Food Taste the street food revolution | ’s raw food treats Bites, the latest news and events from Devon and Cornwall’s vibrant food scene The Table Prowler | Behind-the-scenes at two artisan distilleries PHOTO: DAVID GRIFFEN DAVID PHOTO:

Look out for pop-up dining events hosted by The Little Feast Company across Devon thelittlefeastcompany.com

MANOR | Late Spring 2015 93 Foodies on the front line of the Westcountry street food revolution The phenomenon of street food offers the chance to socialise, soak up the atmosphere and experience fresh new flavours in a way that differs to sitting down at a restaurant table. Recently, gourmet vintage vans and street food markets have been popping up everywhere, bringing that al fresco festival feel to beaches, campsites and town centres. By Anna Turns

The Thirstea Company Seth Richards, co-owner of The Thirstea Company, love street food now, it has worked its way up from the a travelling tea room (below), trades from a pitch on image of a greasy burger at the car boot sale to a whole the South West Coast Path, just above the beautiful range of quality products, often served from quirky Towan Beach. “Street food is really taking off now, as vehicles!” says Seth, whose own van is called Earl. the Westcountry keeps up with metropolitan trends. So it is most definitely time to jump on the street It’s a much better way of engaging different markets food ‘bandwagon’, or converted horse trailer or and customers wherever the company wishes. People airstream or retro campervan... anything goes!

It is most definitely time to jump on the street food ‘bandwagon’, or converted horse trailer or airstream or retro campervan... anything goes!

94 MANOR | Late Spring 2015 PHOTO: GUY HARROP 95 food MANOR | Late Spring 2015 Harry worked as a boatbuilder years, for 12 and This is turning the traditional impression of greasy posh kebabs back to a specific animal, and there are no other middle men in our supply chain,” explains Hannah. The Posh Kebab Company trades at Frome Independent Market on the first Sunday of monththe and various other food festivals across the region. Following their recent launch, Hannah and Duncan are excited to have been invited to participate in andthe West Wales regional heat of the British Street Food Awards in May in Bristol, with finals in September, so watch this space! Cornwall and creating locally sourceddelights suchas Cornish lobster from Dreckly Fish in a tortilla with Cornish salad and a chimichurri salsa. called “I my business @HOME because Cornwall is my place of explainsrest now,” Harry, who has a regular Saturday slot at Truro Farmers’ Market on Lemon Quay and at Falmouth University on Mondays. this spring putting he’s his hands to work developing a new vehicle for @HOME with an awning so he can cook in front of his customers, rather than in a trailer. the love “I outdoor lifestyle here and surf when I can, but the busy summer season is pretty non-stop.” street food on its head – with topside and silverside beef steaks hung days, for 35 not ‘fast’ it’s food, and animal welfare is of utmost importance to Hannah and Duncan. can trace “We every steak used in our “All of our livestock is born, bred and butchered As any intrepid travellerknows, the best way to on our farm. The animals only leave the farm to go to the local abattoir a few explains miles away,” Hannah. going we’re step one “Now further by cooking posh kebabs for our customers at street food markets and private functions.” Their grass-fed 95 Aberdeen Angus cattle and 130 Oxford Down sheep result in meat that is succulent and rich in flavour. Rare and traditional breed meat specialists, Hannah and Duncan Nobbs (below) run Partridge Farm Meats near Tiverton, and they are the first farmers in the Westcountry to diversify into street food, reducing food miles from the field to fork to a minimum. specialties on offer at exotic street food stalls – and Harry is bringing his favourite experiences back to Company Kebab Posh new Posh Kebab CompanyDevon’s has taken a very different approach, specialising in homegrown one dish. to bring diversity to Cornwall, from Mexican tacos to Thaicurry, whilst using locally produced ingredients. For me, authentic street food gives a relaxed vibe that’s different to eating sat at a table indoors.” get a real taste of a foreign country is through eating @HOME One chef drawn towards street food by its freedom is Harry Bartlett, who was inspired to combine his passion for cooking with talking to people when he created @HOME street food last year. offers He a menu of dishes inspired by his globe-trotting around the world: didn’t “I want to get pigeon-holed. I wanted Chef and founder of the Posh Co, James Strawbridge runs a pop-up restaurant at Port Eliot festival later this summer

MANOR’s pick of the best street food events this month Lanson Grill Fest: Launceston town square, 2 May, 10am-10pm. Plymouth Good Food Market: Royal William Yard, 3 May, 10am-3pm. Barnstaple Real Food Market: Pannier Market, 10 May. Paul Brealey LostFest: Lostwithiel, 17 May. From 10am until late. at Devon’s Totnes Good Food Market: 17 May, 10am-3pm. Lemon Jelli serves up sweet Chill at the Mill music and food festival: and savoury Retorrick Mill, Mawgan Porth, 22-24 May. French crépes, Booking essential. barista-made Truro Farmers’ Market: Origin Coffee, Lemon Quay, every Saturday. speciality teas, Exeter Street Food Market: shakes and Guildhall Shopping Centre, Fridays, Saturdays smoothies from and Sundays. Plus night market a van called 16 May 4.30-9pm in Piazza Terracina. Sapeur.

96 MANOR | Late Spring 2015 PHOTO: GUY HARROP GUY PHOTO: Street food has gone upmarket. For example, The Posh Kebab Company uses silverside and topside grass-fed Aberdeen Angus beef

Michelle Northcott and Nicholas Daniel cook culinary delights on board the Silver Server, a 40-year-old airstream trailer Tweet about street food! Anna’s top ten favourites:

Bantham: @Gastrobusbeach Totnes: @DiabloDeliFood Newton Abbot: @LemonJelli1 Westward Ho!: @Glorious Oyster Tiverton: @PoshKebab1 Truro: @HomeStreetFood Wadebridge: @WildBake Helen Grace serves homemade crumpets from her Falmouth: @TrulyCrumptious 1967 Cheltenham Waterbuck Truly Crumptious Roseland Peninsula: @Thirsteaco vintage caravan. Try her crumpets with Cornish brie Cornish Street Food Collective: @Cornstreetfood with free-range smoked bacon

MANOR | Late Spring 2015 97 Have your cake and eat it Tam Schallhorn Garrood tells MANOR the story behind the raw food treats she creates at Je Tam’s Hayle kitchen

n enterprising mother-and-daughter the deli wanted to place a regular order. team from Cornwall are on a mission to Je Tam started selling to stores around Cornwall. revolutionise the idea of guilty pleasure In fact, demand became so high that Tam moved when it comes to food, with a range of to new premises at Foundry Farm in Hayle, and raw food treats designed to satisfy even brought in help from her mother Monika. “I wanted Athe most powerful of sweet-tooth cravings. to support Tamarah, who is studying Natropathic For Tam Schallhorn Garrood and her mother Nutrition at the same as running a busy business,” Monika, embarking on this new business venture said Monika. “Working with raw food has changed (appropriately named ‘Je Tam’) has been a remarkable the way I eat, which in turn has improved my energy personal journey. It began when Tam, who prides levels. I’ve never felt better!” herself on her health and fitness, was extremely ill “We use wholefoods for our products – this is before her wedding in 2013. food in its natural state including fruits, vegetables, “I was bed-ridden for months and in that nuts, and seeds,” says Tam. “Often added to this situation it’s too easy to eat unhealthily,” Tam recalls. is raw cacao; untreated, it retains its vitamins and “After doing lots of research I decided to give up minerals, providing health benefits and making your sugar, as there is a growing consensus about the daily chocolate intake a healthy prospect. detrimental impacts of sugar in our diets. I looked “We have found our products to be helpful for for alternatives which would satisfy my desire for people with food intolerances, as the majority contain chocolate, biscuits and cake. I also don’t eat wheat or no wheat, gluten, sugar or dairy. All these ingredients dairy, and finding products which didn’t contain any – which are carefully sourced and often organic - are of these was virtually impossible.” not only safe to eat uncooked but are turned into As her health improved, Tam started devising her what feel like indulgent treats. Our favourites include own recipes using sugar substitutes, making chocolate Chocolate Orange Cheesecake, Lemon, Lime and and ice cream with raw cacao butter and frozen Coconut Bars, Salted Caramel Raw Chocolates and bananas, and cheesecake using cashews and fruit to Spirulina Balls. We also make savoury burgers in a sweeten. The latter in particular was an immediate variety of flavours including beetroot and mushroom, hit with her husband Jon, who began setting her which contain very small amounts of dairy and challenges to make ‘clean’ (meaning unprocessed and gluten. I can honestly say our products can be free from sugar, wheat and dairy) and raw (uncooked) consumed ‘guilt free’ and not only that, but they pack versions of his favourite sweet treats. This is how one a nutritional punch too.” of Je Tam’s flagship products, The Clean Viscount Biscuit, was born. Je Tam’s products can be found at Archie Browns in Thinking that she might be onto something, Tam Penzance and Truro, The Natural Store in Helston and took a batch of her cheesecakes to The Allotment Deli Falmouth, Elixir Soup and Juice (also in Falmouth), The in St Ives. Within a few hours she received a phone call Granary and The Front Room – both in Penzance. – the cheesecakes had sold out almost immediately and jetam.co.uk

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Pickle Shack pop-up Join Michelin-trained chef Josh McDonald-Johnson, lamb and watercress in May and maybe even some who uses Cullompton’s local produce to create a pop- redcurrants if they decide to show their faces!” up dining experience to the raucous tunes of Hazaar. 15 May: 6.30pm. Three-course meal, live music and pop-up “We’ll be using seasonal ingredients such as rhubarb, bar. Upton Barn and Walled Garden, Cullompton EX15 1RA. wild garlic, asparagus, elderflower, gooseberries, £25. Book online: uptonbarn.eventbrite.co.uk Top pint St Austell Brewery’s flagship lager Korev has been named one of the best lagers in the world at the International Beer Challenge Awards 2015. Korev, named after the traditional Cornish word for beer and made with Cornish-grown lager malt, was awarded Bronze in the lager 4.5% - 4.9% ABV category, and this Cornish lager has also recently become the official beer of Surfing GB.

New restaurants Rick Stein’s restaurant is now open 11.30am to 9pm daily on Fistral Beach, Newquay. Follow @SteinFistral on Twitter for the latest updates. The new Restaurant Nathan Outlaw is now open in Port Isaac, for Cornwall whilst Outlaw’s at St Enodoc Hotel, Rock, continues under Nathan’s guidance, with head chef Tom Brown at the helm.

MANOR | Late Spring 2015 99 True food Tim Bouget brings his sustainable Café ODE to Gara Rock, a spectacular venue in the South Hams situated right on the South West Coast Path. Tim says: “We are so excited about operating at this amazing landmark property as we’ll be able to continue to use the same incredible local producers and offer people a true taste of Devon. Our aim is to offer walkers, day trippers and beach goers ‘family friendly food that does not cost the earth’.” Café ODE: East Portlemouth, near Salcombe,TQ8 8FA.

DON’T MISS... Never Mind 1-4 MAY the Burdocks Landmark Beer and Music Festival Enjoy real ales and delicious food over the May Cornwall-based artist and Day bank holiday. forager Emma Gunn’s early Landmark Theatre, Ilfracombe. Free. May favourite is Angelica. In her latest book, Emma 2 MAY demonstrates how to cut the Lanson Grill Fest stems, simmer in water and Cornwall celebrates US-style low ’n’ slow BBQ create a sweet and sticky and grilling, craft beer and Americana. cake decoration which is also bizarrely meant to Launceston town square. 10am-10pm. Free. stop alcohol cravings! To purchase the Spring edition for £12.00 plus £2.20P&P, 17 MAY LostFest email [email protected] Serving street food including Cornish Curry, venison burgers, and Cornish icecream. Lostwithiel. 10am until late. Free. lostfest.co.uk Teach and eat Exeter’s Fun Kitchen has teamed up with Fresha 23-24 MAY catering services to launch a new joint healthy eating River Cottage Spring Food Fair venture for primary school children in Devon. Growing, cooking, and most of all eating for the family at Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s HQ. Helping teachers to deliver effective hands-on River Cottage, Axminster. 10am-4pm. From cookery classes and fresh locally sourced school meals £12.50. to eat, the ‘Teach and Eat’ programme provides a rivercottage.net whole school approach. “This is all about trying to engage children with 24-25 MAY their food. Cooking is a life skill so it’s important that Dartington Food Fair every child has A foodie shopping heaven with local producers the opportunity to aplenty. learn to cook, try The Shops At Dartington, near Totnes. Free. new flavours and dartingtonfoodfair.org learn about what 5-6 JUNE they are eating and Occombe Farm Beer Festival where it comes Taste test over 60-plus beers, ales, ciders, perry from,” says Joe and wine. Mann, founder Occombe Farm, near Paignton. 01803 520022 of Fun Kitchen cookery school.

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Feast night The Little Feast Company launched last summer by Will Greig and Abby Allen, based in Kennford, creating beautiful food using sustainable local produce. The Little Feast Company will be at Powderham Garden Festival 1-2 May. Look out for ‘Feast Take a sip nights’, pop-up celebrations Madagascan Vanilla showcasing the finest seasonal PHOTO: DAVID GRIFFEN Soda is the new food and local drinks, hosted soft drink from in uniquely charming Luscombe Organics. locations across Devon. luscombe.co.uk thelittlefeastcompany.com

Ways to eat mindfully Mindfulness may be a trendy buzz word but how do we relate that to our food? Sisters, Jewel and Julia Ponsonby from Schumacher College, Dartington, share their top tips for mindful eating. schumachercollege.org.uk

1. Find a place and time that supports you to dedicate your attention to your food, without distractions. 2. Pause before eating to be grateful for the food and the creativity, work and care behind it. There may be a prayer or verse of thanksgiving you like to say. 3. Look carefully at the food before you begin to eat, notice the different colours, shapes, and smells. Appreciate what you are about to eat, take it in with all of your senses. 4. Chew each mouthful slowly and attentively; 20-30 times is sometimes recommended. This helps you really taste the food and your saliva has the chance to begin to break it down, aiding digestion. 5. Put your utensil down between bites, allow your arms and hands to relax while you focus on chewing, not preparing your next Time for mouthful of food. Sometimes we unconsciously rush ourselves and afternoon tea take the next mouthful before we’ve finished the first. This can lead us to overeat, not recognising when we are satiated. Now the sun is shining, treat 6. Experiment with eating without TV, radio, newspaper, cell phone yourself to posh afternoon tea and, at times, even conversations. Even eating five minutes in in the beautiful gardens of The silence can help us to really be present and encounter our food Horn of Plenty in Gulworthy near deeply, rather than being lost in our thinking and not appreciating Tavistock. Each traditional Devon the food. Eat your food, not your thoughts! includes homemade 7. Try to use fair-trade, organic, sustainably produced ingredients, scones with a generous helping ensuring that your food is the best for everyone including yourself of strawberry jam and Devon and the planet. Eating wholesome ingredients has the added benefit , and a choice of of reducing food cravings and snacking between meals. tea or coffee (£9.50 per person). Alternatively, indulge in a Luxury Afternoon Cream Tea, which also Learn labour-saving tips and skills to recreate includes a selection of sandwiches Simple seasonal and delicious meals at home from and delicious home-made cakes scratch. 13 May. Philleigh Way Cookery School. for £14.50. suppers 10am-4pm. £120. philleighway.co.uk thehornofplenty.co.uk

MANOR | Late Spring 2015 101 food

Cheese, cows and chefs Street café Quickes traditional clothbound cheesemakers Ten trainees between 16 and welcomed 50 chefs to a cheese-making and 24 years old are taking part in a cookery event organised by The Chefs’ Forum. new community café project in Local catering students demonstrated their Newton Abbot, run by Young culinary skills under the experienced guidance Devon and serving delicious food of Ian Webber, Head Chef at The Five Bells Inn, devised by River Cottage’s team Clyst Hydon, whilst eight chefs competed in a of chefs. Chris Griffin, Head traditional butter-patting contest. of Consultancy and Education, “It’s great to see these young students being says, “In addition to providing inspired by more seasoned chefs at Home Farm,” Ian Webber transferrable skills for the trainees, says award-winning cheesemaker Mary Quicke. we’re creating a foodie destination “There has been a real sense of sharing knowledge and as a producer it’s in Newton Abbot.” so important for local chefs to know about the food being grown and Visit: The Change Academy, 6 Market made in the region.” Street, Newton Abbot, TQ12 2RB.

Signature dish Vicky and Mark Tobin (pictured left) recently took over The Anchor Inn, a hub for the local community in Ugborough.

Favourite ingredients this spring: Lamb and asparagus. Style of cooking: Fresh, classically inspired with a modern twist. Best thing about the Westcountry foodie scene: Fresh produce, fabulous local meats and fish. Top restaurant recommendation: Turtley Corn Mill at Avonwick. Favourite supplier: Gribbles in Ivybridge. It’s a family-run traditional butcher with traceability at its core. Our favourite cut is their locally sourced flat iron steak.

Recipe: Flat iron steak with mushroom duxelle. Serves 2

INGREDIENTS • Two flat iron steaks • Three cloves garlic • Sprigs of fresh rosemary • Olive oil for marinating and cooking • One small red onion, diced PHOTOS: ED OVENDEN • 200g sliced button mushrooms • 250ml white wine • 125g butter • Sea salt

METHOD 1. Preheat the oven to 200°C. 2. Crush one clove of garlic and pound in a pestle and mortar with the rosemary and some olive oil and a little sea salt. Rub this into the steaks and leave to sit for a few minutes. 3. Heat a pan on the stove till it is smoky hot and add the steak (you shouldn’t need any further oil as there should be enough on the steak)and cook for 2 minutes on each side. Pop the pan in the heated oven to finish the steak to your liking. Remove from the oven and leave covered to sit until ready to serve. 4. Add some olive oil to another pan and cook the diced red onion gently. Bash the garlic and then after a minute or two add to the pan and cook gently for another minute or two. Add in the sliced mushrooms and stir round, then add the white wine and simmer to reduce to about a quarter of the volume. Finally add the butter and stir through. Season further to your liking and serve with the steak.

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Breakfast at Zacrys Most nutritionists would advocate that breakfast is the berry smoothie and piled my muesli high with a mix most important meal of the day. It certainly was when of fruits and compôte – not a tinned peach in sight. my family feasted at Zacrys, the new restaurant at However, the pièce de résistance for all of us Watergate Bay near Newquay. As a family, the three had to be the waffle machine. Pouring a small cup of us all interpret breakfast differently, there’s no ‘one of batter into the cast iron waffle maker, waiting size fits all’. So we were pleasantly surprised by the three minutes and then devouring hot, light waffles vast and contemporary choice in the brasserie. with Maple syrup – divine. The only downside – I My husband made a beeline for the self-service couldn’t eat anything else for the rest of the day! English breakfast – nothing greasy here, it was all delicious. My three-year-old son chose a freshly Food 10 | Service 8 | Location 8 | Ambience 7 baked croissant to tide him over while the kitchen zacrys.co.uk made his porridge from scratch. Attempting to avoid overindulgence, I poured myself a glass of homemade

Rick Stein’s Fish Rick Stein’s Fish at Discovery Quay in Falmouth you leave. Many were drinking local Sail Ale from sits just across from the National Maritime Museum Penryn, laughing and chattering in a thoroughly and looks out over Events Square, itself developed ten convivial, inclusive and relaxed atmosphere where years ago to host the various Festivals (Tall Ships, Sea you can engage in conversation – no canned music Shanty, Oyster, Spring) that the port of Falmouth is here – without feeling aurally challenged. But back to well known for. Housed in a suitably white and blue the menus: we ordered Three Pacific Oysters to start, fish-tiled dining area with high or low heavy wooden with shallot red wine vinegar (French - 7º acidity) tables and a sinuous wooden eating bar that runs served on ice with lemon or Tabasco to taste, followed along the windows overlooking the Square, Stein’s by Meen Kulambu, a fragrant cod curry from restaurant cleverly combines a sophisticated à la carte Southern India served with basmati rice, poppadom, and three-course set fish menu with a classic fish ‘n’ Kachumber salad and cucumber mint raita; Goujons chips eat-in or take-away-and-eat-overlooking-the- of plaice with mixed leaf salad and salsa verde harbour. Arriving at six o’clock on a sunny Thursday mayonnaise and a side of chips – excellent and crispy, in early April, we waited in a small queue (no the salad too. We could have had a Cosmopolitan exclusive booking here) to be given a table, eyeing or a Classic Daiquiri cocktail, or a plateful of classic recipe books and assorted Rick Stein merchandise fish and chips – soft, fresh hake would be my including scented candles. The friendly, helpful staff recommendation. If the weather had been cooler sat us at a high table, offered us a drink from the perhaps a confit of duck with braised red cabbage and small beach-pebble-lined bar area – ‘La Tuffeau’, the sautéed potatoes and a passion fruit tart with local ice excellent house Sauvignon Blanc, encouraged me to cream, but after three mouthfuls of briny-fresh Pacific order half a case the following morning – and left Oysters, and the ample and tasty main courses that us to peruse the menu and the chalked-up ‘specials followed. We downed two Espressos, paid a little over board’ on the white-tiled wall. The open kitchen £40 for two and stepped out replenished and happy bustled and fried away behind us and the rest of into the evening sunshine in Discovery Quay in time the dining area was filled with lots of early evening for an evening concert in the town. children and parents, tourists and regulars busily eating, drawing and colouring-in exotic sunfish Food 8 | Service 9 | Location 8 | Ambience 9 and scary John Dory to be posted on the wall as rickstein.com

MANOR | Late Spring 2015 103 Spirit of the Westcountry Anna Turns meets the artisan distillers bottling classy must-haves for every drinks cabinet

We grow our own Devon violets for the gin and forage for gorse flowers along the cliff tops at Trevose Head

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here’s a certain beauty and authenticity bottled during the making of craft spirits. The time, effort and skill that goes into making every drop of gin or local grappa taste as it does is Tastonishing. Across the Westcountry there are a select few artisan micro-distilleries crafting boutique spirits on a small scale, and the resulting products are to be savoured, sip by sip. Tarquin Leadbetter, at South Western Distillery in Wadebridge, takes creating artisan gin to another level. Every finished bottle is waxed, numbered and signed by hand and Tarquin handwrites tasting notes onto each label, a laborious task no doubt but one that makes his gin totally individual. Tarquin and his sister Athene Lippiett run the distillery, producing just 300 bottles per batch: “We grow our own Devon violets for the gin and forage for gorse flowers along the cliff tops at Trevose Head,” Athene tells me. “Tarquin immerses himself in the chemistry of distilling as an artisan.” Tarquin spent two years developing his own gin, researching and sourcing the best botanicals and it took 200 batches before he perfected the recipe. Tarquin’s Gin launched in summer 2013, the first new gin to be produced in the South West since Plymouth Gin began in 1793. Whilst making the gin, he fell in love with the aniseed and liquorice spectrum of flavours and so his Cornish pastis, a take on the French aperitif, was born - another UK first. Athene explains that they employ a botanical expert, David, who sources the best herbs and spices from around the globe, including green aniseed and sweet fennel seeds from Turkey, star anise from China and liquorice root from Uzbekistan for the pastis. For the gin, zests of sweet orange, lemon and grapefruit are sourced from wherever they are ripe, plus juniper berries from Kosovo and cinnamon from Madagascar add depth and complexity to the flavour profile, among others. It seems a shame to break the beautifully dripped blue wax seal to open the bottle, but it’s worth it; Tarquin’s is a delightfully aromatic floral sipping gin made with fragrant homegrown Devon violets and a unique recipe of botanicals. “Our flame-fired copper still, Tamara, is named after the goddess, and our second still, Senara, is named after a local saint,” says Athene. “We gently steep our botanicals in wheat spirit overnight before warming to distilling temperature in the morning.” The alcohol is distilled using traditional techniques. Only the heart of the run is bottled, the alcohol is cut with Cornish spring water, and each small batch has its own unique character.

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