It’s so cold we barely want to go out in the garden and pick at the moment. But the bonus is the sunrises and our chef Richard in the Tea Room has been sharing his early morning sunrise and kale snaps on Facebook.
The great news is the sprouting broccoli is finally here. We are picking out the tops once they look good to encourage the smaller sprouts to shoot lower down, and it looks like we will be picking right through January, which is fab. It’s so sweet and delicious and is set to star on the Sunday menus in the Restaurant and Tea Room.
Ivan has been busy shovelling a vast amount of soil as he bows to Richard’s request for more raised beds in the large poly tunnel. Poor Ivan – he’s been working like a Trojan in this freezing weather, which means that Santa is getting so slim, we’ll have to pad him up for our children’s Christmas party on the 17th. We’re also looking forward to more time together to plan our growing in 2018, and January is designated pow-wow time for this and planning wedding menus right into 2020. My mind is boggled, but I can’t wait for a proper growing plan as we have learnt so much this year.
The next few weeks are phenomenally busy for our small brigade of chefs. We have put the planning in so it’s all manageable, and it’s great to be cooking Persian as well as traditional British fare for our private house Christmas catering jobs. We have our first corporate events too, which is very exciting. We will shut Vallum on December 24, 25, 26 and January 1 and 2 to give the team some family time. Apologies to anyone who is disappointed – we will miss you too. Meanwhile, our staff party is fast approaching and cousin Anne and I are teaming up for one of our legendary performances. Last year we were Patsy and Eddie from Ab Fab, and this year we will be Geraldine and Alice from the Vicar of Dibley. The wigs and vicar outfit are on the way! So, Happy Christmas, all the best for 2018 and please come and see us in the New Year, when we will be raring to go.
