It’s been a busy summer so far at Peace & Loaf and the team in the kitchen and front of house have been absolutely smashing it.
We’ve got a great group of people here, all of whom are passionate about what we do. I can’t thank them enough for all the effort they’ve been putting in over the last few months. We’re a proper team at Peace & Loaf and it’s great to be part of it.
In the kitchen, we’re in full summer swing with some of my favourite produce coming in. Some things are only around for a week or two, but we’re putting together some phenomenal dishes thanks to our suppliers.
Hamish and Vanessa Dow have got some amazing stuff coming out of their allotment in Heaton right now, from herbs and little edibles right through to some absolutely cracking veg.
We’ve got some lovely fish coming in from Collingwood’s on North Shields Fish Quay too. The warmer weather brings out some really great fish, which we like to showcase whenever we get our hands on it.
We’ve got a lovely halibut dish on at the moment with hazelnut mayonnaise, shiitake mushrooms and cabbage. The dish has nice Chinese notes, which are really interesting.
We’ve also got striped bass on the menu at the moment, which is a really interesting fish with a great flavour.
The Middle White pork is fantastic right now too. That’s coming in from William Peat in Barnard Castle; he’s an excellent butcher who I absolutely love working with.
There’s a lot of colour on the plates right now too with things like the Jolly Jester marigolds coming through along with all the little edibles which are at their absolute best right now.
There’s so much coming through every day, it’s hard to remember them all but we’re putting it all to good use!
It’s an exciting time, as ever, all the guys are in top form and we’re all looking forward to the rest of the summer. Until next time…
Dave Coulson, head chef and co-owner of Peace & Loaf in Newcastle, offers an insight into life in (and out) of the kitchen. This month – it’s all go for the summer season.
Peace & Loaf, Jesmond Road, Newcastle, NE2 1LA, tel 0191 281 5222, www.peaceandloaf.co.uk
