With another bank
holiday and lovely weather bringing in the customers, Paul hardly had time to
draw breath before his jaunt over to Kentisbury Grange. An evening presented by
the Trencherman’s guide, showcasing Devon's finest produce and chefs. It was an
amazing opportunity for Paul cooking with the stars of the catering world
Michael Caines MBE with 2 Michelin stars, Mark Dodson of The Masons Arms 1 star
for over 10 years and chef Thomas Hines; Michaels head chef @The Coach House by
Michael Caines auspicious company indeed. He had amazing evening and said how
welcoming, obviously professional and calm everyone was, the food apparently
was stunning as was Kentisbury Grange itself. Can't wait to try for myself.
Bampton hosted its
first ever Spring Fest (Which replaces the August bank holiday Bampton open
day)at the end of May. The day luckily saw glorious weather which obviously
helped, there were a variety of stalls selling some great gifts and home-made
items, there were horse and hounds, vintage cars, dog shows for all and of
course Bampton's famous parachuting teddy bears The list actually was quite
endless. Whether it was the date change or because the weather was kind to
Bampton it most certainly was a success and if this is built upon over the
years Bampton Spring Fest will certainly become a date in everyone's diary, so
to those who worked so tirelessly organizing the event they should be very
proud of their achievements.
Something that is
already proving to be a great success is the Tiverton Electric Nights Street Food festival, so with luck The Swan will have its own pop-up bar there next
time on 4th July, so look out for us.
Another month and
another Devon Chefs Club dinner, this took place at The Treby Arms near
Plymouth (Sparkwell) our hosts were Anton and Clare Piotrowski, Masterchef
winner and also a holder of a Michelin star. He certainly pulled out all stops
and definitely had all of the chefs talking, taking pictures and having a truly
great night. The pub itself was immaculate, beautifully decorated, with a sense
of fun and the food stunning; it’s most definitely worthy of all that he has
achieved. So for that special occasion it's really somewhere to put on your hit
list and I believe there is accommodation not too far away.
Monday will see us
heading off to Minehead, for the very first Exmoor and Somerset chefs club
dinner at the Beach Hotel which looks really interesting, we are staying over
so I'll be able to give you a B&B report as well as the food next time.
With summer hopefully
on the way and with a few days that the barbecue might have been fired up it's
well worth thinking about making your own burgers, they are simple, reasonably
inexpensive and a lot tastier than the frozen variety (obviously you don’t just
have to barbeque) .We make our own here at The Swan and they are a sure fire
winner. I'll give you a basic recipe and then you can be creative, just make
sure you cook them through thoroughly.
We add chilli and
mustard too ours and sometimes we use lamb mince and coriander.. You can use
any minced meat and add your own flavorings, it's great fun and it will give
your barbecue the edge, either mould in a large screw top lid (like a coffee
jar) or mould by hand, good luck and enjoy the sunshine
BASIC BURGER INGREDIENTS
1 small onion
500g good-quality beef mince
1 egg
Seasoning
Just hand mix all ingredients together.
This should make 4
good-sized burgers
Add garlic, parsley, mint,
chives or even curry spices, what about a chicken curry burger? There are no limits
to your imagination its really down to your taste buds.
Top with any sort of
cheese, mozzarella, cheddar or even a tasty blue. Once pressed, if don’t use
them all, wrap in cling film and freeze until the next time, you can make a
whole range.
Use all or any of the following to serve: sliced tomato,
beetroot, horseradish sauce, mayonnaise, ketchup, handful iceberg lettuce,
rocket, watercress.
