Riverford Field Kitchen

Last night for my mother's birthday, we went to the Riverford Field Kitchen. I've been a fan of the Riverford box scheme for years, although I just got bored of having the same veg for weeks at a time, so I don't get deliveries anymore. I just like a bit of variety.

The concept of the Riverford restaurant is amazing, as a majority of the vegetables come straight out of the acres of farmland surrounding the field kitchen, but the predominant model for this restaurant comes in the way the food is served, and I understand this may not be for everyone, me included. All the food comes out at once in rustic serving dishes and you help yourself. The problem with this style of serving is that you have to share with strangers and this does create an awkwardness which made me a little uncomfortable. I'm all up for a bit of communal dining, but not with people I don't know, don't want to know and probably will never see again. So if you want to avoid this, then book for a table of eight.

For first course we were handed a ridiculous amount of antipasti, when I say ridiculous, I mean far too much, in a good way. I could list everything, but there were too many dishes. The highlight was a Beetroot dip. We shared an excellent French Sauvignon Blanc which was nearly as good as a Marlborough New Zealand.

For the main course we had feather blade steak on creamy mash with a type of salsa verde on top. The beef was perfectly tender and flavorsome, but the salsa verde had an overpowering fishiness due to being overloaded with Anchovies. A thinly sliced rare rump with mustard hollandaise was also served and this was equally as delicious as the feather blade. The choice of veg & salads was endless, and although I have grumbled about sharing with strangers, the grub was plentiful and the food kept coming until we were physically full. I really mean the word "physically" as towards the end it was painful. To wash the pain away, we drank a Spanish red (can't remember the name, it was a Grenache or Garnacha grape), which was superbly smooth, lots of fruit and a subtle spicy finish. Hope that doesn't make me sound too much like a pretentious wine prick. I probably am a bit of a wine prick.

Pudding, not desert, was another breathtaking collection of food. To name a few, we had a choice of Sticky Toffee pud, Pear & Almond tart or Blood Orange Eaton Mess, there was a choice of about ten. I shared a pear tart & sticky pud with my girlfriend, both were excellent. 

I was a little disappointed not to see Jane Baxter (the head chef) in the kitchen again, I've heard she is a little elusive, never mind. This is the third time I've been to this restaurant and it certainly is not the last, I'm quite unashamed to say the Field Kitchen is my favorite place to eat out at the moment. If you are ever in Devon and want some seriously good food and a unique dining experience, then put on your wellies, take a stroll around the Riverford fields, take a seat on an uncomfortable bench and have an unforgettable time. Oh, don't forget to book, you can't just walk into the restaurant and expect to eat, even if it's not busy. Honestly, that's the way it works. Advanced booking is essential.

Fully Booked

On Thursday night I went to A&E because my girlfriend had a sprained ankle. Six laborious stages on and three hours later we left with the ankle fully strapped up. Luckily the ankle was OK and it's now on the mend and luckily I went prepared for the ordeal as I know these hospital visits can take a lifetime. During the wait I managed to read two cook books front to back.

This was the first book. It's a recipe book from the Anglo-French Rose Bakery, based in Paris, although I understand there is one based on the top floor of Dover Street Market in London. For work I have to read lots of recipe books for inspiration, but I found not only the recipes inspiring, but everything else. Phaidon (the publisher) has a reputation for good graphic design as the genius Alan Fletcher previously worked for them. So the flawless layout and stunning photography make this book an absolute joy to read. 

The second book was a recent birthday present called the Hungover Cookbook. The book is based on the six types of hangover originally described by PG Wodehouse in the Jeeves and Wooster books and the recipes correspond to beating that type of hangover. The descriptions are very entertaining and well written. Jolly good fun Bertie! What-Ho!

Don't Look At This!

The communal consensus in my flat was that we needed more shelf space in the kitchen as all the cupboards were bulging with tinned food (CHD)* and pasta, and we appear to have accumulated  far too many cups and stuff. So the hunt was on to resolve this problem. Ikea style pine shelving was the obvious solution as all other shelving is nauseating MDF with wood effect and anything made from solid wood cost around £250, fuck that.

My boss had ordered 39 1950's French apple crates off ebay and no longer required them, so I made really good use out of 9. And we all went to bed with a warm cup of hot chocolate.

The End.

or should I say - fin

* Council House Dinners

Fish Fight

http://www.fishfight.net/

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That's what I'm talking about.

River Cottaging

Today, as part of my birthday present my girlfriend took me to the River Cottage Canteen in Axminster. Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall has become one of those people on TV that I’ve started to loathe; with the fake reality and stupid fake friends, although I’m sure he’s a nice guy. Hugh’s book on Meat is really worth a read, it is a very well written and thoroughly researched book with some good recipes.  Definitely the best thing HFW has produced.

His canteen is a great place to eat. The menu is reasonably priced with main courses coming in under a tenner.  I had pheasant sausages, which were over seasoned, but really flavoursome, served with Puy lentils and Salsa Verde (really needed more acidity).  It does feel like a poor man’s St John Restaurant. 

This is not a review so I’ll shut up and get to the point; River Cottage has become more than a brand, I feel it represents a philosophy. Excuse the bullshit, as I know HFW is an entrepreneur and he wants to make a shit load of money, but I honestly believe he has bought into his own ideologies on food ethics and fuck it, so have I. He is quite happy to admit buying a dirty bacon sandwich from a greasy spoon and he understands that it’s impossible for you or I to buy ethically farmed meat every day. All Hugh asks for is a little respect for the animal, and once you respect that animal it will taste twice as good.

Oh and before I forget the Stinger beer I had in with my lunch was painfully good.

It's all about the cheese

After eating and drinking some seriously indulgent scoff over the last few weeks, I've concluded that cheese is the clear winner. It may give you heart trouble and lots of other heath problems, but on the good vs bad scales, cheese out-ways any negative bullshit.

Cheese & biscuits are perfect food for the lazy man. No cooking required, no prep and people will even help themselves at a dinner party when the cheese board is brought out. The combinations of cheese, biscuits and chutney are endless, well nearly. Anyone with an addictive nature should be careful with their cheese intake, before you know it, you'll be melting Cheddar on a spoon and putting it in a syringe, snorting Parmesan out of a dairy maid's butt crack or wearing processed cheese slices on your arm as nicotine patches. I'm just kidding. You'll only die from a heart attack, nothing as serious as drugs.