until it resembles coarse breadcrumbs.

4 Now you’re ready to bring it all together. Heat the oil in a large non-stick frying pan and, once hot, tip in the cauliflower and give it a muddle around the pan. Add the saffron with its water, cardamom, barberries (drained), apricots, pumpkin seeds and a good pinch of salt. Cook for 4-6 minutes until just cooked. Keep everything moving in the pan so it doesn’t brown, and check the seasoning whilst it cooks.

5 Scatter with something appropriate – pomegranate seeds, coriander, pistachios, flaked almonds, that sort of thing – and serve warm.

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Choose your weapons Whoa, now there’s a sexy piece of kit! Not the sort of thing I need, exactly (I’ve already got plenty of knives, though none as nice as that), but very much the sort of thing I want.

For once we’re in agreement. This is from a range

by Savernake Knives, a brand new UK company making bespoke and made-to-order kitchen knives of the highest quality. They’re local too, being based on the edge of the Savernake Forest, near Marlborough in Wiltshire.

Never heard of anything like that before...

I don’t think anyone else in the country is doing it.

Also unusual is that each blade is hollow-ground, which apparently takes weight away from the blade and gives you a great cutting edge and feel. They keep the whole of production in-house – short, they say, of “smelting the steel” – which helps them maintain their speed and flexibility. They already have something of a following amongst Michelin-star chefs, too.

New, you say?

The guys behind it are Laurie Timpson and Philip Shaw, who came up with the idea in 2014 and have spent the last three years getting it right, finally launching online in 2017. (That’s right: they were in research-and-design mode for three whole years.)

The end results, though, are pretty cool – as you can see. They say they use a combo of “precision engineering and dextrous hand finishing” on each knife, and can turn around both customised and entirely tailor-made knives – you can buy just one, or a whole set – in matter of weeks.

The fancy knives you normally wang on about are all Japanese, and beaten by hand, using old sword-making techniques that date back thousands of years…

Yeah, these are not those – but they are very clever.

They use high-end Sandvik 14c28n stainless steel – don’t ask – and everything’s designed using Autodesk Inventor, with each bespoke blade made accurate to the last millimetre on a Haas milling machine. The blades are then heat treated by hand, and the handles are crafted using a variety of materials, both traditional and ultra-modern.

Sounds cool. So who are these guys, exactly?

Between them, Laurie and Philip have served in the Scots Guards, cleared land mines for the HALO Trust, learned to track wild animals with the Maasai, set up emergency relief programmes, looked for gold in Liberia, and launched pubs in London.

They’re now both in Wiltshire, with the newly-wed Philip living fairly conventionally, but Laurie existing ‘off-grid’ in Savernake Forest with his wife and baby.

MOdERN KNIVES ARE GOODISh

Off-grid? Really?

So he says. There’s a lot of backstory here, that’s for sure, but they’re not hard to get in touch with.

Look just down at the bottom there – they’ve got a website and everything!

ACTUALLY, RATHER BETTER THAN GOODISH, SAYS MATT BIELBY. SAVERNAKE KNIVES AREN’T MADE TO THE TRADITIONS OF SAMURAI SWORDMAKERS, BUT SPECIAL THEY VERY MUCH ARE…

Savernake Knives start at £180 for customised and £750 for bespoke; savernakeknives.co.uk

THIS MONTH • CHOCS AWAY • VERY VEGGIE

39 CRUMBSMAG.COM

Crumbs Cooks With

Sweet dreams CHOCOHOLICS THAT WE ARE HERE AT CRUMBS, WE WEREN’T ABOUT TO TURN DOWN THE CHANCE TO VISIT JACQUES CÖP FROM RAW, VEGAN CHOCOLATIERS COCO CARAVAN TO SEE WHERE THE CHOCOLATY MAGIC HAPPENS…

WORDS: EMMA DANCE PHOTOGRAPHY: ANDREW CALLAGHAN

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S U P P E R

I

t was a middle-of-the-night epiphany that led Jacques Cöp to start making chocolate. He had been working as an ecologist, first in his native Netherlands, then in Australia, but a knee injury ended his outdoorsy career and Jacques found himself without a job.

“I was out of work and out of money,” he says. ”It was very stressful, and I was having these long sleepless nights. One night, though, at about 3am I just suddenly had the idea that I would make chocolate – I would make chocolate with caramel and nuts and all kinds of delicious things! Then, for the first time in a long time, I rolled over and fell asleep.

“In the morning I woke up and felt rested and had this really good energy, so I decided that making chocolate actually was the right thing to do. I went to the shop and bought a bunch of ingredients and just started making it. My partner loved it and other people loved it, so I started taking it to markets and it did really well. We were in Australia then, but my partner wanted to move to the UK so that’s what we did – and that’s when I started making chocolate full time, and Coco Caravan really started.”

Now Jacques produces around 25,000 bars a year, all made by hand, and all made from his home in Stroud, having repurposed the front room of the family home into a bijou chocolate factory (a happy side effect of which is the delicious chocolaty aroma that’s pervading the whole house). He makes 25 different varieties, with flavours like Chai Caramel, Tamari Almond and Coconut Mylk and Mango, and every single one is organic, raw and vegan.

“When I started, I experimented with many different ingredients,” he says. “At first I worked with dairy products, but so many people that I knew were vegan or lactose intolerant and they wanted chocolate that they could eat, so I just started taking things out. Soon everything I made was completely vegan.

“It was actually very easy; the only reason I would use milk was to lighten it down, and make the flavour a little less intense.

Now, if I want to do that, I add coconut milk – and, actually, the Coconut Mylk is our best-selling bar.

“People’s knowledge and attitude to veganism has changed so much since I started four years ago. Back then, people would ask questions about what it meant when we said our chocolate was ‘vegan’. These days, though, everyone knows what it means to be vegan, and most people know someone who’s vegan. It’s definitely a lifestyle more people are adopting.”

And it’s not just dairy that Jacques has taken out. He’s also removed refined sugar from the process.

“I realised that if I was going to be doing this full time then I’d be eating a lot of chocolate,” he says. “So I decided that I needed to make it as healthy as possible, so instead of refined sugar I started using coconut sugar and nectar instead – and it worked.

People don’t often realise how much sugar is in chocolate. You might get a bar that’s 80% cacao, but that still means that 20% of it is sugar. My normal dark chocolate bars are 72% cacao, so 28% is coconut sugar and nectar. It’s still sugar, but it’s completely unrefined and it’s a long chain sugar, which means that you don’t get that sugar spike and it hasn’t got that super-sweet aftertaste.”

There’re also health benefits attached to the fact that it’s raw chocolate, made with unroasted cacao beans. The antioxidant properties of the cacao bean are considerably higher in the raw product than in the roasted variety.

“When people talk about the health benefits of raw chocolate, they are looking at the fresh product – the bean and the

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C L U B

C R U M B S

C O O K S

W I T H

nibs,” explains Jacques. “You can compare it to fruit. If you have a fresh apple that’s just come off the tree, it’s better when it’s perfectly ripe and fresh than if it’s been stored in a freezer for a year. And that’s better than if it’s been made into apple sauce, or cooked into some weird cake that you can buy in the supermarket for 20p.

“Also, as soon as you roast cacao it gets much more bitter – that’s why producers make high sugar, high milk chocolate bars.

They also like that it’s so much easier to get the shells off once the beans have been roasted.”

Just how easy (or not!) it is to remove the shells is something that Jacques knows only too well. As a ‘bean to bar’ chocolatier, Jacques is involved in every single step of the creation of every single chocolate bar – beginning by removing all the shells. It’s a process known in the industry as ‘winnowing’, and although Jacques doesn’t quite do it by hand, it’s not far off.

He actually uses a machine of his own creation (which he’s made from various pieces of household equipment, including a vacuum cleaner!), which breaks and separates the hard outer shell from the prized bean inside. The shells are used to make tea, while the beans go into an intense grinding process, which can last up to nine hours. Jacques fires up the grinder and pours in the cocoa nibs, and it’s not long before they visibly begin to change in consistency, from small hard nuggets to a thick, slightly grainy paste. Considering that nothing has been added to them, the transformation is pretty remarkable.

Jacques explains that it’s all down to the natural fats in the cocoa that are released during the grinding process – but there’s a long way to go until it becomes the smooth liquid, with a consistency not dissimilar to melted chocolate, that he needs to work with. This can then then be tempered on the large marble slab on the other side of the room, to give it shine and snap, and turned into bars – all of which are wrapped and packed by hand.

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Of course, the quality of the finished product is totally reliant on the quality of the beans, and Jacques regularly travels to trade events to source new suppliers and share tips with other chocolatiers. He pulls out a few small bags of samples to show us the difference between different beans, and even our untrained eyes can see the difference between the slightly more shrivelled example which has an almost grey hue (bad), and the bright shiny ones that are the colour of, well, dark chocolate (good).

“It’s really important to me that the ingredients that I use are organic,” he says. “And that it’s Fairtrade, too. I am very happy making this chocolate, and people are very happy eating this chocolate, so I want the people who are growing the ingredients to be happy as well. Indeed, I want everyone in the process to have a happy, fulfilling experience.

“I only work with small producers, and I know they would all be happy for me to go and visit their farms – and that’s definitely something that’s on my wish list.

“The cacao I’m currently working with comes from Peru. It’s from an indigenous people and it’s their cash crop, so it helps support their community. But I’m always on the look out for new beans. The thing about cacao is that it takes on the flavour of anything else that it grows with, so when I get a new sample I will always taste it carefully. I can almost instantly get a feel for what flavour combinations might work well with it, how much coconut sugar I might need to add, and if I’ll need to add cocoa butter or coconut milk.

“When it comes to making the chocolate for the first time with a new bean, though, it is still very much an experiment!”

Part of the beauty of working with a craft product like this, Jacques explains, is that there isn’t really competition between local producers. “There probably aren’t more than 30 bean-tobar makers in the UK,” he says, “although I have noticed that, in the past year or so, there seems to be more raw chocolate about, probably because of the growing raw food trend. Of course, we all want to make the best chocolate and sell as much as we can, but nearly everyone is very open and willing to share their knowledge and experiences. We all learn from each other.”

It’s encouraging to learn that there’s no Wonka/Slugworthstyle rivalry going on. And while Jacques’ home isn’t exactly Roald Dahl’s glorious chocolate factory, it certainly has a quirky charm, and – with all its makeshift bits of kit and creative flavour combos – it kind of is a world of pure imagination… cococaravan.co.uk

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Tailor Made Top Nosh specialise in catering for wedding receptions as well as private catering, corporate functions & dinner party catering throughout the Cotswolds.

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01993 852696 / 07584 514030 / paul.barnard@tailormadetopnosh.com www.tailormadetopnosh.com

1

The Want nt List

YOUR FIVE-A-DAY, RIGHT HERE!

2 3 4 5

1 CATH KIDSTON MUSHROOM PRINT TRAVEL CUP £14 Pep up your morning commute with this travel cup adorned with super-pretty mushrooms.

The push closure means you’ll never spill a drop of that precious morning caffeine fix! Get one from Cath Kidston in Cheltenham. cathkidston.com 2 EASY SQUEEZY TOMATO SHAPED SAUCE BOTTLE £3.99 Channel some American diner style with this fun ketchup dispenser. Ideal for barbecues, or just to add a splurge of colour to your table. Grab one from Lakeland in Cheltenham. lakeland.co.uk 3 MISS BEHAVING CHAIR IN CHRISTIAN LACROIX SOFT MANAOS ONYX from £1,125 Avocados aren’t just for toast – they’re for chairs, too. We’re just crazy about this avo-print furniture! Available from Sofa Workshop in Oxford. sofaworkshop.com 4 WILDLIFE GARDEN GREEN BEAN DECOPEN £4.50 It’s a dead ringer for a pod of green beans but, actually, it’s a pen! This way you can always have veg on your table. Get yours from Cotswold Trading in Broadway. cotswoldtrading.com 5 JOSEPH JOSEPH BEETROOT WORKTOP SAVER £15 Did beetroot ever look so beautiful as on this worktop saver? Use it for chopping, as a place to set down hot pans, or just to brighten up your kitchen. Pick it up at Debenhams in Cheltenham. josephjoseph.com

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GLOUCESTER STUDIO THE COSIEST RESTAURANT IN THE COTSWOLDS “It’s bonkers but it works!”

Michel Roux Jr

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

A PLACE TO EAT WITH FRIENDS & FAMILY

Come and choose your spice and let us do the rest!

With a selection of different flavourings, you can go hot or extremely mild, and finish of with one of our great desserts!

Now open six days a week (Tuesday - Sunday).

www.gloucesterstudio.com 01452 899888

www.coriniumhotel.co.uk

info@coriniumhotel.co.uk 12 Gloucester Street, Cirencester, Gloucestershire GL7 2DG

The Loaded Grill, 37 Castle Street, Cirencester GL7 1QD Tel: 01285 641195 Email: info@loadedgrill.co.uk

www.loadedgrill.co.uk

Reach the best in the west Affluent, active and influential and just a call away

Where you can always be assured of a warm welcome…

Locally renowned for our great food, warm hospitality & attentive service

Candlelit Valentine’s Dinner Wednesday 14th February 2018 Restaurant open lunch & dinner Traditional Sunday roasts from £12.95 Bar open all day * Camra member Functions & Special Occasions Ample free parking

Bookings or enquiries 01285 659711

Crumbs Cotswolds team 01225 475800

M AI N S

TOP CULINARY CAUSES, FAB FOOD DESTINATIONS & PEOPLE THAT MATTER

O V E R

T H E

P A G E

JUST VEGGING

Giving some love to the humble veg Page 48

WEDDING BELLS

Pre-nuptial advice from our team of experts Page 54

INCLUDING

8

VEGAN RECIPES

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These veggies are the cream of the crop!

READY, VEGGIE, GO!

IMAM BAYALDI, BY SAM EDWARDS OF MADE BY BOB SERVES 4 1 large aubergine, diced 2 shallots, finely diced 2 cloves of garlic, finely diced 2 heaped tsps cumin 1 tsp allspice 1 tsp caster sugar 200g good quality tinned tomatoes 3 spring onions pinch of mint and corriander handful of currants pickled chilli and bread, to serve

STEP FORWARD, VEGETABLES! IT’S YOUR TIME TO SHINE…

They taste great, look great and are packed with nutritious goodness. It seems a shame, then, that vegetables are often just an afterthought, relegated to the world of side dishes and accompaniments when, really, they deserve a starring role on our dinner plates. To reset the balance, we’ve asked some of the Cotswold’s finest chefs to share recipes which put veg front and centre…

1 Fry diced aubergines until golden and soft. Leave them to drain and cool.

2 Finely dice the shallots and garlic, and sweat in oil until transparent.

3 Add the cumin, allspice, sugar and salt, then add the tomato sauce and cook for 15 mins over a moderate heat. Add a little water if the sauce gets too thick.

4 Add in the aubergine, spring onions, mint and coriander.

5 Serve with grilled bread and pickled chillies.

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ROASTED BUTTERNUT SQUASH STUFFED WITH BROWN RICE, SPINACH AND CASHEW NUTS, WITH A SPICY TOMATO SAUCE,

BY MARK BREMNER OF THE INN AT FOSSEBRIDGE SERVES 4 FOR THE SQUASH 2 large butternut squash 3 garlic goves, crushed 2 tbsp olive oil 2 sprigs of thyme 2 sprigs of rosemary salt FOR THE FILLING 2 tbsp olive oil 100g onion, diced 250g brown rice 100ml white wine 1 bay leaf 325ml vegetable stock 50g cashew nuts 1 tsp ground cumin 200g baby spinach, washed and chopped FOR THE SPICY TOMATO SAUCE 1 small onion, finely chopped 200ml red wine 1 red chiili, deseeded and finely chopped 5 tomatoes, chopped 2 tins of tomatoes 500ml tomato juice salt and black pepper, to season

BUTTERNUT AND MANGO CHUTNEY,

BY NICK BENNET OF RESTAURANT 56 AT SUDBURY HOUSE

1 Heat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4. Cut the squash in half lengthways, then scoop out the seeds and membranes.

2 Sprinkle the squash with the herbs and salt and drizzle with olive oil, then place in a roasting tin and put in the oven for 20-30 mins, until the flesh is soft when tested with a sharp knife.

3 Leave to cool, then scoop out the flesh and place to one side.

4 Meanwhile, cook the rice. In a thick bottomed saucepan, heat the oil, add the onion and cook until soft. Add the rice and mix until coated in the oil.

5 Add the bay leaf and white wine and cook over a medium heat, letting it bubble to nothing so that the alcohol evaporates.

6 Keeping the pan on a medium heat, add a quarter of the vegetable stock and simmer, stirring often, until the liquid has all been absorbed.

Repeat this until the rice is cooked.

7 Remove from the heat and spread the rice on a tray to cool.

8 To make the tomato sauce, sweat the onions in a saucepan then add the red wine and reduce.

9 Add all the remaining ingredients and bring the mixture to a simmer.

Continue to simmer gently for about 30 minutes, or until the sauce has thickened and reduced in volume.

10 Blend to a smooth consistency and season to taste.

11 Place the cashew nuts on a baking tray and roast in the oven until golden, then sprinkle with the ground cumin and leave to cool.

12 To assemble the dish, put the butternut squash halves onto a greased baking tray. Place the rice, butternut squash flesh, cashew nuts and spinach into a bowl and mix together with some of the tomato sauce.

Stuff the butternut squash halves with equal amounts of the mixture.

13 Put in the oven for 10-15 minutes, until heated thoroughly. Serve immediately with a jug of the tomato sauce.

49

MAKES AROUND 1KG OF CHUTNEY 1.25kg butternut squash, peeled, deseeded and finely chopped 750g apple, grated 75g ginger, grated 2 tbsp of white and black mustard seeds 2 mangos chopped 1 litre cider vinegar 500g soft brown sugar 1 tbsp salt 1 Put all the ingredients, except for the sugar and salt, into a large pan.

2 Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 25 minutes.

3 Add the sugar and salt, and stir and simmer for a further hour until it is thick and almost dry.

4 Serve warm, or store in sterilised jars.

ROAST CAULIFLOWER FAJITAS WITH SMASHED AVOCADO,

BY JASSY DAVIS FOR ABEL & COLE SERVES 2 1 cauliflower 1 tsp smoked paprika 1 tsp cumin seeds pinch of chilli powder 1 carrot 1 red onion 1 lemon 1 little gem lettuce handful of coriander, leaves only 4 white tortillas 1 avocado 1 tbsp olive oil sea salt freshly ground pepper

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BAKED COURGETTE, BY CIPRIAN PAVLENCO OF MALT AND ANCHOR SERVES 2 2 courgettes 1 pepper, diced 1 spring onion, diced 100g green olives, finely chopped 1 clove garlic, finely chopped 10g thyme, finely chopped 10g rosemary salt pepper drizzle of olive oil 1 Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4.

2 Cut the courgettes in half and scoop out the cores.

3 Finely chop the cores of the courgettes that you have just scooped out, and mix with peppers, spring onion, olives, thyme, rosemary, garlic and olive oil. Season to taste.

4 Put the mix back into the courgettes and drizzle with a little more olive oil.

5 Bake in the oven for 15 minutes.

VEGAN LASAGANE, BY TOBY OLIVER REFOY OF THE GOLDEN CROSS INN

1 Heat your oven to 200C/400F/gas mark 6.

2 Break the cauliflower into small florets. Pop them in a bowl and add 1 tbsp olive oil, 1 tsp each smoked paprika and cumin seeds, a pinch of chilli powder (it’s spicy, so use as much or as little as you like) and a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Toss to mix, then tumble onto a baking tray and roast for 20 mins until starting to turn golden brown.

3 While the cauliflower roasts, peel and coarsely grate the carrot. Peel and finely slice the red onion. Pop them both in a bowl. Squeeze the juice from half the lemon over the veg and add a pinch of salt. Stir in 1 tsp cumin seeds. Set aside to ‘pickle’ the onion in the lemon juice.

4 Finely shred the lettuce leaves. Pick the leaves off the coriander sprigs. Set aside.

5 Scoop the avocado onto a plate, discarding the stone and skin, and squeeze over the juice from the remaining lemon half. Add a small pinch of salt and roughly mash with the back of a fork.

6 Loosely wrap the tortillas together in some foil to create a small parcel.

When the cauliflower florets have roasted for 20 minutes, pop the tortillas in the oven on the shelf below them and cook for 5 minutes. This should finish roasting the cauliflower and warm up the tortillas.

7 Carefully unwrap the tortillas and place them on 2 warm serving plates. Top with a handful of lettuce, the pickled veg, roast cauliflower and garnish with coriander leaves. Serve with any remaining salad on the side.

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SERVES 2-4 250g of Jerusalem artichoke, peeled and diced 250g mushrooms, sliced 2 red onions, diced 2 red peppers, diced 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped 1 aubergine, diced 150g spinach 250g rocket 2 tins of tomatoes splash of balsamic vinegar (optional) 2 tbsp of sugar 100g diced tarragon 100ml veg stock 4 vegan verdi pasta sheets 150g vegan cheese 1 beef tomato, sliced olive oil salt and pepper, to season

1 Preheat oven to 200C/400F/gas mark 6.

2 Sauté the artichokes, mushrooms, peppers, onions and aubergine over a medium heat until they begin to colour.

3 Add the garlic and cook gently for a couple of minutes. Be careful not to let the garlic burn.

4 Pour in the stock and add the tomatoes and the sugar, and reduce until the sauce begins to thicken slightly. Add the tarragon and the balsamic, if using. Season to taste.

5 Put the spinach and the rocket in a different pan and let it wilt over a low heat.

6 Pour around a third of the veg mixture onto an oven-proof tray, then sprinkle over 50g of vegan cheese and add a layer of spinach. Place a pasta sheet on top and repeat the process until you have used up all of the mix.

7 Top the lasage with slices of beef tomato. For an extra crunch, you could add some breadcrumbs.

8 Bake for 30-40 minutes.

CRUMBSMAG.COM

M A I N S

KALE PESTO RISOTTO, BY KATHRYN MINCHEW OF GLOUCESTER STUDIO SERVES 4 1 tbsp olive oil 200g kale, roughly chopped ¼ tsp salt 100g walnuts 10-12 basil leaves 1 lemon 1 tsp Dijon mustard 1 tsp apple cider vinegar 10g dried porcini mushrooms 2 tbsp olive oil 2 red onions 300g risotto rice 1 Make the kale pesto by placing the oil and kale in a large saucepan with the salt and 100ml of water. Cover, and put on a medium heat for five minutes.

2 Toast the walnuts in a dry pan until they begin to colour.

3 Place the walnuts in a food processor and blitz until coarsely chopped. Add the wilted kale (with any liquid in the pan), the basil leaves, the zest and juice of the lemon, mustard and vinegar and blitz briefly. (If not using immediately, transfer to a sterilised jar and keep in the fridge for up to two days.)

4 Place the mushrooms in a measuring jug and add boiling water to the 600ml mark.

5 Roughly chop the onions and cook over a low heat in the oil for ten minutes, or until translucent.

6 Remove the mushrooms from the jug and chop roughly.

7 Add the rice to the pan of onions and stir to coat.

8 Add a ladle of mushroom stock and stir until absorbed. Keep adding stock until the rice is fully cooked.

9 Stir in the jar of kale pesto and the mushrooms.

For good vegan fodder and recipes, check out these guys…

Abel & Cole; abelandcole.co.uk Asparagasm Kitchen & Hub, Days Mill, Old Market, Nailsworth GL6 0DU; asparagam.myshopify.com The Cricklade Club, 38 High Street, Cricklade SN6 6AY; thecrickladeclub.co.uk Food Made by Bob, Unit 4, The Corn Hall, 26 Market Place, Cirencester GL7 2NY; foodmadebybob.com The Gloucester Studio; gloucesterstudio.com The Golden Cross Inn, 20 Black Jack Street, Cirencester GL7 2AA; thegoldencrossinn.com Inn at Fossebridge, Fossebridge, nr Cheltenham GL54 3JS; cotswolds-country-pub-hotel.co.uk Jesse’s Bistro, 14 Black Jack Street, Cirencester GL7 2AA; jessesbistro.co.uk Malt and Anchor, 4 Castle Street, Cirencester GL7 1QA; maltandanchor.co.uk Old Stocks Inn, Stow-on-the-Wold GL54 1AF; oldstocksinn.com The Royal Oak Tetbury, 1 Cirencester Road, Tetbury GL8 8EY; theroyaloaktetbury.co.uk Restaurant 56, Sudbury House Hotel, 56 London Street, Faringdon SN7 7AA; restaurant56.co.uk Star Anise Arts Café, 1 Gloucester Street, Stroud GL5 1QG; staraniseartscafe.com

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SALSIFY BEIGNETS WITH A TOMATO FONDUE DIP, BY DAVID WITNALL OF JESSE’S BISTRO SERVES 4 AS A SNACK OR STARTER 2 shallots, finely chopped 1 garlic clove, finely chopped 1 sprig thyme 1 bay leaf 1 tsp tomato paste 250g plum tomatoes, deseeded and diced 15g sugar salt and pepper to season extra olive oil, to emulsify 100ml of strong vegan lager/beer 60g of self-raising flour 1 pinch of salt 4 sticks of salsify root ½ lemon 1 tbsp olive oil 1 To make the tomato fondue, sweat off the shallots, garlic, thyme and bay leaf in the oil – but do not brown! Add the tomato paste and then the fresh tomatoes.

2 Cook down until the tomatoes are soft, then add the sugar and the seasoning.

3 Remove the bay leaf and sprig of thyme. Blend in a food processor and slowly add a little olive oil to emulsify. Cool down until ready to use in your desired serving dish.

4 For the beignets, preheat a deep fat fryer to 180C. 5 To make the beignets batter, beat together the flour and beer in a large bowl, then add the salt.

6 Bring a pan of salted water to the boil and add the salsify and lemon juice. Cook for 3-5 minutes until tender, then drain and pat dry.

7 Cut the salsify into batons roughly 2 inches long, then dip them into the batter.

8 Deep-fry the salsify until puffed up and golden, then leave to drain on kitchen paper until ready to serve.

9 Season with a little salt and cracked black pepper, arrange on a plate and serve with the dip.

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he next time you pop in for mouth-watering local food in the restaurants or farm shops at the award-winning Gloucester Services on the M5, give yourself a pat on the back.

Because it’s thanks to customers and the success of the services that the vital work done by local community organisations will be supported for years to come.

Between 2p and 3p in every £1 spent by customers is donated to the Gloucestershire Gateway Trust, which shares the money with local community organisations.

This unique partnership between the Westmorland Family business, which runs Gloucester Services (and Tebay Services in Cumbria), and the Gateway Trust means that over the next 20 years, more than £10million will be used to support local community groups and charities.

As part of this support the Gateway Trust has already started giving £20,000 a year to each of its seven long-term community partners: • All Pulling Together CIC • Fair Shares time banks • GL Communities • Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust • Play Gloucestershire • The Nelson Trust • Together in Matson

As well as a share of the services’ turnover, local people benefit from the generosity of customers in other ways.

Piggy banks at the tills have collected £7,600 in less than two years, and carrier bag charges have raised a further £8,000.

And there’s a common thread which runs through all the Gloucestershire Gateway Trust’s partner community organisations – a focus on growing and eating healthy food and a firm belief that growing and sharing food connects people with their communities and with nature.

Mark Gale, a confirmed vegetarian and chief executive of the Gloucestershire Gateway Trust, said: “At the heart of the success of the services is the fantastic food grown and produced by 130 local producers and 70 regional suppliers, made and served in the kitchens, and sold in the farm shops. So it is fitting that the services supports a range of organisations whose work includes encouraging the growing and eating of good, healthy food.

“Community cafés, gardens and orchards, lunch clubs and cooking skills are all supported through the funding of these organisations, so a big ‘thank you’ goes out to everyone who stops at Gloucester Services for a snack, a meal or a visit to the fabulous farm shops.”

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Gloucestershire Gateway Trust 81 Matson Avenue, Gloucester GL4 6LL gloucestershiregatewaytrust.org.uk

( adverti sing feature )

That's Smokin'!

Culinary Director Greg Nicholson tells us about the successful growth of the SEVERN & WYE SMOKERY...

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here’ve been some pretty massive changes afoot at Severn & Wye Smokery. The awardwinning family business has been supplying delicious smoked fish to top end chefs and restaurants for years, but now they’ve expanded to make it easier for everyone to access their fantastic fish.

After three years of painstaking renovation a dilapidated outbuilding has

now been converted into a shiny new foodie Mecca full to the rafters with gourmet goodies.

There’s a food hall with everything from Hobbs House bread to local tipples and deli counter delights, as well as a specialist cheese counter and meat. And, of course, there’s an extensive fish counter – which might just be one of the best in the

country! It’s stocked full of Severn & Wye’s trademark smoked fish, as well as fresh seafood straight from the market (with fish filleted to order) and dressed crabs, and the expert team can offer advice on the best way to cook your purchases.

But that’s not all! Also, within the walls of The Barn is a chilled-out café serving breakfasts, light bites and sweet treats and a restaurant specialising in seafood with a stateof-the-art open plan theatre-style kitchen so you can see the skilled chefs in action!

The Barn is open seven days a week.

Severn & Wye Smokery Chaxhill, Westbury-on-Severn, Gloucestershire GL14 1QW reservations@severnandwye.co.uk 01452 760191, severnandwye.co.uk f severnandwye | a SevernWye x severnandwyesmokery

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I

f you’ve just got engaged, then congratulations! And if you don’t happen to be Harry and Meghan, listen up anyway: we’ve got some top tips for you. Planning a wedding is hugely exciting, after all, but it can also seem like a pretty daunting task, with so much to think about – and so many variables that can (and perhaps will) go wrong. Luckily, then, we’ve enlisted the help of wedding experts across the Cotswolds, all keen to share their wisdom and help you plan the do of your dreams.

WHERE IT’S AT

Once you’ve set a date, then one of the first things to think about is the venue – and you’re spoilt for choice in the Cotswolds. Whether you’re looking for something cool and contemporary, cute and modern, big or small, there’s something here for you.

At De Vere Cotswold Water Park Hotel near Cirencester, there are no fewer than seven different rooms which are licensed for the ceremony itself, as well as a wide variety of different spaces which can be used for the reception, so you can find a combination which suits you perfectly.

Sudbury House in Faringdon, meanwhile, offers a mix of the traditional and more contemporary. You can hold the ceremony in the Grade II-listed ‘old house’ part of the hotel, for instance, and then adjourn to the bright, modern Magnolia Brasserie.

Cotswolds Inns and Hotels has five different properties across the Cotswolds – all very different, but each with its own particular brand of Cotswolds charm – that might suit. The Hare and Hounds in Westonbirt, for example, has beautiful woodlands and gardens which make for stunning photo spots, while The Bear of Rodburgh offers show-stopping views and The Manor House at Moreton-inMarsh is built from traditional Cotswold stone, and has stunning hidden gardens that back onto a churchyard.

If you’re looking for something a bit more quirky, then the Cricklade Club might be the place for you. There’s an eclectic mix of furnishings here, including stable partitions, giant oil paintings and a 1940s Regal Cinema ‘what’s on’ board (ideal for a wedding breakfast table plan!), while the top table is a 19th century French feasting table.

Alternatively, Spaceintense can offer the ultimate freedom, by putting up a marquee in your choice of location – and decorating it exactly how you want! They have Chinese Hat-style versions, traditional ones with king poles and guy ropes, and even a big top if you’re really putting on a show. “Every event is unique, and we love to create new looks with our clients,” says Charles Earley, the boss there.

“Our intended market has always been the private party, so we have chosen our marquees first and foremost for their aesthetic.”

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TaKE a VOw…

IF YOU, LIKE YOU-KNOW-WHO, ARE TYING THE KNOT THIS YEAR, LISTEN UP! WE’VE GOT TOP TIPS FROM LOCALS WHO KNOW ABOUT TAKING THE STRESS OUT OF IT ALL…

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M A I N S

If you’re not sure where to begin when choosing your venue, then you might want to consider getting advice from an expert like Ruth Brookman, founder and director of Brookman Greene event and design management company.

“We work with many great venues,” said Ruth. “But predominantly we work with soft venues, such as tipis, marquees and open spaces, which allow a completely free rein. We have access to some unique and exclusive sites in awesome locations, too.”

It may sound a bit boring, but if you’ve got a lot of guests travelling from different locations then you might also want to consider how easy your choice of venue will be for people to get to. Stanton Manor at Stanton St Quintin is just minutes from the motorway, but still has plenty of period charm and character, as well as four acres of beautifully manicured grounds.

EXCLUSIVELY YOURS

For a real house party feel, you might want to consider hiring out a whole hotel, so there’s plenty of space for guests to stay over.

If you fancy starting your married life in the style of the lord and lady of the manor, then you could take over the super-luxurious Whatley Manor near Malmesbury, while the Cotswold House Hotel in the centre of Chipping Campden is available for exclusive use too (as well as for smaller celebrations).

There’ll be no need for carriages at midnight at the cosy Bay Tree Hotel in Burford, either – and you can extend the celebrations even further, if you’d like. Wedding co-ordinator Maureen Davies tells us, “We’ve had a few requests recently for two-day weddings, and we’re expecting these to grow in popularity this year. For this type of wedding we’ll close the hotel for two days, and suggest a pre-wedding party the night before!”

NUPTIAL NOSHING

Venue sorted, you’ll want to turn your attention to the food. After all, it’s often what guests will remember most about your day. (And that’s not just according to us, BTW – numerous wedding co-ordinators agree!)

With Michelin-starred chef Niall Keating at the helm in the kitchens at Whatley Manor, there’s no doubt that your wedding breakfast will have your guests talking.

And if you’re into fine dining, then it’s worth checking out The Fig Package at Cotswold House Hotel, which offers exclusive use of the Fig restaurant, with a tasting menu – complete with paired wines for each course – for up to 36 guests. “We’re predicting a trend of smaller, more intimate weddings with a focus on fine food and wine,” says Mandy Burton, the hotel’s wedding co-ordinator.

And Sally Jones, events manager at Sudbury House Hotel, agrees.

“We’re seeing people wanting smaller weddings, but with really high quality food,” she says. “This is something we can accommodate admirably for smaller groups in the Old House.”

Remember, though, that you don’t have to follow the traditional wedding breakfast three-course meal format if that’s not your thing.

Many places will offer an alternative. “We’re seeing a lot more couples wanting a barbecue, or afternoon tea, instead of a formal three-course dinner,” says Rose Turner, who’s the wedding co-ordinator at The Bear of Rodborough.

“The hog roast in the evening is still one of our most requested menu items,” adds Stacey Renouf, who has the same role at De Vere Cotswold Water Park Hotel. “Guests love to see a chef in whites, and it’s just what everyone fancies after a few celebratory beverages!”

Of course, if you hire a caterer, like Tailor Made Top Nosh, then the world’s your oyster (or whatever food it is you’d prefer). “The best piece of advice I’d give any couple is to find a good caterer,” says chef

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and proprietor Paul Barnard. “We offer a very personal, relaxed and flexible bespoke service, ensuring that we tailor-make menus to suit each individual event. Once, we even provided each of the ten guests seated at the top table with an individual menu, specifically themed to their own personal preferences. Last year we saw a lot of Caribbean and Mexican-influenced menus, but this year I think we will see a resurgence of interest in seasonal, locally-sourced food.”

Ruth Brookman agrees that the choice of caterer is of utmost importance. “Food is such an important part of the wedding day, and for the couple, so it is vital that we can recommend a caterer that we are wholeheartedly happy with, and that we know will deliver what they are looking for,” she says. “We have a number of excellent caterers that we work with, and we’ll choose the one best suited to the requirements of the bridal couple.

“Most couples now go for good honest food with amazing flavours and beautiful presentation. I think we’re going to see more focus on great canapés and cocktails as 2018 goes on, though. Espresso martinis are a huge hit for after dinner!”

CAKE BOSS

A wedding cake is a must – but that doesn’t mean it has to be made of cake! And no-one knows this better than the guys at the

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Cotswold Cheese Company, who are seeing an increasing demand for their tiered cheese cakes. “Choosing cheese for your wedding is all about fun,” says co-owner Lisa Goodchild. “Be bold, be extravagant, and remember: there’s no such thing as too much! We’d typically recommend five different cheeses, as this gives a nice, balanced cake.

Odd numbers work best, so seven would probably be the most you’d ever need. The only thing you have to be aware of, though, is that soft cheeses don’t like warm weather, and if the cake is on show for a long time before being eaten the aroma can spread – especially if there are smelly cheeses involved! This can be off-putting to some people.

“The most popular cheeses are Lincolnshire Village Poacher, Barkham Blue and St Eadburgha, but I think we’ll see an increase in ewe’s and goat’s milk cheeses, due to intolerances to cow’s milk.”

Say cheese!

Many couples are opting for cheese cakes from Cotswold Cheese Company

GETTING PERSONAL

The most important thing when planning your day, though, is to ensure that it’s exactly what you want – and is a real reflection of your personality. (After all, you’ll – hopefully – only be doing this once.)

And wedding co-ordinators are invariably prepped and primed to help bring your vision to life.

“You may think that you have a very random question or request,” says Marsha Stubbs from The Swan Hotel in Bibury. “But don’t worry about it. As wedding co-ordinators, we’ll have seen all sorts – and will always do our very best to help you.”

“We love it when a couple brings us ideas that are outside the box,” says Zoe David from Stanton Manor. “We’ve had everything from fancy dress weddings to incredibly traditional ones. Our favourite was when a couple asked us if we could turn the manor into a giant games room, with lots of help-yourself buffets in every room and games tucked into every corner.”

At Cotswold House Hotel, meanwhile, there was once a large fourlegged guest to accommodate. “I had a bride that brought her horse to the wedding,” said Mandy Burton. “It had lovely ribbons plaited into the mane, and the bride had some photography taken on the horse. The horse didn’t come inside for dinner, though – it preferred the grass in the garden!”

And it seems that it’s not unusual for couples to want to incorporate animals and pets into their celebrations.

“We were once asked to present the bride with a puppy in a box as a present from the groom,” said Julia Thompson, wedding co-ordinator at The Hare and Hounds. “The puppy, which was called Winston, wouldn’t keep still – and so I had to present a moving box to the top table! She was over the moon, though, and we quickly moved them to a dog-friendly room, so they could spend their first night as husband and wife with Winston.”

“We can beat that,” adds Maureen Davis from The Bay Tree. “A groom once asked us to find some alpacas as a surprise for the bride.”

“We’ve had a few unusual ringbearers, too,” says Tom Gibbons from the Manor House. “Like owls, dogs, and people in fancy dress. But the one that really stands out is when we welcomed a Basil Fawlty impersonator to be toast master. The guests loved it!”

If you want to find out more, head to one of these weddings open days…

• The Hare and Hounds Hotel – Saturday, January 20, 12pm-3pm • The Swan Hotel – Sunday, January 21, 10am-3pm • Cotswold House Hotel – Sunday, January 28 • Stanton Manor – Sunday, January 28, 11am-2.30pm • De Vere Cotswold Water Park – Sunday, Feburary 18, 11am-3pm • The Bear of Rodburgh – Sunday, February 18, 1pm-4pm

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Quick! Add them to your wedding planner!

VENUES • The Angel Hotel, 47 High Street, Royal Wootton Bassett SN4 7AQ; theangelhotelwoottonbassett.co.uk • The Bay Tree Hotel, Sheep Street, Burford OX18 4LW; cotswold-innshotels.co.uk/the-bay-tree-hotel • The Bear of Rodburgh Hotel, Rodburgh Common, Stroud GL5 5DE; cotswold-inns-hotels.co.uk/thebear-of-rodburgh • The Cricklade Club, 38 High Street, Cricklade SN6 6AY; thecrickladeclub.co.uk • Cotswold House Hotel and Spa, Upper High Street, The Square, Chipping Campden GL55 6AN; bespokehotels.com/cotswoldhouse • De Vere Cotswold Water Park Hotel, Lake 6, Spine Road East GL7 5FP; phcompany.com/de-vere/ cotswold-water-park-hotel • The Hare and Hounds Hotel, Westonbirt, Tetbury GL8 8QL; cotswold-inns-hotels.co.uk/hareand-hounds-hotel • The Manor House Hotel, High Street, Moreton-in-Marsh; cotswold-inns-hotels.co.uk/themanor-house-hotel • Stanton Manor, Stanton St Quintin

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SN14 6DQ; stantonmanor.co.uk • Sudbury House Hotel, 56 London Street, Faringdon SN7 7AA; sudburyhouse.co.uk • The Swan Hotel, Bibury GL7 5NW; cotswold-inns-hotels.co.uk/theswan-hotel • Whatley Manor, Easton Grey, Malmesbury SN16 0RB; whatleymanor.com CATERERS • Tailor Made Top Nosh, Cypher House, Bampton Business Park South, Weald, Bampton OX18 2RG; tailormadetopnosh.co.uk MARQUEES • Spaceintense, Grays, Far End, Sheepscombe GL6 7RL; spaceintense.co.uk WEDDING PLANNERS • Brookman Greene, West Kingston SN14 7JJ; brookmangreene.co.uk CHEESE WEDDING CAKES • The Cotswold Cheese Company (branches in Moreton-in-Marsh, Burford and Stow-on-the-Wold); cotswoldcheese.com

The Angel Hotel, 47 High Street, Wootton Bassett, Wiltshire SN4 7AQ Email: TheAngel.WBassett@arkells.com Tel: 01793 851161

Our ball room is perfect for your wedding reception or event.

We serve food: Monday – Thursday 12:00 – 14:30 / 18:00 – 21:00 Friday – Saturday 12:00 – 15:00 / 18:00 – 21.30 Sunday 12:00 – 15:00 www.theangelhotelwoottonbassett.co.uk

Cutler & Bayliss

Traditional Family Butcher & Greengrocer Traditional quality meat Cotswold hand made sausages Delicatessen with home made pies and pasties Wide selection of fresh fruit and vegetables Range of jams, marmalades, chutneys and much more

4 Oak Street, Lechlade, Gloucestershire GL7 3AX

Tel: 01367 252451

www.cutlerandbayliss.co.uk

A F T E RS

NEW RESTAURANTS DEVOURED, NEW CAFÉS FREQUENTED, NEW BARS CRAWLED, AND THE TRUTH ABOUT WHAT WE THOUGHT OF THEM

H I G H L I G H T S

SHADES OF GREY

Falling for Whatley Manor’s new look Grey’s Brasserie Page 60

CALL TO ARMS

Plenty of pleasing platefuls at the Lygon Arms Page 62

V GOOD

Yep, it’s vegan. And yep, it’s fish and chips. (Almost!)

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I N C L U D I N G

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stunning refurbs

s ( R A V I S H I N G R E F U R B S )

ometimes the novelty factor can be a good thing. Like, with socks. Or comedy souvenirs. Or a gift for a difficult-to-buy-for friend.

But it’s not usually a good thing when it comes to restaurants. Which is why I, for one, did not shed a tear when I discovered that Le Mazot at Whatley Manor was to be no more, and instead was to undergo a transformation into Grey’s Brasserie. Le Mazot, for those unfamiliar with it, was an alpine chalet-style restaurant, all wood and slightly kitsch décor. Which is absolutely fine on the Swiss slopes, but rather less fine in an elegant country house hotel like Whatley Manor. IMHO. To be fair, the name got ditched some time ago, and it’s been trading as Grey’s for a while, but it was only in the latter part of 2017 that the décor got binned off too, and it underwent a total refurb. Which, it turns out, is just gorgeous (all soft greys, dark teal, sumptuous velvet and soft leather) – and far more in keeping with the rest of the place.

Perhaps even more crucially, it better suits the menu that’s served here too.

GREY’S BRASSERIE AT WHATLEY MANOR EMMA DANCE FINDS GREAT TASTING FOOD IN TOP-NOTCH SURROUNDINGS AT THIS NEWLY REFURBISHED JOINT

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A F T E R S

We went at lunch time and were given the choice of two menus, the market lunch version (which, although not hugely inspiring, is super-reasonable on price, coming in at just £24.50 for three courses), and the regular á la carte.

It was pretty much immediately apparent that we wouldn’t be able to resist the charms of the á la carte. ‘Nibbles’ of sausage rolls accompanied our pre-lunch cocktails (it was Saturday – don’t judge!).

The peppery meat was embraced by golden, flaky pastry and accompanied by a wonderfully tangy brown sauce. On another occasion these would have made an ace bar snack, but for us they were just a warm up.

The pâté en croûte (or pork pie, if you want to be less fancy about it) has gained a bit of a must-try rep, so I was keen to see what all the fuss is about. For a start, it was easily the prettiest pork pie I’ve ever seen. It could possibly be the prettiest in existence anywhere. The pink pork was studded with bright green pistachios and snow-white macadamia nuts, all framed by crisp, golden pastry and, as I gushed over its good looks, our waiter admitted that creating the best looking pie has become something of a competitive sport in the kitchen. As Instagrammable as it might be, though, I was here to taste – and it didn’t disappoint. The meat was well-seasoned with just the right amount of firmness, and the nuts added not only texture but a subtle nutty sweetness.

Husband, meanwhile, was in actual raptures over baked crayfish and macaroni thermidor. And, after tasting a mouthful or two myself, I had to admit he had a point.

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There were big chunks of sweet, succulent crayfish nestled among the creamy cheese sauce and pasta here. A light starter it was not. Utterly delicious it certainly was.

A glazed ox cheek with spiced red cabbage, parsnip and kale came and was rich and unctuous. The meat was perfect – soft and almost gelatinous, just melting in the mouth, while there was fresh acidity from red cabbage, and the kale had been crisped, which brought a delightful crunch to proceedings. It’s an ideal winter dish, warm, hearty and full of boisterous flavours.

Once recovered from the disappointment of finishing his starter, husband turned his attention to a confit duck leg with roast pumpkin, charred green onion and black garlic jus. Everything had been cooked justso, and the flavours worked in harmony.

A clementine and Grand Marnier trifle was lighter than it sounds. There was juicy sweetness from the fruit, a creamy custard, and the faintest undercurrent of boozy warmth to make it a proper grow-up pud.

Across the table, a chocolate cremeux with griottine cherries, kirsch ice cream and candied almonds brought together all the flavours of a Black Forest gateaux, just in a richer, slightly more refined way.

Grey’s Brasserie might be more low key than Whatley’s other restaurant, the Michelin-star Dining Room, but in terms of flavours and standard of cooking it’s right up there. And it doesn’t need any novelty factor to help it make its mark.

Grey’s Brasserie at Whatley Manor, Easton Grey, Malmesbury SN16 0RB; whatleymanor.com

( N E W L O O K R E S TA U R A N T S )

LYGON BAR & GRILL EMMA DANCE PAYS A VISIT TO THE LIGHTS OF BROADWAY

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w

ith its chocolate box good looks and prime position right in the centre of uber-pretty Broadway, it’s just about impossible not to be instantly smitten with The Lygon Arms – and that’s even before stepping inside. The place is properly steeped in history: back when it was known as The White Hart, Oliver Cromwell got a bit of shut-eye here the night before the battle of Worcester; King Charles I and his supporters used it as a place to gather; and (relatively) more recently, Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton used the hotel as a bolt hole at the height of the scandals around their affair. If walls could talk, and all that.

There’s been some serious cash spent on refurbishing the 17th century hotel (we’re talking multi-mills) and it shows, with 86 newly designed bedrooms, a refreshed spa and not one, but two, new dining options.

Fortunately, the refurb hasn’t erased any of the character and, while there are plenty of contemporary touches, the old soul still lives on.

At the heart of the hotel, among the plethora of cosy lounges and roaring

A F T E R S

log fires, is the new Lygon Bar and Grill.

And, with a huge chandelier fashioned from antlers hanging from the ceiling, it certainly has a visual wow factor. It has a very relaxed vibe, though, and it’s a feeling that’s reflected in the menu, which is full of appealing, if not necessarily wildly inventive, dishes.

In fact, it’s the starter section which probably shows the most imagination. My Chewton Glen Cheddar cheese soufflé is of the twice-baked variety, so while it isn’t doing that impressive towering puffy thing, it is light and fluffy, bursting with tangy, salty cheesiness. A delight on its own, when munched with the little morsels of Jerusalem artichoke and chestnuts that come alongside to add texture and nutty warmth, it’s a thing of real beauty. Over the table, meanwhile, curling tentacles of grilled octopus have been cooked just right, so they’re neither rubbery nor chewy but beautifully tender and succulent.

My main course of sea bass with butter beans and cockles demonstrates a sensitive touch by the chef. The skin of the fish is crisp and golden, the flesh soft and moist.

The delicate little shellfish are tender and

sweet, while a tangle of sea vegetables and the lightest of broths brings a sea-like saltiness that ties the dish together.

Salt marsh lamb cutlets arrive simply prepared, but then they don’t need any bells and whistles to make their flavour sing. The meat is pink and soft, with just a hint of char on the crust; they taste so good that they don’t need a sauce (and they come served with juicy tomatoes, which add moisture to the plate), but the consensus is that a drizzle of rich jus, or a smattering of vibrant mint sauce, might just have lifted things a little.

A pud of vanilla cream, preserved plums and brown sugar meringue is a joy. The plums are heady with spice, evoking the flavours of mulled wine, and the cream silky and smooth and not too sweet, allowing the little golden nuggets of chewy meringue to shine in their sugariness. A bitter chocolate tart is equally triumphant. The rich, dark filling is, indeed, pleasingly bitter, with the sweetness coming from the crisp pastry encasing it. Alongside there’s ‘hung, drawn and portered’ ice cream, which begins tasting creamy and almost sweet, but ends with an almost coffee-like roasty bitterness that harmonises beautifully with the

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chocolate. It’s clever and sophisticated and properly grown up.

This refurb has created, in the Lygon Bar and Grill, somewhere that it’s a genuine pleasure to spend time in, and that dishes up food you really want to eat. Which, I reckon, is money well spent.

The Lygon Bar and Grill, The Lygon Arms, High Street, Broadway WR12 7DU; lygonarmshotel.co.uk

A F T E R S

( V E G A N D I S H E S )

TOFISH AT SIMPSONS EMMA DANCE TRIES – YES, REALLY! – THE VEGAN VERSION OF FISH AND CHIPS

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hether it’s for ethical reasons or health reasons, there’s little doubt that more and more of us are choosing to eat less meat. You only need to do an Insta search for #MeatFreeMondays or #plantbased and you’ll see just how many people are jumping on the meat-free bandwagon – even if it’s just for one day a week.

This enthusiasm for the vegan lifestyle is why Simpson’s fish and chip shop in Stroud has added a new vegan offering to the menu – tofish. This first made an appearance in November in honour of World Vegan Month, but it’s been greeted with such gusto that it’s now a permanent fixture. Intrigued to learn just how good a vegan version of fish and chips could actually be, I went along to give it a go.

Full disclosure: I am emphatically not vegan. I don’t have anything against veganism, but I don’t think it’s for me – I just like meat and cheese and fish too much. It was going to be a bit of test, then, to see how tofish compared to, you know, actual fish.

Tofu can be quite a difficult thing to handle in culinary terms – it’s essentially tasteless, after all, and needs a fair bit of love to inject some flavour into it – so the Simpsons team have spent some time working on a recipe that delivers in terms of both flavour and texture.

First, the tofu is pressed to remove the excess water (this helps to firm it up), then marinaded in lime, lemongrass, salt and lemon juice. It’s finally wrapped in nori before being battered (the batter’s vegan too, natch) and deep fried to crispy perfection.

The result is something actually very clever. The tofu does have a very delicate, slightly citrusy flavour – nothing overpowering, but just enough to feel like it’s got a purpose – and the seaweed gives it a proper taste of the sea. It’s not too soft and slimy, either (something that I was fearing, based on previous tofu encounters).

And, of course, the batter and chips are top class – which is only as you’d expect from an award-winning chippy. (I would highly recommend adding some jalapeño tartare sauce to anything you order, by the way.)

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Ultimately, of course, it’s not fish – and you’re not going to mistake it for fish. But then, if you’ve decided to be vegan why would you want to eat something that could be mistaken for a food group you’ve chosen to remove from your diet anyway?

What it is, though, is very tasty – and it does evoke all those wonderful seasidey flavours you get from fish and chips, which in my book makes it a bit of a winner.

Simpsons Fish and Chips, 13A Bedford Street, Stroud GL5 1AY; simpsonsfishandchips.com

L I T T L E

B L A C K

B O O K

Jamie RAFTERY

ALSO KNOWN AS THE HOLISTIC CHEF, JAMIE SPENDS MOST OF HIS TIME SHARING HIS PASSION FOR PLANT-BASED FOODS. BUT WHEN HE’S NOT DOING THAT, HERE’S WHERE YOU’LL FIND HIM BREAKFAST? I love The Find cafe. It’s a newcomer to Cheltenham, and there’s lots of choice on a menu that showcases the very best of Cotswold ingredients.

BEST BREW? I can’t pick just one! But The Coffee Dispensary and The Scandinavian Coffee Pod are my two Cheltenham favourites.

FAVOURITE GROCERY SHOP? I used to love Wholefoods, so it’s such a shame it’s left Cheltenham now – but the Natural Grocery Store and Roots & Fruits are both great for fresh produce.

BEST WINE MERCHANT? The Cheltenham Grape. There are great wines, great service and a great ambience.

Basically, it’s great!

SUNDAY LUNCH? The Wild Duck in Ewen is excellent. It’s an idyllic cosy Cotswolds pub with great food and drinks.

QUICK PINT? After a hike through Leckhampton I’ll always head to Sup & Chow.

WITH FRIENDS? The Bottle of Sauce is always fun, especially for large groups.

CHEEKY COCKTAIL? Crazy Eights every time! There’s a good range of cocktails here, and eclectic music from DJ Dicky.

COMFORT FOOD? Baker & Graze (again!) does delicious, comforting, interesting and seasonal menus.

POSH NOSH? Koj delivers brilliant Japanese flavours, top quality service and cocktails. What more can you ask for?

ALFRESCO FEASTING? I always love a visit to Daylesford organic farm for a bite in the café and a visit to the farm shop.

HIDDEN GEM? Smiths of Bourton is home to one of the best afternoon teas in the Cotswolds.

BEST ATMOSPHERE? Baker & Graze, for the friendly smiling staff, good tunes – and the best sourdough outside of France.

FOOD ON THE GO? Fat Toni's pizza every time.

WITH THE FAMILY? The Langton on London Road is a perennial favourite of ours.

ONE TO WATCH? Craig Stanley at Blockley Village Café is a young talent to keep an eye on.

SOMETHING SWEET? I’m a big fan of the delicious and healthy sweet treats at Kindness & Co. TOP STREET FOOD? I think that Falafeleat makes the best falafel I've come across outside of Israel!

PET FRIENDLY? There’s always a friendly welcome at The Green Dragon. holisticchef.co.uk

QUICK! ADD THIS LITTLE LOT TO YOUR CONTACTS BOOK… The Find, 20 Regent Street, Cheltenham GL50 1HE; thefind.co.uk • The Coffee Dispensary, 18 Regent Street, Cheltenham GL50 1HE; the-coffee-dispensary.co.uk • The Scandinavian Coffee Pod, Royal Well Place, Cheltenham GL50 3DN; thescandinaviancoffeepod.com • Natural Grocery Store, 150-156 Bath Road, Cheltenham GL53 7NG; naturalgrocery.co.uk • Roots & Fruits, 250 Bath Road, Cheltenham GL53 7NB; rootsandfruits.co.uk • The Cheltenham Grape, 10 Bath Road, Cheltenham GL53 7HA; thecheltenhamgrape.com • The Wild Duck, Drakes Island, Cirencester GL7 6BY; theluckyonion.com • Fat Toni’s, 4 Regent Street, Cheltenham GL50 1HE; fattoni.co.uk • Sup & Chow, 242 Bath Road, Cheltenham GL53 7NB; supandchow.co.uk • Crazy Eights, 131 The Promenade, Cheltenham GL50 1NW; theluckyonion.com • Koj, 3 Regent Street, Cheltenham GL50 1HE; kojcheltenham.co.uk • Daylesford, nr Kingham GL56 0YG; daylesford.com • Smiths of Bourton, Victoria Street, Bourton on the Water GL54 2BT • Baker & Graze, 48 Suffolk Road, Cheltenham GL50 2AQ; bakerandgraze.com • Blockley Café, Blockley GL56 9BB; blockleycafe.com • The Bottle of Sauce, Ambrose Street, Cheltenham GL50 3LH • The Langton, 189191 London Road, Charlton Kings, Cheltenham GL52 6HT; thelangton.co.uk • Kindness & Co, 38 Clarence Street, Cheltenham GL50 3JS; kindness-and-co.com • Falafeleat, Cheltenham High Street GL50 1JZ; falafeleat.co.uk • The Green Dragon Inn, Cockleford, nr Cowley GL53 9NW; green-dragon-inn.co.uk

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B

ased in the Cotswolds, Brookman Greene has quickly established a reputation for producing high-end elegant events. We produce celebrations ranging from stunning weddings to private celebrations in your residence, on fields and lawns or in venues of your choice.

We also offer a service where we can help style your venue,

using our eclectic mix of prop hire, or we can provide a set up service, and management on the day.

We focus on the timeless values of fairness, generosity and trust to ensure that you receive the best possible service, all delivered with the warmth, style and elegance that Brookman Greene is known for.

We care about each occasion as if it were our own Brookman Greene West Kington, Wiltshire SN14 7JJ +44 (0)1249 782906 | info@brookmangreene.co.uk www.brookmangreene.co.uk