tasting elegant simplicity at st tudy inn, cornwall...

Seaside risotto cooked by head chef Andy Appleton at Watergate Bay’s Fifteen Cornwallfifteencornwall.co.uk

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FoodTasting elegant simplicity at St Tudy Inn, Cornwall

Bites, the latest news and events from Devon and Cornwall’s vibrant food sceneExclusive recipes from The Seahorse, Dartmouth | The Table Prowler

Provenance, producers and

seasonal delightsAnna Turns meets Emily Scott, who is creating a simple yet exquisite seasonal menu at the revamped St Tudy Inn.

Sitting outside the St Tudy Inn in the sunshine, chef Emily Scott is eagerly awaiting the arrival of the season’s first asparagus. “A local farmer called Roger will bring the first harvest to the pub in his horse

and cart, and I won’t put asparagus on my menu until the day he turns up!”

Five miles from the North Cornish coast in the picturesque village of St Tudy, Emily is transforming the local pub. “I feel like I’m in the middle of the French countryside, which is odd because Burgundy is where I first learnt my trade,” says Emily. “This pub feels like my home now.” With relaxed French-style interiors, natural stripped-back furnishings and fresh white walls, every room is a reflection of her personality and her food is simple yet beautiful to match.

In the kitchen, she’s intuitive - “I don’t often use the timer, I feel when something is done” - and there’s a certain elegance to her cooking that perhaps only a woman can achieve in this predominantly male industry. “Whenever I have worked alongside other chefs on demos, they have always been brilliant. Some say they can tell my food is cooked by a woman because there’s an extra finesse to it.”

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Every dish should tell a real story: “It’s not just about the chef, it’s about the provenance, the producers and the seasons. It is definitely not about me,” she says. “I love fish cookery and I want to inspire people to go home and try making a recipe at home. People tend to shop just for convenience but if you give people knowledge of how simple it can be to cook fresh fish, it doesn’t have to be expensive or difficult. Lemon sole takes four minutes in the oven.” Emily also couldn’t be without herbs and she is planting a small kitchen garden this summer. “One of my favourites is chocolate mint to decorate desserts. It smells of chocolate and it’s a real talking point.”

At the end of service, Emily always glances at the pile of dirty napkins as a sign of how busy the pub has been, and now she’s keen to take stock. “I need to realise what I have achieved on my own. This place proves to me that anything is possible if you put your mind to it.” She wants to pass this ethos on to her three children, aged 10, 12 and 13, who have been on this cooking adventure with her.

St Tudy Inn is a pub with a strong local following here and it’s evolving into much more than that. “A pub is a very different game to running a restaurant, because I think locals always feel like they own a little bit of any pub. We took out five microwaves when we bought this pub and nothing is ‘pinged’. Everything is made from scratch in our kitchen, from mayonnaise to biscotti, and my style of food was always going to be different, but now locals know what I’m about. They can still enjoy a good pint of

real ale from Padstow Brewing Company or Harbour Brewing Co. at the bar.” She’s also excited about getting a verre du vin system so customers can enjoy any bottle of wine by the glass, making the St Tudy wine list more accessible to everyone. “It also makes it more interesting for us in terms of matching food with wine,” adds Emily.

Surrounded by young, dedicated and creative staff members, chefs Lucy, Louis and Katie plus Lucie managing front-of-house make up an unusually female-dominated team. “It can be a tough and

It’s all about bringing people together around a table and breaking bread

Emily bakes with her ten-year-old daughter Evie

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...summer ingredients: strawberries, peaches, apricots, courgettes and courgette flowers, crab, Cornish sardines and mackerel.

...Cornish producers: Padstow Kitchen Garden for salad leaves, Warren’s Butcher in Launceston, fish from Matthew Stevens in St Ives or Fish4Thought, and Port Isaac fishermen for mackerel and crab.

...inspirational chefs: Simon Hopkinson, Nigel Slater, Skye Gyngell, Rick Stein, Angela Hartnett and Florence Knight.

...places to eat: The Gurnard’s Head at Zennor, The Seahorse in Dartmouth, Fifteen at Watergate Bay, Rick Stein’s The Seafood Restaurant in Padstow, The Hidden Hut at Porthcurnick Beach, Driftwood Hotel at Portscatho, Hotel Tresanton and Hotel Endsleigh.

Emily’s favourite...

pressured work environment but it feels like a lot of elements are now marrying up, and for the first time ever I’d like to be recognised and perhaps get some rosettes, although that will never be the be-all and end-all.”

A woman on a mission, Emily’s drive to excel was instilled in her from a young age. “My very ambitious grandmother was a paediatrician, which was phenomenal in her time. Granny was passionate about education, so my siblings and I were lucky that she gave us opportunities to pursue things that we each loved. She always used to say ‘press on’ and I definitely don’t slow down much.”

Growing up inland in Surrey and Sussex, Emily remembers family holidays at her grandmother’s house near Padstow fondly, so it’s apt that she’s settled here. Every day she takes her dogs to the beaches she enjoyed as a little girl. “Cornwall has changed so much in the 14 years I have lived here. When I first worked in Port Isaac, having a proper coffee machine was unheard of,” says Emily, who previously ran The Harbour Restaurant in Port Isaac, which she sold to chef Nathan Outlaw in 2013. “Now I want people to come here and say ‘wow, we’re so pleased we found this place’.”

Emily goes with the ebb and flow of the seasons, creating experiences and memories through food. “It’s all about bringing people together around a table and breaking bread,” she explains. Nearing 40, Emily has found real confidence in her style of cooking. Years ago she would have described herself as a cook, but now she’s very much a chef, and one to watch out for.

sttudyinn.com

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Beyond the hedgerow

Seaweed in a different light

Cornish shellfish on the road

Picnic in a wildflower meadow

Explore Pipers Farm near Cullompton and taste red Ruby steak as part of a special three-course fire pit supper served in the herb garden. £20 (£1 per ticket donated to Farms for City Children

Charity). 23 June, 7 July, 21 July. pipersfarm.com

Dive into the world of seaweed and learn how to harvest, cook and eat this healthy ingredient with local experts including the Cornish Seaweed Company. 14 June. Clovelly Seaweed Festival. Clovelly Harbour.

10am-5pm. Normal admission charges apply. clovelly.co.uk

Chef Harry Bartlett is taking his @Home street food trailer to Northampton, just a few miles from where he grew up, for Crabstock, the inland shellfish festival on 25-26 July.Harry grew up in Daventry and moved to Cornwall when he was 18: “Cornwall is such a massive part of the UK’s fish and shellfish industry and I never ate seafood until I moved to Cornwall,” says Harry. “Now as a chef I am taking the amazing produce of my new home back to where I grew up, so it has a really special meaning for me.” Follow @HomeSTREETFOOD on Twitter.

Map in hand, set off to find your bespoke picnic hamper in the beautiful grounds of the Moorland Garden Hotel near Tavistock. Prepared by head chef Rob Murray, gourmet goodies include freshly baked bread, local cheese and chutney and smoked salmon pâté, plus cream tea and seasonal berries. Wine or bubbles available on request. £48 per couple.

moorlandgardenhotel.co.uk


Bites

Taking tea in Torquay

LittlePod takes the biscuit

Pudding and pie

Simon Hulstone (above), chef proprietor at The Elephant, has taken over Burridge’s Café Tearooms in partnership with his father, Roger, focusing on high class, traditional English afternoon teas.Visit: Burridge’s Cafe Tearooms, 8 Victoria Parade,

Torquay, TQ1 2BB.

Visit okemoor.co.uk to tempt your tastebuds with scrumptious puds, homemade pies and chocolatey treats like this gluten-free chocolate and orange meringue roulade (above) that can all be delivered to your door from the Okehampton-based kitchen at the click of a button. Head Chef Fortunato Malerba, who trained alongside Michelin-starred chef Michael Caines at Dartmoor’s Gidleigh Park, brings his kitchen wizardry to Okemoor, giving traditional recipes his own unique, contemporary twist.

LittlePod’s new vanilla shortbread biscuit is now available at Darts Farm in Topsham and via littlepod.co.uk (rrp £2.60). LittlePod’s founder, Janet Sawyer, has been baking the vanilla shortbread recipe, made with the company’s innovative natural vanilla paste in a squeezable tube, since the company launched in 2010, in order to demonstrate the flavour of the Madagascan vanilla at shows and events. The recipe is also published in Janet Sawyer’s book Vanilla: cooking with one of the world’s finest ingredients.

Madagascar Dark Chilli Chocolate (70%) and Costa Rica Milk Chilli Chocolate (38%) are the two new single-source chilli chocolates from South Devon Chilli Farm. These single-source chilli chocolates include their first milk chocolate and first 70% dark chocolate. southdevonchillifarm.co.uk

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DON’T MISS...13 JUNECrediton Food and Drink Festival10am until late. Crediton town square. Free. creditonfoodfestival.co.uk

13 JUNELaunceston Food and Drink FestivalStreet food and more, as part of The Charles Causley Festival. 10am-10pm. launcestonfoodfest.co.uk

19 - 21 JUNEFowey River Big Gig and BBQ Weekend Fantastic food, plus a smoke-off competition and cooking demos organised by James Strawbridge.Follow @FoweyGig on Twitter

27 - 28 JUNELooe Food FestivalFree. 9am - 6pm.looefoodfestival.com

11 JULYRock Oyster Festival Farmers’ market, street food and food academy. Day ticket from £23, camping also available. rockoysterfestival.co.uk

23 - 27 JULYSomersault Festival, Castle Hill, North DevonRiver Cottage head chef Gill Meller, Fifteen Cornwall and Valentine Warner host campfire feasts. £40. somersaultfestival.com

A feast for the soulTickets for Port Eliot Festival (30 July - 2 August) are hot property this summer as the Flower & Fodder Stage hosts an eclectic mix of chefs, food writers and producers.

Welcoming Padstow’s Rick Stein, innovative chef Skye Gyngell, baker extraordinaire Richard Bertinet, the legendary Rose Prince, the Observer’s Allan Jenkins, co-founder of Wahaca, Thomasina Miers, ‘Oyster Lady’ Katy Davidson and many more, St German’s will be a hive of culinary delights.

Trading from a beautiful 1971 Citroen H van, previously used as a post van in the South of France, Hix’s Fish Dogs invites festival goers to experience the FishDog, created by celebrated seafood chef Mark Hix.

Fowey’s James Strawbridge takes over Port Eliot’s Orangery to transform it into the Cornish Picnic & BBQ Smokehouse, a new restaurant serving up Cornish brunch, Posh pasties, classic cream teas, local charcuterie and exciting outdoor BBQ seafood. In the evenings, it will take bookings for gourmet Clam Bake and Port Eliot Feasts. On Saturday and Sunday it will open an outdoor Cornish Festival Market, offering the perfect picnic. To book tickets,

go to porteliotfestival.com

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Daniel de la Falaise on the Flower & Fodder Stage at Port Eliot Festival 2014

Thomasina Miers judging the Flower & Fodder Show at Port Eliot Festival


Signature dish

Recipe: Farm chicken breast with braised peas, broad beans, gem lettuce, radish and salsa verde. Serves 4

SALSA VERDE INGREDIENTS

• ½ clove garlic, roughly chopped• 2 anchovy fillets, roughly chopped• 1 shallot, roughly chopped• ½ lemon, juiced and zest• 1 tbsp capers• Small bunch parsley• Small bunch basil• Small bunch mint• 3 tbsp olive oil

ROAST CHICKEN BREAST

1. Season 4 chicken breasts with salt and pepper.

2. Seal in a hot pan with oil skin -side down to get a nice golden crisp skin.

3. Place the pan in the oven at 180°c for 8-10 mins. Set aside to rest.

BRAISED PEAS AND RADISH

INGREDIENTS

• 2 baby gem lettuces• 100g smoked bacon (cut into

lardons) • 250g fresh peas• 250g broad beans• 3 spring onions sliced thin• 3 tbsp unsalted butter• 2 large shallots finely chopped• 1 bunch radishes, cleaned,

trimmed and cut in half lengthwise

• 200ml chicken stock/water• ½ tsp sea salt• ¼ tsp black pepper• Juice of 1 lemon• 1 tbsp chopped mint

METHOD

1. Place the butter in a medium sauté pan over medium high heat. When the butter has melted and is bubbling, add the shallots and smoked bacon. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 1-2 minutes, or until the shallots are soft and translucent and bacon golden. Add the radishes and cook another 3-4 minutes, stirring, or until the radishes begin to turn color.

2. Add the chicken stock and the salt and pepper. Give the mix a stir, then cover and turn the heat down to simmer.

3. Cook for another 10-12 minutes, or until the chicken stock and butter have reduced to a glaze. Stir in the peas, broad beans, spring onions and baby gem lettuce and cook another minute to heat them through and wilt. Add the lemon juice and the mint. Taste for seasoning, adjusting with more salt and/or lemon juice.

Matt Downing, the new head chef at The Magdalen Chapter, is putting his own stamp on the restaurant, hoping to make this the ‘place to be’ in Exeter for socialising. “Whether it’s a light lunch, cocktails and tapas or a glass of wine and a pizza sat on a deck chair in the garden, I want the hotel to be enjoyed by all, embracing our ethos of uncomplicated, unpretentious, great tasting seasonal food,” says Matt, who has his own allotment and is passionate about top quality fresh produce. Former Professional South West Chef of the Year, Matt joined the kitchen brigade at The Magdalen Chapter following 10 years at The Jack in the Green.themagdalenchapter.com

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The Seahorse – behind the scenesMat Prowse talks to Anna Turns about grappa, truffle hunting and why he goes food shopping when he’s hungry.

Mitch Tonks and Mat Prowse discuss recipes over grappa

Morning meetings between Dartmouth’s seafood chefs Mitch Tonks and Mat Prowse always involve the strong stuff

– a shot of Italian grappa to sip alongside proper coffee. It’s here at The Seahorse that they discuss new business ventures and create their special menu. “There’s no such thing as a normal day here and sometimes the menu changes twice a day, depending on the produce that is available,” says Mat, who treats this restaurant like his front room. “You come in to our home and you join in what’s happening that day. Restaurants are about people above all else - our staff, customers and suppliers – it’s about forming relationships, not winning accolades.”

Mat and Mitch have worked together for almost 20 years and The Seahorse, which opened in 2008, is very different to their growing empire of Rockfish

restaurants. “The Seahorse is a one-off, there’s never going to be another Seahorse,” says Mat. “As restaurateurs, we’re magpies – this place is a culmination of all our travels and inspirations and it has evolved over time.”

Food-wise, Mat and Mitch both bring something different to the table. Mitch is self-taught from eating great food whilst Mat is classically trained – when he first met Mitch, Mat was head chef at Bath’s finest restaurant, The Olive Tree. So The Seahorse menus represent a middle ground where the two create stylish food together, inspired by their joint passion for Italian and Mediterranean cuisine. “We have both always loved that simple but good approach to food, rather than it being unnecessarily complicated,” explains Mat, and their new book The Seahorse: the restaurant and its recipes, reflects this. None of the


beautiful dishes involve convoluted methods or fiddly ingredients, each recipe is tried and tested and accessible to all.

Mat has four children and Mitch has five, some now following in their fathers’ footsteps – Ben Tonks is currently in The Seahorse kitchen - so it’s perhaps inevitable that at evening service, when the tables are covered in pristine white tablecloths, families are always welcome. There’s a relaxed atmosphere and children are treated like valid customers, just like in any good restaurant in Italy.

Here in Dartmouth, the windows overlook the stunning River Dart. “Our main ingredients are out there in the sea,” explains Mat, whose buyers visit the bustling Brixham fish market at the crack of dawn every morning. “We have to adapt to what comes in because we’ll only buy the best, freshest seafood on offer.” They have to create menus depending on what the local fishermen have landed that day. “Sustainability is a massive, complex issue and it’s changing constantly. Our buyers know the fishermen and talk to them daily so they only ever buy what’s in season.”

Once the fish arrives in the kitchen, Mat, Mitch and their three chefs do very little to it. Sticking to their Mediterranean ethos, it is usually grilled on the charcoal oven, roasted or baked. Today, he’s cooking grilled local seabass with a tomato salad. Simple

maybe, but the biggest effort goes into sourcing the best ingredients. “The best-tasting tomatoes in the world come from Spain, so we import them. Just because it is local doesn’t mean it is the best.” Italian beef is another staple on the menu, sourced from a butcher called Dario in the tiny Tuscan village of Panzano: “We buy that because it is the best beef we have ever eaten. But then we’ll also serve our oysters with chilli sauce from South Devon Chilli Farm nearby in Loddiswell.”

Every November, Mat, Mitch and a group of close friends travel to Piedmont in Italy in search of one of the most sought-after ingredients in any kitchen. “Our truffle-hunting trips are pretty legendary, and it’s invite only! Sometimes the truffles are hard to find, other times they are in abundance, but the truffle hunters are always secretive about the best locations.” These memorable trips, and the ‘bagna cauda’ feast that always ensues, highlight the backbone that makes The Seahorse what it is. “It’s all about the wonderful people we meet and connect with – we invite our sommeliers, chefs, writers, suppliers plus some regular customers have come along. We’re gathering friends along the way.”

For Mat, the sense of discovery and fun that comes with food is key. “We don’t consider this work – I’m the luckiest person in the world because I’m doing what I enjoy every day.”

As restauranteurs, we’re magpies – this place is a

culmination of all our travels and inspirations and it has

evolved over time

“You need to trust your butcher or fishmonger when you ask where the meat and fish has come from – if they know their stuff, stick with them,” says Mat, who recommends butcher Chris McCabe in Totnes, Mark Lobb for fish in Dartmouth and the Fish Deli in Ashburton. “Buy what is really good, adapt to what’s available then find a recipe for it. Use your instinct when you buy food and go shopping hungry to make sure you buy something really delicious.”

Mat’s tips on how to buy the best


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A taste of The SeahorseThis selection of exclusive recipes are taken from The Seahorse by Mat Prowse and Mitch Tonks, published by Absolute Press: £25 hardback. All photos by Chris Terry.

INGREDIENTS

• Olive oil, for cooking• 2 garlic cloves• ½ white onion, finely sliced• 4 small artichokes, cleaned and taken down

to the heart • 2 very ripe tomatoes• 150ml dry white wine (we use Verdicchio)• 1 fish, about 700–900g, scaled and gutted• 1 lemon• salt (see panel below)

METHOD

1. Preheat the oven to 220°C/Gas Mark 7.2. Pour a few glugs of olive oil into a roasting

dish and heat over a medium heat. Add the garlic and onion and cook for a few minutes until softened. Add the artichokes and tomatoes and cook gently for 2–3 minutes. Add the wine and boil for about 2 minutes to cook off the alcohol, then taste and season with salt. Place the fish on top and roast in the hot oven for 35 minutes.

3. Remove the fish from the dish and place on a plate, cover with foil and keep warm. Return the tray to a low heat and stir the vegetables together. They should be nicely browned, season again then add a squeeze of lemon juice and stir, mixing in all the cooking juices. The sauce should be quite thick and emulsified, if not add a splash ofwater. Spoon the sauce around the fish and serve.

Roasted red sea bream with artichokes, tomatoes and Verdicchio wineFor two people

“We love baking round fish with wine and vegetables – so simple and so nice. Bream are best for this treatment but it also works well with sea bass, red mullet and gurnard. What is great about these types of fish is the slight oiliness of the flesh. They are also a joy to take through to the dining room and prepare at the tableside.”

The texture of the grind and flavours added to salt can change the experience of what you are cooking. Mat and Mitch are huge fans of Cornish sea salt. For this recipe, they recommend making black olive salt. Dry out some black olives in a low oven overnight, allow them to cool then blend about 15 per cent olives to salt in a coffee or spice grinder. Keep the grind to medium.

Salt


INGREDIENTS

• 8 small lamb chops

FOR THE MARINADE

• 1 tablespoon maple syrup• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika• 1 tablespoon tapenade• 50ml olive oil

FOR THE SALSA VERDE

• 2 anchovy fillets• 1 teaspoon salted capers• ½ garlic clove• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard• 40g mint leaves• 40g parsley leaves• 20g oregano leaves• 1 green chilli, finely chopped

and deseeded• 100ml olive oil• 2 tablespoons peeled and finely

diced cucumber• salt and freshly ground black

pepper

METHOD

1. Simply mix all the marinade ingredients together in a shallow dish, add the lamb chops, cover with clingfilm and allow to marinate in the fridge for 1–2 hours.

2. Make the sauce by grinding the anchovies, capers and garlic to a paste in a pestle and mortar then add the mustard. Chop all the herbs together then add them with the chilli to the anchovy and garlic mixture. Drizzle in the olive oil and stir to make a thick sauce. Stir in the cucumber and season to taste with salt and pepper. Set aside.

3. Preheat the grill. Remove the lamb chops from the marinade and cook them under the hot grill for 4 minutes on each side depending on their thickness and how you like to eat your lamb.

4. Serve with the salsa verde.

Marinated and grilled lamb chops with salsa verdeFor four people

“This is a great marinade for lamb and mutton and also works well on pork. You can’t go wrong buying spring lamb because it has to eat grass and live a healthy life outdoors in order to survive and grow. The combination of the smokiness from the paprika and the sweetness of the maple syrup, which caramelises when grilled over a fire, we think gives the best results, but it works well under a hot grill, too.”


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FOR THE PANNACOTTA

• 4 gelatine leaves• 220ml freshly made espresso• 220ml full-fat milk• 120g caster sugar• 100ml brandy• 360ml double cream

FOR THE SYRUP

• 100ml water• 300g granulated sugar• 125ml freshly made espresso• 25ml brandy

METHOD

1. Place the gelatine in a small bowl and pour over enough cold water to cover. Soak for 5 minutes, or until soft, then drain and squeeze out the excess water.

2. Warm the espresso, milk and sugar in a saucepan over a low heat, stirring occasionally until the sugar has dissolved. Add the softened gelatine and stir to dissolve in the warm liquid. Take off the heat and allow to cool (not completely cold, just tepid). Add the brandy and cream and mix well until combined, then pour into espresso cups and allow to set for at least 4 hours in the fridge.

3. For the syrup, make a caramel: pour the water into a deep heavy-based saucepan, add the sugar, stir and put over a gentle heat to dissolve the sugar; keep stirring until it is fully dissolved. Once the sugar has dissolved bring to the boil and boil until the syrup is a light golden colour. Take off the heat and allow to cool slightly but not completely cold.

4. Carefully pour the espresso into the cooled syrup and stir until smooth, then add the brandy. Stir to combine and allow to cool.

5. To serve, pour a little of the syrup over the top of the pannacottas to completely cover the surface.

Caramel and espresso pannacottaMakes 12 espresso cups

This is Mat’s wife Liv’s favourite dessert: “There’s trouble if it’s not on the menu when she eats with us! Liv is our harshest critic but when she tasted this I finally got a gold star! It’s great to have her as a good honest sounding board – it keeps Mitch and I level-headed and focused on the detail.This pannacotta makes a good finish to a meal, it’s very simple to make and looks great served in a coffee cup.”

If you would like to try more delicious recipes, MANOR has three copies of The Seahorse to give away. All you have to do is go to manormagazine.co.uk/seahorse, and answer the question below, supplying your name, address and telephone number. Usual MANOR competition rules apply. Closing date for entries is 31 July 2015.

Q: From which fish market do Mat Prowse and Mitch Tonks source most of their seafood?

Win a copy of The SeahorseThe

SEAHORSE the restaurant and its recipes

Mitch Tonks & Mat Prowse


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South African Epicurean Evening

Jane Baxter Pop-Up

I am holding a prehistoric stone hand-axe. It was discovered on Gary Jordan’s Wine Estate in Stellenbosch. Gary is a geologist and wine producer who is speaking at a South African Epicurean evening hosted by Pieter Hamman, owner of the Glazebrook House Hotel on the south edge of Dartmoor. Course by course we are transported to vineyards at different altitudes and with varying aspects on the Jordan Estate, tasting grape varieties grown on soils that have evolved from 600 million year-old Cape granite. It makes sense to combine expertise in wine production and geology. It’s all about the ‘terroir’.

From the outside the Glazebrook House Hotel looks a little austere – quite symmetrical with a castellated entrance and deep-set windows. Inside it’s quite another story – Alice in Wonderland, in fact – with tartan carpets, black painted walls, curious pieces of furniture – perspex, steel and ancient timber. An ostrich skeleton stretches upwards beside the oak staircase, an egret curves its neck under a glass dome across the hallway, while on a pedestal above stands a translucent bust of the Queen with a light-up crown, necklace and eyes.

We are offered a glass of Jordan Chameleon Rosé (a delicate and fruity blend of Merlot and Shiraz). Guests chat, explore, nibble aubergine and feta croquettes and Boerewors – a traditional farmer’s sausage - to the rhythms of African djembé drummers, before being summoned to the Dining Room where eight round tables glint with tall, fat, thin, deep and shallow wine glasses.

The evening’s South African cuisine has a distinctly British flavour, perhaps not surprising given the colonial history, but with added spice, and sometimes sweetness.

Gary Jordan tells the story of each wine – its provenance, the origins of its name, where and precisely how it is grown.

Inspector Peringuey, a citrusy Chenin Blanc, sings along nicely with a delicately smoked fish paté, followed by curried pickled fish with a glass of Nine Yards, a Chardonnay grown on the granite east-facing slopes of the Estate. A spiced Cape Malay Bobotie (baked spiced minced beef with raisin and savoury custard) served with chutneys is squared-up to by The Prospector, a robust Syrah. The 2012 Cobbler’s Hill, is served with pan-fried fillet of ostrich (yes ostrich) with a fig jus. The dessert wine, Mellifera is a 2012 Noble Late Harvest Riesling named after the Cape Honey Bee. When Gary was in the midst of pressing the grapes for this new dessert wine, his young son was stung by a swarm of bees and rushed to hospital. The grapes were forgotten and left in the press for two days. The result – a honeyed, apiary wine (and no long-term harm from the bee-stings). As it is served, small ice buckets appear on each table, the waiters pour dry-ice into them, and a cool white mist flows across the white tablecloths (reminiscent of the natural phenomenon on Table Mountain when cloud gives the landmark its own ‘tablecloth’). This announces the arrival of the Malva pudding – a baked syrup-infused sponge served with ginger-root ice cream.

After coffee and petit fours we leave buoyed by the evening, with something of a grasp of South African cuisine, and an appreciation South African wines.

Food 9 (Wine 10) | Service 9 | Location 9 | Ambience 9

The evening sun is shining when we arrive at a Pop-Up dinner created by Leon Fast Vegetarian author and former Riverford Field Kitchen head chef Jane Baxter, celebrating the launch of The Shops at Dartington annual Food Fair.

Greeted with a cold glass of Sharpham pink fizz, we sit down under canvas around four large round tables decorated with carnations in jam jars, plenty of wine and Luscombe drinks. After a short but sweet speech from Sharpham’s Mark Sharman, antipasti awaits. Truffle arancini, salt cod fritters dipped in aioli, and a fava bean puree are amongst what’s on offer, each one as delicious as the other, and with plenty to go around.

The main course is lamb cooked three ways with fresh Landworks veg. It was the lamb shoulder cooked in milk that was topic of conversation at my table. Spiced with fennel seeds and served with chard, the lamb was sweetly

falling-apart tender. Each variation of lamb – breast with anchovy, breadcrumbs and pepperonata, and grilled leg of lamb with a salsa verde – would have been a meal in itself, and it was difficult to see how they could work together, but as per Jane Baxter, they worked…very well.

I couldn’t wait for the desserts, and there were three to come: rhubarb and strawberry amaretti crumble, berry pavolva, and the completely underrated baked custard. The crumble topping was sweet and almondy, yet the fruit slightly tart, the pavolva sticky as it should be, and the slice of egg custard tart, complete with a sprinkling of nutmeg, perfect.

I can’t wait for the next Jane Baxter pop-up. From reading her tweets, I have a feeling it might be part of the mysterious #ProjectX.

Food 9 | Service 8 | Location 8 | Ambience 8


The Table Prowler

PHOTO: PORTHMINSTER CAFÉ

A cliffsidekitchen garden

Produce for the kitchen at the Porthminster Café is grown against the odds in a steeply terraced garden cut

into the cliff, writes Miranda Gardiner.


I discovered the Porthminster Café one evening back in 1999, when I worked in Cornwall project-managing art in the landscape and galleries, such

as the Tate St Ives. After one memorable exhibition opening - truckloads of fresh carrots carpeted the gallery floor - we went for post-exhibition drinks at a favourite local spot. On the terrace, with a glass of something chilled and a bowl of crispy calamari flecked with chilli, this place reminded me of my favourite cafés around Sydney harbour. I’d found my café nirvana, a bit closer to home. Later, watching fishermen off-load their catch and bring it around the back to the kitchen door, was a scene so cinematic, it made you think they must have been paid as extras.

These days the Porthminster Café is a favourite of locals, tourists and chefs visiting the area. Cornish chef Nathan Outlaw is a fan and Heston Blumenthal rates it as a “favourite holiday eating spot of mine” which has “the freshest local ingredients, inventive cooking and a gorgeous location. The recipes perfectly capture the pleasure of sitting down by the sea, still salty-skinned, and tucking into some utterly delicious food.”

The white stucco, deco-style café was built on the site of a former seaside pavilion that put on concerts and opera. It sits snugly beneath the slopes of Porthminster Point and has breathtaking views across St Ives Bay to Godrevy Lighthouse. It opened as a café in the mid 1930s for a couple of seasons, before the war promptly closed it. Post-war it was used to store deck chairs and windbreaks, and later incorporated a takeaway downstairs. 1991 marked the return of the café, which was reported to have had the first espresso machine in St Ives.

The Porthminster Café is owned by Australian chef Michael Smith and his business partners. He was formerly the head chef and still has days when he’s needed in the kitchen. The Porthminster Café combines the best of casual Sydney beachside café living - scrubbed tables, fresh flowers, a decent flat white, engaging staff, a sandy door mat, flip flops and towels by the door, coffee and a slice in the morning, scallops, sea air and a glass of bubbly in the evening - with the nostalgia of childhood bucket and spade holidays in the far west of Cornwall. It is an exquisite blend.

The atmospheric harbour of St Ives, with its slate hung cottages, chalky paint facades and sail lofts, frames the view to the left from the café. To the right is the coastal footpath to Carbis Bay, lined with echiums, agapanthus and palm trees, and behind the café, up a steep slope, is one of my favourites bits: the cliffside kitchen garden.

It’s impressive to see a productive garden exist in such a compromising situation; a

sheer cliff side, that has been terraced into accessible beds of leeks, beetroot, rainbow

kale, courgette and artichokes


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On the early spring morning I visited, chefs were springing up into the kitchen garden before lunch service and popping back down with trugs of fresh herbs. Chef Lucka Toffani showed me around the organic kitchen garden, which he tells me grows over 50 different types of fruit and veg for the kitchen. We climb the granite steps that make up so much of the infrastructure of this part of Cornwall, past terraces of blackcurrant and rhubarb beds. On his way up, he collects handfuls of lemon balm and some edible flowers for a salad. “We can change the menu to reflect the abundant produce in the garden. These will be ingredients for a deliciously fresh salad,” Lucka says, showing me his basket that has been gathered for the lunchtime menu.

I’ve visited gardens, edible and ornamental, all over the world, and love it best when the two elements are creatively combined. It’s impressive to see a productive garden exist in such a compromising situation; a sheer cliff side, that has been terraced into accessible beds of leeks, beetroot, rainbow kale, courgette and artichokes, amongst the sub-tropical spires of echiums and palm trees.

Later, over a top-notch flat white, Michael tells me how the garden was developed: “It was Julie and Jim Horn who first started to cultivate this patch of wasteland. Their son was one of the original apprentices in the kitchen here. That was about 10 years ago. Now it’s tended by part-time gardeners and harvested every day by the chefs and waiting staff.

“At the height of summer the garden gives us an abundance of rhubarb, globe artichokes and watercress, sage, mint and fennel. There are blackcurrants and raspberries, which the pastry chefs can’t wait to get their hands on, as well as gooseberries and elderflower,

which goes into a mouth-watering dessert of elderflower and raspberries, with puff pastry, crème patisserie and gooseberries.

“Even in the leanest of winter months, we can gather woody-stemmed herbs such as rosemary for a braised lamb dish, or sage for roast pork. One downside is that the hillside only gets the sun in the morning so the garden has not only the challenges of vertical planting and harvesting, but also of a limited growing season.”

The soil is beautiful, as you would expect from 10 years of cultivation. Deep black Cornish loam that

Owner Michael Smith (far right) with Porthminster team

Favourite cafés or restaurants? Donovans in St Kilda (Melbourne), Scarlet Wines in Lelant and Kota Kai in Porthleven, Cornwall.

Best UK coffee roaster? Goldstone Espresso is our blend of choice from Small Batch Coffee in Hove, set up by a former Porthminster employee.

On a day off I like to head off to the beach and surf with the family.

Best beach? Porthtowan.

Favourite walk? Lelant to Porthminster.

What next? We’ve just opened the Porthminster Kitchen on the harbour front in St Ives: casual, modern, small plates-with-glass-of-wine-style dining with no bookings. And we have two self-catering apartments above the restaurant so you can order restaurant food straight up to your terrace.

Michael says...


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ALL PHOTOS BY MIRANDA GARDINER, EXCEPT WHERE CREDITED

Fresh from the garden recipe: Halloumi and beetroot salad with wild sorrel, sumac and orange. Serves four as a starter or two for lunch

INGREDIENTS

• 4 small beetroots• 4 sprigs of thyme• 400g halloumi cheese• 2 tbsp rapeseed oil• 1 tsp sumac• 1 cup sorrel, preferably wild • 1 orange• 200g mixed salad leaves• ½ red onion, finely sliced• ½ bulb of fennel, finely sliced• Balsamic vinegar• extra virgin olive oil• Salt and pepper

METHOD

1. Clean the beetroots under cold water, taking care not to pierce the skin. Wrap them in foil with the thyme, a splash of the rapeseed oil, salt and pepper and cook them in the oven until they are soft, approximately 45 minutes.

2. When they have cooled a little, peel the beetroots and set to one side. While they are cooling, peel the orange, segment half of it and reserve these segments to add to the salad. Place the remaining segments in a blender, along with two beetroots and one tbsp of rapeseed oil. Blend until smooth and then season with salt and pepper.

3. Cut the other two beetroots into the desired shapes for the salad. Wash the sorrel and mixed salad leaves and put them in a bowl with the beetroot, fennel, red onion and orange. Dress the salad with balsamic vinegar, olive oil and sumac.

4. Cut the halloumi into one cm squares, add a splash of rapeseed oil to a hot frying pan and when it begins to smoke, add the halloumi and fry until golden, turning occasionally.

5. Finally smear the beetroot purée onto the plates, arrange the salad in the middle and serve with the halloumi on top.

meets West Penwith bedrock not far below. Even though the kitchen garden has been drawn up with a practical eye towards the demands of the menu, it still looks inviting from below, where the eye is led upwards from a sprawling rosemary bush, while from above the

rhubarb and chard meet the blue horizon line of sea and sky. Maybe I can persuade Michael to sneak a couple of weathered Adirondack chairs up there to lounge in, so you can have your coffee amongst the artichokes and echiums and look out to sea?

At the height of summer the garden gives us an abundance of rhubarb,

globe artichokes and watercress, sage, mint and fennel


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