When the wind and the rain are playing havoc with EVERYTHING it’s very hard to have any enthusiasm for ANYTHING!
Just getting in and out of the car is a challenge, and my brain seems to be left behind most of the time. I have just left my phone in Aldi, following a fraught hunt for Asti, requested for the bar tomorrow. Are we back in the 70s? It would seem so. Is Babycham back in too, I wonder?
My hob is on the blink. I got myself a steak and sprouting broccoli for tea tonight – hob said no. Child is saying no from bedroom and I am off the drink… Pass me a sherry.
We have a new chap called Mark who is making it his mission to grow apples at Vallum. There are young trees here now, ready to create an orchard in the paddock in front of our wedding venue. The idea is that people will come and learn about the trees and then pick the apples when they’re ready. It’s exciting for us in the events kitchen, where we strive to be as local as possible. We do a lot of North Acomb Farm pork at weddings, so apple garnishes are now the talk of the day.
We went to the Duke of Wellington in Newton for a post-work pint the other day and were tempted by a delicious starter with smoked potatoes. Our head chef Jonny had a crack today when he was cold-smoking some pork for our Asti lovers. The outcome was amazing. The best part of cooking is playing like this… you never know what you’re going to discover.
We’ve said goodbye to most of our bakery equipment this week. It’s sad in some respects as it’s the end of an era. We’re keeping the bread oven, but we don’t see ourselves doing wholesale again. The kit has gone to Big River Bakery, a community bakery in Shieldfield. It’s a social enterprise with a strong ethos, using organic flours and traditional techniques. We’re looking forward to a team trip there soon.
In the meantime, I’m dreaming of Lanzarote.
Roll on summer…