Made in England

Sunday, 28 October 2012

Two Lombardy Geniuses - da Vinci and da Vittorio

Four days in Milan

A quick trip anywhere with the Chef means a decent meal for him and some great art for me, so when he suprised me with a short holiday in Milan, Leonardo's Last Supper was top of my ' things I really have to see ' list, but where would we eat?

Flying into Bergamo, the horn honked, we had a fanfare and ' Another Ryan Air flight arrives on time!'

The Chef looked pleased, 'We'll make lunch,' he said hailing a cab. He told me once that one of his greatest pleasures is taking a taxi ride through an unfamiliar city, enroute to a decent restaurant. I like it too, although for some strange reason, I always like to hum The Girl from Ipamena as it makes it even more exciting.

So the restaurant we were whizzing to in the mellow September sunshine was

Da Vittorio

Bergamo

The Chef mistakenly believed that our slot to see 'The Last Supper', was this afternoon, so, as time was short we had the 'Business Lunch' as opposed to the tasting menu. We ate, whizzed to Milan in another taxi, checked into the hotel, and whizzed in yet another taxi across the city to the Convent of Santa Maria della Grazie to admire Il Cenacolo.....only to be told our booking was for tomorrow!!!!

A little ravioli amuse bouche
to enjoy

History

1966 Da Vittorio opens in the centre of Bergamo

1970 Da Vittorio gets it's first Michelin star

1996 Da Vittorio gets it's second Michelin star

2010 Da Vittorio gets it's third Michelin star

Starters was a selection of the day's fish

Stuffed squid

Yes that is pop corn you can see!!

A beetroot and tuna Carpaccio

The chef came out and tossed the pasta near the table, slopping it over the dishes. My chef thought the mess he was making would have lost him all three stars if an inspector had witnessed it !

Paccheri alla Vittorio creamed with Grana Padano cheese.

We found the pasta rather thick and too hard for a British palate.

Al Dente...no dente

Da Vittorio is run by Signora Bruna Cerea and her five children. Enrico and Roberto are both chefs. Francesco manages the wine cellar and catering services. Rosella is head of hospitality at the restaurant and Dimora , while Barbara runs Cavout 1880, the cafe-patisserie in Bergamo Alta.

Salt water fish

Bite size deserts

The sweetie trolly

(The kid in a sweet shop).

Friday, 28 September 2012

Five Bites of The Big Apple

Five Nights in New York - A Michelin Olympic Feat

Five Chefs

Five Restaurants

The only thing that bent and stretched was the credit card and the only thing that got thinner was the wallet.

Friday, 15 June 2012

Chantal's last few days...where did the time go?

Well, Chantal is coming to the end of her four week English homestay with me. She flies back to Geneva tomorrow afternoon, but not after a nice spot of lunch at The Pony and Trap .

Where has the time gone? It's certainly gone quickly!!

Each morning, after breakfast, we had four hours of English lessons.

This would take us up to lunch time.

On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays we would have an afternoon activity, with longer trips at the week ends.

Chantal was interested in learning about British culture, so rather than use text books, we used newspaper articles, which I find more lively and interesting. Chantal would read a chosen article, writing down the new vocabulary. Then she would read the article to me, enabling me to check pronunciation, stress and intonation. As the most important part of any lesson is student talk, we would then discuss the article and develop conversation from it to activate the new vocabulary.

In four weeks, we covered a lot of work on grammar, ( not Chantal's favourite part of the course!!) and all four skills, reading,writing, listening and speaking. Chantal improved her English level from Lower Intermediate to Higher Intermediate. Two levels in four weeks!!

Chantal main reason for taking a homestay course was because she wanted to improve her conversational skills for her travels. So she needed to be given lots of opportunity to meet new people and talk to them.

This is Chantal, with Ed a good friend of ours and chef at The Rising Sun at Knapp

We visited The The Rising Sun at Knapp
for Sunday lunch as Chantal wanted to try Roast Beef and Yorkshire pudding!!

After Sunday lunch we visited Leeann ( one of Chef Brian's daughters ) and Geoff her partner.
Its all very exciting as they are getting married next week......in Malaga!!!!!!

Over the bank holiday week end we went to our holiday cottage in Padstow.

Padstow

We had an amazing walk along the Camel Estuary. It was a beautiful warm and sunny day.

The village of Rock, is a short ferry ride away.

And no trip there is worth anything without dinner at Rick Stein's Seafood restaurant.

And of course lunch at Margots where Chef Brian and Chef Lewis work with Chef Adrian to create amazing food.

Chef Brian relaxing after a busy shift at Margots

When we came back Chantal cooked an amazing curry. We invited Simon and Lucy over and Chantal's daughter Clivia, from Fribourg for the weekend.

Simon and Lucy
Chef Brian, Simon's father thought the meal was excellent.

One Monday afternoon Chantal and I went to visit my mother. It was her 83rd birthday and my brother was there. We all went out to have an English cream tea. We visited a garden centre and I asked my mother to choose something. She picked an ugly frog to put near her pond and told me she was going to call it Carol. I chose a beautiful Rose and bought it for her as well and told her it was also called Carol.

On Wednesday we went to Cheddar We walked through the Gorge and looked at the caves. Chantal bought some famous cheese, yes Cheddar Cheese, which was made there. We bought some pickles and oat biscuits and a flagon of Cider. It was delicious.

Well, today is Friday, all lessons have finished and Chantal has received her certificate.

An amazing Bolognese that Chantal made yesterday is waiting in the fridge. The table is laid. We are waiting for Chef Brian to arrive with his famous White Chocolate Cheesecake.

I need to go for a run so I can have second helpings!!!!

It will be very sad to say goodbye to Chantal tomorrow. She has become a good friend and one of the family. We will all miss her.

Monday, 28 May 2012

Chantal's First week

Meet Chantal, my student from Fribourg, a city in the French part of Switzerland.

She is staying with me for four weeks to improve her English.

This is her first week.

Watching the Olympic torch go through Street with my daughter Millie.

The Royal Family came to see her.

We had a great Fondue party

On Wednesday afternoon, after lessons we visited Wells.

And in the evening, Stewart and Lorna came over for a BBQ

Roast Pheasant with traditional Irish stuffing - a family recipe

Roast pheasant the way my mother cooked it for my father,

and the way my own children enjoy it now.

Pheasant, in my family, is something you never bought from the butchers, or, when you were given them, never asked where they came from! What changed hands would be a rabbit or some eggs or plants or just a cup of tea and a friendly chat.

So, I was really pleased last week when my mother asked me if I'd like some pheasants, as she had some in the shed.

The first thing to do is to pluck and clean them.

Pluck what you can, then cut off the head and neck, wings and feet,
then finish plucking.

Clean by making a small incision at the bottom and pulling everything out.

Remember to check the crop for corn and food.

Keep rinsing it all through.

If squeamish, buy them already prepared from your local butcher.

(About £8.50 a brace)

Then prepare the stuffing.

As you can imagine, potatoes are the main ingredient of the Irish stuffing.

However, the strong flavours of the other ingredients make sure it's not bland and tasteless.

So, in no particular order,
and in no precise amounts

put

the meat from a few pork sausages
some chopped smoked streaky bacon
chopped onions
sage - dried /fresh or both
grated strong cheddar cheese
salt and pepper

add one or two raw eggs to bind it

and stuff the birds with the raw mixture.

Put them on their sides and wrap in streaky bacon

To prevent the meat from becoming dry, pour some red wine (a couple of glassfuls)
into the roasting dish and cover with foil.

Cook in a hot oven for about 15 minutes and then give it about an hour in the bottom oven

Take off the foil and brown it off for another 15 minutes in the top oven.

And there you have it.

Any left over stuffing can be cooked in the oven and eaten with the meal.

Boiled Savoy cabbage is an excellent accompaniment

There are lots of delicious juices in the roasting pan.

Serve up the food.

Pour over some hot juice

Enjoy!

Monday, 12 December 2011

Sunday Lunch at Gidleigh Park

Well done to Michael Caines for achieving 2nd place in The Sunday Times top hundred Food List.

Sunday Lunch at Gidleigh Park is an amazing experience.

Chagford

Gidleigh Park is just a few miles from Chagford. An historic stannary town, one of only four in Devon, miners traditionally brought their tin here to be weighed and valued. Located above the River Teign on the edge of Dartmoor, the name means "The ford where the gorse grows" and although the Tin Mines are a thing of the past the town continues to be very much a thriving community.

This is also a good location to begin a walk exploring the surrounding moorland and hillsides or take the 3 mile route to historic Castle Drogo, built in the early part of the 20th Century this is a replica of medieval castle set on a rocky crag, well worth the walk.

Gidleigh Park is notoriously difficult to find,

but certainly worth the effort.

It was a grey and rainy Sunday, and on a day like that, there's nothing better than pulling up infront of an enormous country pile and having two liveried men waiting with large umbrellas, offering to park the car whilst escorting you into a stately drawing room for champagne cocktails by the roaring fire.

Gidleigh Park has two Michelin stars, thanks to the dedication and creativity of Michael Caines one of Britain's most acclaimed chefs.

AA Chef's Chef of the Year in 2007, and awarded an MBE in 2006 for services to the hospitality industry, Michael returned to Britain in 1994 to take up the position of Head Chef at Gidleigh Park. Gidleigh's restaurant was already rated amongst the most prestigious in the country so the position represented a massive challenge and opportunity for a young and ambitious chef. Yet, only two months into the job, Michael suffered a terrible car accident in which he lost his right arm. Remarkably, he was back in the kitchen part time within two weeks, and full-time after just four. With the support of then owners Paul and Kay Henderson and an unwavering belief in his own ability to overcome obstacles, he returned to the kitchens of Gidleigh Park more focused and determined than ever to pursue his dream of reaching the top of his profession.