Eat Sussex Issue 4 by The Magazine Production Company

I S S U E 4 • M AY / J U N E 2 0 0 8

YOUR FREE COPY

MY CHERRY AMOUR QUEEN OF TARTS

Invitation to a paté Celebrity chefs’ hard sells 200 years of brewing heritage at Harveys

A TASTE OF SUNSHINE

MASTERCHEF PETER BAYLESS ON SUSSEX LAMB P L U S :

T H E

G A S T R O - G N O M E ’ S

G U I D E

T O

R Y E

Contents

COMMENT

CONTENTS

25 Peter Bayless: Something for the weekend

ELCOME TO the first bi-

monthly issue of Eat Sussex and I’m really thrilled to be welcoming BBC Masterchef’s 2006 winner, Peter Bayless, as a regular contributor to the magazine. Peter is no doubt familiar to many of you, not just from the television series, but as an author, chef, teacher and demonstrator with a great passion for local ingredients combined with a love of cooking styles from all over the world. Peter’s called his section ‘Something for the weekend’, because of its emphasis on classic family dishes that sometimes take a little more time and effort than something you might rustle up after a busy day at work, but which more than repay you for going that extra distance. This is cooking that’s worth taking time out to enjoy. International drinks expert, David Furer, also kicks off a new series of articles on Sussex brewers in this issue, with a look behind the scenes at Harveys, the familyowned company that have been brewing their multi-award-winning ales in Lewes for over 200 years. Delia Smith’s new book, How to Cheat at Cooking, has certainly got a lot of you hot under the collar although, frankly, the accompanying TV series makes no sense to me at all. If the point of the book is to champion some very specific processed food products, the BBC’s strict guidelines on product placement have resulted in the baffling sight of Delia telling us how she’s found the perfect brand of tomato sauce/ pre-grated cheese/frozen mashed potato while pointedly not telling us what it is and carefully keeping her thumb positioned to obscure the label. If you really want to know you simply have to buy the book, so the whole series simply acts as an extended advert (on supposedly ad-free BBC2) for the book.Would How to Cheat at Marketing have been a more accurate title or am I just being cynical? But Delia’s not the only celebrity trying to get us to part with our money. On page 12, Michael Harwood takes a look at some celebrity-chef endorsed food and finds some very strange things lurking in the supermarket aisles. Also in this issue, we’ve got lots of great seasonal recipes, Gilly Smith visits a pig farm and Wild Man, Fergus Drennan, looks at one of Britain’s most invasive alien species, so I hope you all find something that sparks your interest.

Tony Leonard, Editor

Masterchef 2006 Winner, Peter Bayless, joins Eat Sussex.

31 The Gastro-Gnome’s Guide to Rye The Gnome visits the historic, Cinque Port of Rye.

03 Comment A few words from the editor.

05 News All the news that’s fit to eat.

08 In my own words Janet Redman from Hope Cottage Farm Shop.

11 Column: Gilly Smith Gilly comes up against the might of the Dinner Lady.

12 A few of their favourite things? Michael Harwood takes a look at what the celebrity chefs are trying to sell you.

18 Recipes: In Season Recipes for May and June by Stephen Adams.

36 Drink Sussex: The Ale Trail International drinks writer, David Furer, visits Harveys Brewery in the first of a new series.

40 Recipes: All tomorrow’s patés Dominic McCartan cooks up a fine collection of patés and terrines.

48 In my own words Rosario Guarneri of The Arrogant Frog.

49 What’s on Farmers’ Markets all around Sussex.

50 Column: The Wild Side by Fergus Drennan Fergus tackles an alien invader.

RECIPE FINDER Arnaki me Kritharaki (Lamb with Rice-shaped Pasta) .....................................28

Garides me Feta (King prawns with Feta)..............................27

Black Bream with Radish & Fennel Ceviche ...........................................19

Half-cured Roast Salmon with Cheese & Vermouth Sauce .......................20

Cauliflower Cheese Croquettes with Tomato Salsa.......................................19 Cherry Frangipane Tart ..............................22

Marinated Aubergine, Courgette & Roasted Pepper Salad with Mint Yoghurt .......................................22

Chicken And Asparagus with Vanilla & Herb Dressing .............................21

Rabbit & Pork Terrine with Mustard and Sage ......................................42

Chicken Liver Paté ......................................43

Ravani (Orange Semolina Cake Soaked with Syrup & Brandy) ...................28

Cold Cut Roast Pork with Anchovies and Caesar Dressing ...............21 Country Pork Terrine...................................4

Roasted Portobello Mushroom, Garlic and Lemon Paté ..............................44

Crab & Crème Fraiche Salad ....................18

Smoked Mackerel Paté..............................44

Elderflower Cordial.....................................23

Smoked Venison Paté ................................43

Elderflower Sorbet .....................................23

Summer Vegetable Terrine........................45

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May/June 2008

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HOW THE INTERNET BROUGHT BACk A VILLAGE SHOP Two years after Keith and Pat Gibson moved into Kingston village over 20 years ago, the village shop closed and the post office soon followed. “Since then, Pat and I have spent hours discussing how good it would be to revive the shop and get locals out of the supermarket habit,” says Keith. “There has been a positive explosion of excellent quality local food, but no means of selling it in the village.” Given the absence of suitable premises, the couple hit on the idea of opening a ‘virtual’ shop, and the Kingston Village IN SEASON NOW Asparagus Artichokes New potatoes Carrots Courgettes Runner beans Radishes Watercress Elderflowers Gooseberries Strawberries Cherries Lamb Wood pigeon Crab Sea trout Herring Mackerel

Shop was reborn last April. Their motto is “virtually on your doorstep” and their van currently delivers high quality local food to Kingston, Iford, Swanborough, Nor thease, Southease and Rodmell every Fr iday. The shop supplies food from an ever-increasing range of local suppliers and producers, including Harveys Brewery, Ouse Valley Foods, meat & free-range eggs from Holmansbridge Farm, organic meat from Boathouse Organics, fruit & veg from Bill’s, as well as Kingston Farm lamb, fresh fish (mainly from Newhaven just down the road), Sussex cheeses and honey. The resourceful couple hope to add more suppliers in the near future, and maybe eventually to deliver two or three times per week. Pat and Keith are now on the lookout for a suitable premises to combine their virtual shop with a store selling the basics, and acting as an order ing point for the website for those with no computer access. “We believe this could be the ideal model for villages all over the country,” says Keith. www.kingstonvillageshop.co.uk

CELEBRATE THE TASTE! Come and celebrate the very best tastes of the south east this May Day Bank Holiday weekend, at the ever-popular Food Fair at the Weald & Downland Open Air Museum in Singleton, near Chichester, West Sussex. ‘Celebrate the Taste’ will once again be jointly organised by ‘A Taste of Sussex’. England’s leading museum of traditional rural life accommodates the numerous Food Fair trade stands in and among the historic buildings on its beautiful 50 acre site. In this way the event brings together the three great influences on our lives - food, culture and landscape - in one great taste celebration. Last year nearly ,000

Orange Grove Organic — Music To Your Taste Buds! Orange Grove Organic is a new company producing and supplying delicious organic dips to selected retailers around the Sussex area. Based in Brighton, the company was started by Joe Shanks and Sarah Al-Taib with the vision of bringing a different kind of dip to your table.

Joe and Sarah both have a culinary background (in fact they met while catering for celebrity events) and they love entertaining their friends at home. Bored by the predictable hummus and guacamole usually on offer, they started inventing their own recipes and Orange Grove Organic was the logical result. “We wanted to bring out a range of innovative, fresh dips based on the wonderful flavours, textures and colours of world ingredients,” Joe explains. The launch range explores the flavours of the Middle East, South America, the Mediterranean, and Thailand. The talented duo will be adding new additions to the range over the coming months, including limited edition dips using seasonal ingredients. Both Sarah and Joe were determined to produce an organic product and stress, “We only use the freshest, natural, organic, vegetarian ingredients with no unnecessary additions.” Look out for Orange Grove Organic dips in Sussex health shops, delis, farmers markets, events and a few music festivals over the summer. www.orangegroveorganic.co.uk

people attended the event over the two days, and altogether more than 80 producers from the region will gather at the show to present a stunning array of local produce, including gastronomic delights such as wines, sauces, ciders and beers; locally-produced meats, cheeses, spices, ice cream, cakes and confectionery. “The Food Fair is a great way to discover the very best produce that the south east can offer, and at the same time explore the historic buildings and gardens we have in this lovely downland setting,” commented the Museum’s Marketing Officer, Cathy Clark. As well as the opportunity to browse and buy, there will be a range of talks and demonstrations throughout the event to interest all the family. Last year, children’s cookery school, The Fun Food Academy, held a demonstration of cooking for children by children, which proved extremely popular, and they will be attending again this year. Celebrate the Taste will be open on 4 & 5 May from 10.30am – pm. Admission charges are: adults £8.50, over 0s £7.50; children £4.50, family ticket £23.30, and include a full day’s entry to all the Museum buildings and outdoor exhibits.

May/June 2008

News

Ready, Steady, Cook Slowly! A competition to find the best recipes using seasonal Sussex ingredients is being launched in May by Slow Food Brighton and Lewes, in association with the Brighton and Hove Food Partnership, the email newsletter Scoff! and City College Brighton and Hove catering and hospitality department. The initial focus will be on autumnal recipes, with shortlisted entries invited to take part in a live ‘cook-off’ final in September at the kitchens of the City College. However the organisers plan to extend the concept, if successful, to other seasons. Anyone can enter a recipe via the competition website www.sussexrecipes.co.uk. Prizes include a dinner for two at the feted seafront restaurant Due South, noted for its use of local and seasonal ingredients; and the winners will also have their recipes cooked in a gala dinner at the college’s beautiful in-house Gallery restaurant. The judges say they are not looking for ‘foodie’ or restaurant dishes requiring complex preparation, but everyday family ideas which use the local seasonal produce of Sussex in inspiring and original ways. Entrants will also be invited to tell the story behind the recipe, a chance to capture some local folklore. After the competition, all the recipes which are deemed to be of suitable quality will be placed on a free, publicly available website. The deadline for entries is 31 July 2008, and the shortlisted entrants will be notified by the end of August, ahead of the cook-off in early September. One entry per person is allowed in each category - starters, mains and desserts. For more information see the competition website: www.sussexrecipes.co.uk

EASTBOURNE CHEF APPOINTED MASTER CHEFS’ CHAIRMAN

erald Röser has been

appointed Chairman of the Master Chefs of Great Britain, the professional association representing the country’s top chefs. The Head Chef at Eastbourne’s award-winning Mirabelle restaurant took on the prestigious role following the milestone 25th anniversary of the Master Chefs, which was marked with a celebrity event in London. A well-known face on the East Sussex dining scene, Gerald has been Head Chef at the Mirabelle at Eastbourne’s Grand Hotel for nearly six years. The Mirabelle’s accolades include two red AA rosettes and the restaurant is regularly ranked among the country’s top restaurants in the fine dining bible, The Which? Good Food Guide.

Gerald Röser and Ainsley Harriott

Gerald took over as Chairman of the Master Chefs of Great Britain at the silver jubilee lunch held at the Sheraton Park Lane Hotel. The event was attended by 350 guests including celebrity chef, Ainsley Harriott, one of the first members to be made a Fellow of the Master Chefs of Great Britain in recognition of his outstanding culinary ability.

E AT M E D I A LT D

ADVERTISING SALES

13 MIDDLE STREET, BRIGHTON,

Emma Andrews

EAST SUSSEX. BN1 1AL

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Email: emma@eatsussex.co.uk EDITORIAL

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Tony Leonard

www.eatsussex.co.uk

Tel: +44 (0)1273 302968

Eat Sussex Magazine: ISSN 1756-3003

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May/June 2008

Gerald said: “It is a very exciting time to take over as Chairman. Over the past 25 years the Master Chefs of Great Britain has gone from strength to strength and helped put British cuisine firmly on the map. I am looking forward to a busy time ahead and planning the annual lunch that takes place in November.”

PRODUCTION Dean Cook Tel: +44 (0)1273 467579 Email: dean@eatsussex.co.uk P U B L I S H E R Dominic McCartan Tel: +44 (0)1273 302968 Email: dominic@eatsussex.co.uk P R I N T E D B Y Warners Midlands

If you go down to the woods today

t is not often that a building

is roofed with materials from within a mile away, but Chris Yarrow, owner of Wilderness Wood at Hadlow Down, has just completed roofing his visitor centre barn with sweet chestnut shingles made entirely on the premises, from chestnut grown in Wilderness Wood and other local woods. The work was started in June last year, and the last of the 5,500 shingles have now been nailed to the roof. The shingles are made by splitting sweet chestnut logs. Chris made and fixed many of the shingles himself, but the project also involved over 20 volunteers and trainees. This was just the sort of project that the High Weald Sustainable Development Fund was looking for when it awarded a major grant towards the project. It not only provided a market for local coppice wood, but gave the opportunity to train people in the art of making and fixing shingles. In addition, his shingles probably have the lowest environmental impact of any roofing option as they are made from a local renewable resource with virtually no energy used in their manufacture or transport. At the end of their life, they make excellent fire-lighting fuel. Chris said “The re-roofing project was part of the extension to our tearoom and visitor centre. Now that it is almost completed, our staff and visitors are equally pleased with the result, and we hope that the barn and its roof will be an inspiration to visitors for many years to come.” Wilderness Wood, Hadlow Down, Nr. Uckfield, East Sussex TN22 4HJ © 2008 Eat Media Limited. All rights reserved. Eat Sussex Magazine is edited, designed, and published by Eat Media Limited. No part of Eat Sussex Magazine may be reproduced, transmitted, stored electronically, distributed, or copied, in whole or part without the prior written consent of the publisher. A reprint service is available. Opinions expressed in this journal do not necessarily reflect those of the editor or Eat Sussex Magazine or its publisher, Eat Media Limited.

The Laughing Fish I s F I e L d

Andy & Linda invite you to join us at this friendly village pub providing great home-made food, real ales, and a warm welcome. We’re easy to find — just off the A26 between Lewes and Uckfield, right next door to the Lavender Line at Isfield station, and there’s plenty of parking. The 29 bus from Tunbridge Wells to Brighton stops less than a minute away.

• BEAUTIFUL BRASSERIE SETTING • SOUTH FACING TERRACE • CLASSIC FRENCH CUISINE LOCALLY SOURCED • A LA CARTE TUESDAY-SUNDAY • MENU RAPIDE TWO COURSES £11.95 (TUES-SAT 12 TIL 5PM) • OPEN ALL DAY TUESDAY-SUNDAY • SUPERB SUNDAY ROAST

Food is served every lunchtime from 12 noon to 2.30p.m. (Sundays 3.30p.m.) and evenings (from Monday to Saturday) 6.00p.m. to 9.00p.m. Smaller portions of main course dishes are always available for senior citizens at £2.00 off. We also offer a takeaway fish and chips service on Monday to Thursday evenings. For more details, call us on 01825 750349 or visit our website www.laughingfishonline.co.uk

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196 Church Road Hove BN3 2DJ Tel: 01273 220868 www.legliserestaurant.co.uk info@legliserestaurant.co.uk

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• Four weekly deliveries of fresh organic fruit and vegetables • Fresh local organic bread delivered daily • Freshly cooked takeaway food made at Trinity • Wide range of organic wines • Dried fruits, wholegrains, nuts, pulses, cereals and flours • Wide range of frozen and chilled foods • Natural remedies, toiletries and eco-friendly cleaning products …and so much more (like the fabulous staff!)

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In my own words

Janet Redman Hope Cottage Farm Shop

y background was

in office work really, working for all sorts of people. I did marketing and I did have my own shop several years ago selling clothing. We moved to Hooe about ten years ago, then the farm shop came up for grabs about four and a half years ago and without much forethought we grasped the opportunity. It’s been great because we’ve used everybody’s talents and we’ve all pulled together as a family. Jackie Redman, my motherin-law, is a brilliant cook, my step-daughter, Kerry, works here on a Sunday, she’s brilliant at cooking as well now and lovely with people. All the kids have had a turn doing it and Peter, my husband, can turn his hand to anything. The whole shop was very run down when we took over. There was nothing here really; it was just a shell. He built the counter, fitted the shop and everything. We’ve got our own kitchen. Jackie’s been making game pies today. We make lots of different

May/June 2008

pies: steak and kidney; chicken bacon & leek; fish; smoked fish. And casseroles. Lots of ready meals really, but all handmade with good quality, local ingredients. We’ve extended our range of pasties; as well as Cornish, we have pork, apple & sage using our own pork, steak & stilton and cheese, leek & potato for people who don’t want meat. I’ve taken all the credit for Jackie’s pasties before, haven’t I? You would come on a Tuesday when Jackie’s here! We’ve got our own pigs so we sell our own pork. They are mainly Gloucester Old Spot but we’ve had someWhites as well.The pork from them is just divine. It’s so succulent. It’s just like the old-fashioned pork because it has the right amount of fat on it and the taste is divine.And if you cook that slowly… Give it, say, three hours at a low temperature, the meat just falls off. We sell free-range, local lamb, free-range beef from Hooe and, of course, free-range chicken. I’ve been having Lucinda’s freerange chickens for ages now but of course this year her chickens are more in demand because of all the brilliant publicity.The whole

Chicken Out! campaign seems to be going really well, doesn’t it? Game has really taken off this year. Mark, the local gamekeeper, comes in with fresh game every Saturday. It’s all local from Ashburnham Forest. We’ve had wild boar, not farmed but really wild, wild boar. It’s not cheap, but then I say to people, “Well you try catching one!”Although game is seasonal we are still getting rabbit, venison and wild boar and we have a plentiful supply of frozen pheasant for our game pies and casseroles.We try to give people recipes for game because a lot of people don’t really know what to do with it. But it’s being promoted more and more, you see more recipes and people aren’t so frightened of it. On Saturday May 24th (Bank Holiday Weekend) we are going to have a game barbeque. Mark is quite resourceful and inspirational in his ideas for serving it in different ways, like marinating venison shoulder and making up kebabs and burgers. So for the summer, it’s a nice change on your barbeque, and it’s so lean and very good for you. Shops like us offer a lot that supermarkets don’t: unusual,

homemade, local products and a nice, friendly, unhurried atmosphere.We do get, perhaps, a lot more older customers because of that.We’ve got easy car parking and it’s a nice little jaunt into the country to see us. I’ve recently been promoting the shop by going to local farmers’ markets and on the strength of that we are starting one up in Ninfield, just up the road. We’re expanding for the summer. We’re planning a new café at the front of the shop. It will be a conservatory so we can open it all year around. We’ll be serving breakfasts, brunch, light lunches, tea, so we are very excited about that. My husband had always wanted to move to the country and we just love it. We could never go back to the town now; I always feel so enclosed in the town.And now, my husband’s got involved in shoots, we’ve got pigs, we’ve got a couple of dogs and our whole lives have just completely changed. We’ve got no regrets whatsoever. n Hope Cottage Farm Shop, Hooe, Near Ninfield, TN33 9EL. Tel: 01424 892 342

Downsview Farmhouse Ice Cream is made with the very best milk and cream from our own herd of cows.

We have a reputation for being a foodies Aladdin’s Cave! Be inspired by our artisan products from all over the world and tempt your taste buds by our delicious homemade cooking! We make our own scotch eggs, pies, quiches and scrumptious cakes! We make a great cup of coffee too!

Why not try our Honeycomb with pieces ice cream or any of our other 20 ﬂavours? We also make lovely Fruit Sorbets. To ﬁnd your nearest stockest phone Sarah on 01825 841002.

www.downsviewfarm.co.uk Downsview Farm, Laughton Road Ringmer, East Sussex. BN8 5UT

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Deli & Café Open Monday-Saturday 96 High Street Steyning West Sussex BN44 3RD Tel: 01903 813311 WiFi Internet Access

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School of Service Management

Get creative in the kitchen Spend a day in a creative and contemporary environment for learning and development. The Culinary Arts Studio in Eastbourne offers training facilities for corporate and public events. We currently run: • One-day hands-on cookery classes • Team cuisine – team building with a twist • Masterclasses For more information call Gilly Nicol on 01273 643631, email gn16@brighton.ac.uk or visit www.brighton.ac.uk/culinaryartsstudio

Enjoy seasonal eating in a relaxed friendly atmosphere — delicious lunches and sumptuous dinners – the perfect retreat for the whole family and a popular choice for corporate entertaining too. Baloos Restaurant & Bar Wheatsheaf Road Woodmancote Henfield, West Sussex BN5 9BD Telephone: 01273 492077

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May/June 2008

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Gilly Smith

Gilly Smith: This little piggy went to market Gilly Smith attempts to recapture her foodie childhood as she spurns the supermarket and takes her daughters Ellie (12) and LouLou (9) deep into the forests, farms and seas of Sussex to find their food.

n email popped up

on my screen a few months back inviting our local school to host a Local Sussex Breakfast. All that egg, bacon and sausages subsidised by a government initiative to encourage local food procurement in the public sector, it couldn’t fail I thought as I forwarded it on to the Dinner Lady. I hadn’t realised that an email could do a sharp intake of breath. It wasn’t so much the caterer’s inability to source locally, she said; it was more that the fat content in an ‘unapproved’ sausage could bust the weekly ration. “But, but…” I tried. Surely a school food caterer would know that the meat

content of a local sausage made by the local butcher, would be at least 85%.“It’s the new nutritional standards,” sighed the Dinner Lady, as if Jamie Oliver had personally torn up the invitation. I first made sausages with Mauro Bregoli, a gregarious Italian chef from the Old Manor House in Romsey, who famously smoked his own bresaola, made his own cotechino sausage and slaughtered his extensively farmed pigs, each of whom he named and petted, in a mobile abattoir. “The stress of the journey to the regular abattoir is not good for the pig or for the meat,” he told me. Although a recovering meateater at the time, I found the process of stuffing what was Susie and, I think, Joanna, into the mincing machine rather fascinating. And slicing up a piece of dried

Becky, I have to admit, was a sheer delight on the tongue, as Mauro poured me a glass of something expensive to go with it. After my run in with the Dinner Lady, I was determined to share that love of a good pig with my girls and made a few calls. And so it was, one sunny afternoon, that we were driving to our local pig farm. Rather handily, as I stuck rigidly to my Disneyesque script about the difference between extensively and intensively farmed pigs, the farmer was the spit of the bloke from Babe. I almost expected to see a plucky little pig herding the sheep across the 200 hectares, bullied by a talking duck and encouraged in a motherly kind of way by a gentle but earthy sheepdog. In real life, Plashett Park Farm, where lapwings wheel over traditionally rotated fields and hedgerows provide homes for one of Britain’s rarest mammals, Bechstein’s bat, could well be drowned by a new reservoir planned by the South East Water Company. It’s a drama which could see the end for the pig farm — and Farmer Peters — within the next year. B u t the girls were more concerned about the rather more imminent threat to the sweet little piglets they had already named, and suddenly the second part of our day out was losing its appeal. “Look,” I tried, “they wouldn’t be here at all if people

didn’t want to eat them.” It’s an argument I’ve used before and four pairs of eyes reminded me that it didn’t wash. By the time we got to the butcher, I knew that I had lost my eldest. Ellie will one day find out that Carla Lane lives nearby and will very probably move in. She’s an activist at heart and her vegetarianism runs deep into her veins. And yet I still took her into that butcher. And I still made jolly observations about happy meat. Luckily, her sister had been brought up on a rich mix of Horrid Henry and Grandpa’s reallife ‘stories from nature’ and she and her carnivorous little chum had already spotted the slimy string of intestine the butcher was preparing to stuff for our benefit. As the minced pork shot into the sheath, I blanched as Ellie turned green, and I hastily looked around for a bucket. I racked my brain to remember what Mauro had done to make my experience so different. As I shooed them out with a pile of sausages curled neatly in my bag, our butcher stopped to put the rest of the meat in the cold store.“Ooh, ooh,” cried Lecherous LouLou and Salivating Stephie, “Can we go in? Pleeeeeasse?” In a move that would have had our Dinner Lady scrabbling for her health and safety rule book, the butcher ushered them in and they gasped at the side of lamb and the little pig trotters gripping the meat hooks. Ellie sat outside, presumably planning a midnight raid on Plashett Park. As I drove them back through the country lanes, I realised that I’d made a mistake. It’s not that my attempts at introducing my kids to their dinner are a waste of time, it’s just that I’d taken the wrong passengers. My kids didn’t think that sausages were packed with fat and mechanically reclaimed meat in the first place. My kids know that you don’t fry sausages when you can grill, griddle or barbeque them. It’s the Dinner Lady who’s in charge of feeding around 1,200 kids in Lewes who needs to meet the meat. n

May/June 2008

Feature

very now and again,

A few of their favourite things? 12

Delia fans may have been aghast when the TV cookery queen started extolling the virtues of Aunt Bessie’s frozen mash and M&S tinned mince, but a quick look around any supermarket will reveal no shortage of celebrity chef-endorsed foodstuffs. Are Gordon, Marco and Ainsley really bringing good quality food to the masses or are there more cynical motives at large? Michael Harwood puts their products to the taste test. May/June 2008

after a long day (often spent worrying about what other people are going to eat) I can’t face the chore of deciding what to cook for dinner and like so many other people I reach for the ready meal. The promise of letting someone else slave over a hot stove is almost as enticing as the idea of skipping the washing up but the problem is that no sooner have I pierced the packaging, I’m beginning to regret it. The quality of most ready meals on the market is just so woefully low that any hopes of saving time and effort in the kitchen are quickly replaced by regret and dissatisfaction. I’ve lost count of the times that I’ve bought a ready meal and hated it so much that I’ve binned it and started again from scratch. But is this disappointment inevitable? After all, our cousins across the channel can get it right with the long and respected tradition of the traiteur: small independent food shops all over France sell ready-to-cook take-away dishes that are somewhere between a ready meal and a home cooked dish. This regrettable lack of quality in the UK mass market is obviously something of a drawback for the marketing men but recently I’ve noticed some newcomers to the supermarket shelves and freezers, with some familiar faces on the packaging. Do the endorsements of some of the country’s leading chefs herald a new era of high quality convenience foods or have some of our best cookery talents simply sold out? Among the many famous culinary faces putting their names to commercially produced food products,

Feature

“I’m not pretending I’m the creator of these soups. Anyone believing that is a fool” Marco Pierre White perhaps the most high profile are the Michelin-starred golden boys: Marco Pierre White and Jean-Christophe Novelli. The question of how involved the chefs actually get in the development of the products they endorse is never more pertinent than in the case of Marco Pierre White’s Glorious! range of soups, sold exclusively in Morrison’s supermarkets. Unconventional and outspoken as ever, Mr White told The Daily Telegraph: “I’m not pretending I’m the creator of these soups. Anyone believing that is a fool. I cook Michelin-starred food — that’s my talent. The man sweating behind the soup vats in a factory somewhere is the real genius.” So did White create the original recipes? “No. The marketing people and Simon [Gamble] created the recipes. I just approved them. I sat down and tasted them with my family. If they’re good enough for me, they’re good enough for the nation.” Jean-Christophe Novelli insists he has taken a very different approach to the development of his range for frozen food giant, Findus. “Jean-Christophe Novelli has worked very closely with our business in creating and developing these new dishes and his passion for the project has been marvellous,” said Norwegian businessman, Geir Frantzen, owner of Findus Ltd. “He has spent many days and nights in Newcastle at our factory, ensuring every single product

“It is a pleasure working with people who share my high standards in food preparation and presentation” Jean-Christophe Novelli meets his high expectations at every stage of development.” The heart-throb chef insists that working with the frozen food giant is a natural progression for him given his predilection for crispy pancakes during his childhood in France. “But any finished dish is only as good as the raw ingredients and imagination put in at the beginning, so it is a pleasure working with people who share my high standards in food preparation and presentation. I see this as just the start of a wonderful relationship,” he said. In case anyone could be mean enough to question the

motives of this noble alliance, Novelli’s business partner, Simon Rees, spelled it out:“This partnership with Findus gives Jean-Christophe the chance to deliver great quality food to people who are not regularly eating at gourmet restaurants.” While the marriage of the man once voted the world’s sexiest chef and the giant frozen food

company is clearly a match made in heaven, other companies have rockier relationships with celebrity chef spouses. This was particularly evident when Gordon Ramsay talked down his own product to The Grocer Magazine last year, in comments that echoed Gerald Ratner’s notorious description of his jewellery as “total crap”. When

“I don’t worry about the standard of the chocolates because they’re £3.99” Gordon Ramsay May/June 2008

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May/June 2008

12/2/08 14:39:20

Feature

“It is very important to make sure the product stays the same if we started to produce it on a larger scale” Tom Aikens

questioned about the quality of his premium boxed chocolate range, Ramsay was dismissive. “I don’t think you’re going to be blown away at £3.99-odd for a box. I don’t worry about the standard of the chocolates because they’re £3.99. I don’t feel that is degrading.” Adding injury to insult, the range, by Ashbury Confectionery, launched in 2003 based on desserts featured in the chef ’s cookbook, Just Desserts, actually has a RRP of £5.99. Despite the negative publicity, Ashbury and Ramsay are unlikely to part company just yet; Ramsay fans continue to fill their trolleys with the unimpressive chocolates, generating healthy profits for all parties. One chef with a completely different take on making his food more widely available is Tom Aikens. At the moment, the Tom’s Kitchen range is available only in Selfridges and a number of smaller delis in London. In keeping with the traiteur tradition, all the products are made in the kitchens of his Chelsea restaurant. What this means for the consumer is that the quality is remarkably high but the distribution is necessarily limited to shops less than a couple of miles from the kitchen where it is prepared. I tried some of the range recently was favourably impressed. I asked Tom if he had any plans to increase the distribution. “In the future we may want to expand into a supermarket but we are just going to build it up slowly and steadily,” he told me. “To be honest, I see the only choice as Waitrose, as M&S only do their own label. So yes we would be interested in going into one of the multiples, but for us, its all about the quality and consistency of the product. It is very important to make sure the product stays the same if we started to produce it on a larger scale.” Now thoroughly confused

as to whether a celebrity chef endorsement really offers any guarantee of added quality, I head off to the supermarket to stock up and see for myself. After what seemed like hours of wandering up and down the aisles of the local supermarket, I managed to fill a trolley with only items endorsed by celebrity chefs or restaurants, with not a piece of fresh produce in sight. My original plan had been to exist for a week solely on these products, but I was so depressed by the time I had unpacked the bags I decided that I could only deal with them if I allowed myself some ‘real food’ as well. First up was Ainsley Harriott’s Spicy Lentil Cup Soup. The packaging bears a picture of Ainsley’s grinning face and the legend: “Get ready to tickle your taste buds with the most sensational cup soup we’ve ever created.” Oh dear! Once re-hydrated, the soup had a strange viscous texture and the overwhelming taste was of raw lentils. Awful. Next, from the Jean-Chrisophe Novelli range for Findus, I opted for the Caramelized Cider Pork Belly. The pack described the contents as thus: “Tender pork belly in fennel and cider sauce served with delicately smoked mashed potato,” which certainly

sounded promising enough. On tasting however, I have to conclude that all those late nights at the Findus factory up in Newcastle may have been in vain as this was truly dreadful. The two tiny slices of fatty pork were submerged in a sauce so sweet it set my teeth on edge. The meat itself had had the rind removed, thus guaranteeing no chance

May/June 2008

Feature

whatsoever of any crackling.The smoked mash tasted like smoky bacon crisps, which came as a rather unpleasant surprise. The packaging didn’t state how many portions it served, the quantity of meat suggested less than one while the amount of mash tended to more. Still slightly traumatized by my encounter with Jean-Christophe, I started the following day gingerly with just some buttered toast. The bread was the Irish Stoneground Wheaten Bread from Paul Rankin’s range. This was actually very good and

May/June 2008

the slightly dense texture was lovely toasted. It also contains no hydrogenated fats. So that’s Ireland one, England and France both nil so far. Lunch that day was pasta dressed with Loyd Grossman’s Tomato and Chilli Sauce. Mr Grossman assures us on the packaging: “ I love food and believe great food comes from care and attention to detail. That’s why I insist on tasting everything until it’s just right.” This was surprisingly tasty and, dare I say it, tasted homemade. This one was a real winner and contains all natural ingredients. I had planned to track down some of Marco Pierre White’s soups for dinner as a friend had tried them and raved about how delicious they were. My dinner plans were dashed though when I realized that there is no branch of Morrison’s in Brighton. Back to the drawing board for dinner then and I was ‘forced’ to cook something from scratch. By now I was really starting thank my lucky stars that I hadn’t committed to trying to live off this stuff for a whole week and I was missing the ritual of thinking about, shopping for and of course cooking dinner.All the products I had sampled, the good ones and the bad, had taken all the thinking out of the equation but of course, this may be the whole point of ready meals. It occurred to me that placing a celebrated chef ’s face on the packaging is primarily reassuring. Why think about food yourself when a Michelin-starred chef can do all the brainwork for you?You’re just left with the legwork of traipsing around the supermarket to find the bottles and cartons. Chef endorsement hints at promises of a product superior to anything a mere mortal can rustle up at home, but once again, experience has shown me that a ready meal will never measure up to anything made with care by hand in either a restaurant or domestic kitchen, no matter whose face is on the packet. n

Champagne for Every Occasion! The Toast of Brighton & Hove Ltd 40 Church Road, Hove, BN3 2FN Tel: 01273 208180 Open Monday - Saturday 11am - 7pm Shop online @ www.toastchampagne.co.uk

Pestle & Mortar QP 0508.indd 1

10/4/08 15:42:41

Heavenly Organics ORGANIC FARM SHOP

Set in the beautiful surroundings of Heaven Farm

We stock a delicious selection of organic natural and locally-sourced produce, eco-friendly household products and toiletries. Refill your ECOVER products at our filling station. Enjoy a spring walk along the Bluebell Nature Trail. A warm welcome awaits you! Open Daily 10am-5pm/Ample Free Parking. Credit/Debit cards accepted.

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May/June 2008 Heavenly Organic QP 0308.indd 1

7/4/08 10:14:33

In season

In season Recipes by Stephen Adams. Photography by Jean-Luc Brouard.

Although we have to wait until June for summer to really get into her stride, traditional May Day celebrations, with their origins in the ancient Roman festival of Flora, the goddess of fruit and flowers, mark the unofficial start of the season of fertility and fecundity.

CRAB & CRÈME FRAICHE SALAD This salad is always best made with a live crab that you’ve cooked yourself but even if you buy the crabmeat already cooked it’s still a pretty stunning dish. Serves TWO. 225g (8oz) crabmeat, (around 1 medium crab) cooked 200ml (7fl oz) crème fraiche 2 lemons, juice 75g (3oz) shallot, finely chopped 2 tomatoes, diced 175g (6oz) cucumber, diced 150g (5oz) baby spinach Splash olive oil 1 tsp Dijon mustard 1tbsp red wine vinegar Salt & pepper

Wash the baby spinach, dry it well and put it in a big bowl. Add the shallot, tomato, cucumber, crabmeat and crème fraiche, squeeze in the juice of one lemon with a big pinch of salt and lots of cracked black pepper. Mix together and taste to check the seasoning. In a little separate bowl mix the mustard, vinegar, olive oil and the juice from the other lemon. Serve with the dressing spooned over accompanied by plenty of crusty bread on the side.

May/June 2008

In season

BLACK BREAM WITH RADISH & FENNEL CEVICHE Ceviche is a marinated seafood salad that originated in Peru and is now popular throughout Latin America.The acid in the lemon juice â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;cooksâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; the fish without heat.

CAULIFLOWER CHEESE CROQUETTES WITH TOMATO SALSA An unusual take on cauliflower cheese, these croquettes will have even the most veggie-phobic kids queuing for more. SERVES FOUR TO SIX.

Serves FOUR. 4 fillets of black bream, cleaned, skinned and pin-boned 200g (7oz) radishes 1 large bulb fennel 2 lemons 1 tbsp dill, chopped Sea salt Black pepper 2tbsp olive oil Sugar

Slice the fish into 1cm strips and place in a bowl, squeeze in the juice of one whole lemon (you can add a bit of zest as well if you like) and sprinkle in the dill, a generous amount of salt and pepper and a pinch of sugar. Slice the fennel and the radishes

as thinly as you can and mix them with a little salt, pepper, olive oil and the juice from the other lemon. Leave the fish and the fennel and radish to marinate in the fridge for one hour and then serve.

200g (7oz) cauliflower, cut into florets 150g (5oz) butter 150g (5oz) plain flour 330ml (11fl oz) milk 100g Cheddar cheese, grated 50g Twineham grange or Parmesan, grated 3 eggs, beaten 75g (3oz) flour for coating 110g (4oz) breadcrumbs Vegetable oil for frying For the salsa: 6-8 tomatoes, chopped 2 cloves garlic, crushed 6 spring onions, chopped 1 red chilli, chopped with seeds removed Squeeze lime, 1 tbsp coriander, chopped 3 tbsp olive oil Salt & pepper Pinch sugar

Cook the cauliflower in a pan of salted water until tender. Lay it on a tray to cool. Melt the butter in a thickbottomed pan, add the flour and cook, stirring continuously for about five minutes until the mixture has a sandy texture and smells lovely and biscuity. Slowly add the milk a little at a time until the mixture is dough-like.Take it off the heat, add the cheese and season to taste. Take the cooled cauliflower and either blend it in a food processor

or chop it finely by hand.Add this to the mix then place in the fridge until completely cooled. Lay out three shallow bowls with flour on the left, beaten egg in the middle and breadcrumbs on the right. Heat the oil in a deep-fat fryer or deep pan. Roll the cauliflower cheese dough into barrel shapes. Dip them thoroughly in the flour, the egg and then the breadcrumbs and deep fry until they are a light golden brown colour. To make the salsa, mix all the ingredients and season to taste.

May/June 2008

In season

In season Recipes by Stephen Adams. Photography by Jean-Luc Brouard.

The days are getting longer, sunshine breaks through the showers and all around the first new shoots of spring are pushing through. After the lean days of winter, a profusion of leafy vegetables once again begins to appear in the seasonal kitchen.

HALF-CURED ROAST SALMON WITH CHEESE & VERMOUTH SAUCE This recipe is inspired by the Scandinavian cured salmon dish, Gravadlax, but in this case the fish is only cured for a short time and then served roasted. Serves two.

2 pieces organic salmon (about 200g (7oz) each) 75g (3oz) salt 75g (3oz) sugar 1 lemon, juice 1 lime, juice 30ml (1fl oz) vermouth 200ml double cream 100g Gruyere cheese 1tbsp dill, chopped Flour Oil for frying Salt & pepper

May/June 2008

Preheat oven to Gas Mark 5 / 190째C / 375째F. Lay the salmon skin-side down and squeeze over the lemon and lime juice. Mix the salt and sugar together and sprinkle them on top. Refrigerate for 12 hours. Wash the salmon pieces under cold water and dry completely. Dust with seasoned flour and lay them in a hot pan with a little oil, skin-side down, and fry until golden brown. Turn them over and put

them into the oven for about 5 minutes. To make the sauce, simply bring the cream to the boil, whisk in the cheese and add the vermouth and dill. Serve with boiled new potatoes. For Aga cooking:

Seal in a pan on the Boiling Plate and then roast on the grid shelf on the floor of the Roasting Oven.

In season

CHICKEN AND ASPARAGUS WITH VANILLA & HERB DRESSING Make the most of the season’s asparagus with this wonderful flavour combination.Asparagus should be eaten as close to picking as possible as it loses nutrients and sweetness extremely quickly when stored.

COLD CUT ROAST PORK WITH ANCHOVIES AND CAESAR DRESSING This is a wonderful recipe for leftover roast and works just as well with lamb and beef. You could of course cheat and use shopbought mayonnaise but the real thing is surprisingly easy to rustle up yourself. ServING VARIES.

Serves TWO.

Leftover roast pork, sliced Anchovy fillets (to taste) 2 egg yolks 1 tsp Dijon mustard 1 tbsp white wine vinegar 225ml (8fl oz) blend of sunflower oil and olive oil 50g Twineham Grange or Parmesan 1tbsp parsley, finely chopped 1 clove garlic, crushed Mixed leaves 1 shallot, finely chopped 1 tbsp capers Squeeze lemon Olive or Truffle oil Salt & pepper

1 chicken crown 400g (14oz) asparagus 1 vanilla pod 500ml (18fl oz) chicken stock 150ml (5fl oz) vermouth 1 tomato, peeled, seeded and finely diced 1 tsp chervil, chopped 1 tsp parsley, chopped 1 tsp tarragon, chopped 1 tbsp olive oil

To make the Caesar dressing, you first need to make mayonnaise. Put the yolks in a bowl with the mustard and vinegar and slowly whisk in a blend of the sunflower and olive oil.You need to whisk hard and fast and only add the oil at a trickle.When the mixture is firm, season with salt and pepper and a squeeze of lemon to taste. Take half the anchovy fillets and chop them through with a knife till very fine. Do the same

with the garlic and parsley and add them all to the mayonnaise. Grate the cheese and fold through lightly. Wash and dry the leaves and put them in a bowl with the shallot and capers and dress with a little oil and seasoning. On a large plate make an oval shape and lay the pork slices on top. Scatter the remaining anchovy fillets and the salad and drizzle with a little truffle or olive oil.

Preheat oven to Gas Mark 5 / 190° / 375°F. Lightly blanch the asparagus in boiling salted water for a minute (or two if it’s very thick) then place it into iced water. Boil the chicken stock then simmer until it has reduced by three quarters. Add the vermouth. Split the vanilla pod and scrape the seeds into the stock and add the pod. Reduce again by half, remove the pod and turn off the heat. Rub the skin of the chicken crown with butter and salt and seal all over in a hot frying pan. Pop the chicken onto a roasting tray in the oven for half an hour. Leave

it to cool slightly then cut off the breasts.They will still be very pink at this stage but don’t panic. Place the breasts back in the roasting tray with the asparagus and return to the oven until cooked. Gently warm the vanilla and chicken stock and add the herbs and tomato. and then mix in the olive oil along with the juices from the roasting tray and pour over the top of the chicken and asparagus. and serve. For Aga cooking:

Cook on the fourth set of runners in the Roasting Oven.

May/June 2008

In season

CHERRY FRANGIPANE TART Celebrate the beginning of summer’s fruity bounty with this stunning cherry and almond dessert.

MAKES ONE 20CM (8”) TART.

MARINATED AUBERGINE, COURGETTE & ROASTED PEPPER SALAD WITH MINT YOGHURT This dish is best prepared a day or so before serving so all the flavours have time to combine. Serves four. 1 aubergine, diced in a little olive oil and salt 1 red pepper, chopped 1 green pepper, chopped 1 yellow pepper, chopped 2 medium courgettes, diced 1 red onion, chopped 2 cloves of garlic, chopped 1 tbsp tomato purée 1 tbsp parsley, chopped 2 tbsp mint, chopped ½ tsp ground cumin ½ tsp paprika Pinch nutmeg Salt & pepper 300g (10oz) Greek-style yoghurt Pinch sugar

Fry the aubergine in a little oil in a hot pan.Always cook aubergine on a high heat so it gets tender but not mushy.When it’s cooked, tip it into a bowl and do the same with the courgettes, then the peppers, then finally the onions and garlic together. When the onions are soft, add the spices and cook for a minute until fragrant then add the tomato purée and fry for a further two minutes to

May/June 2008

cook the bitterness out of the purée. Add the parsley, mix with the other vegetables and season to taste. Put in the fridge, preferably overnight. Stir the mint into the yoghurt with a generous pinch of sugar. Serve the marinated vegetables with the yoghurt, fresh leaves and some toasted pitta bread on the side.

110g (4oz) butter 2 eggs 110g (4oz) icing sugar 110g (4oz) ground almonds 25g (1oz) flour 1 tbsp rum 150g (5oz) pitted cherries Sweet pastry (see below) For the sweet pastry: 175g (6oz) flour 50g (2oz) caster sugar 100g (3½oz) butter 1 egg, beaten Pinch salt 1 egg yolk, for glazing

Preheat oven to Gas Mark 4 / 180°C / 350°F. To make the pastry, soften the butter in a bowl and mix in the sugar, then the eggs and finally the flour and salt. Gently bring the dough together into a ball (add a little more flour or water if needed) and chill in the fridge for an hour. Roll the dough to around 3mm thick and use it to line a greased and floured 20cm (8”) tart case. Trim the edges, leaving a little overhang, and use excess dough to repair any holes in the pastry. Using a fork, pierce holes in the bottom of the tart to allow any air bubbles to escape. Allow the case to rest in the fridge for an hour. Place a circle of baking parchment, large enough to cover the sides, in the case and fill the case with baking beans, raw rice or lentils and bake for around 30 minutes or until the pastry is properly cooked but not browned.

Mix the egg yolk with a little water, brush on the tart case and return to the oven for a couple of minutes to glaze. To make the frangipane paste, soften the butter and mix with the icing sugar. Mix in the eggs, then the ground almonds, the flour and lastly the rum. Fill the cooled tart case with the paste and press the cherries into the surface so that the tops of them are still just showing. Bake for about 30-40 minutes or until the frangipane is risen, firm and golden brown. Dust with icing sugar and serve warm or cold, with cream. For Aga cooking:

Do not blind bake. Bake the tart on the floor of the Roasting Oven for around 25 minutes. Slide the cold plain shelf above on the second set of runners after about 10 minutes to stop the tart getting too brown.

In season

ELDERFLOWER SORBET Of course, you can use an ice-cream maker if you have one but this method works just as well and it’s amazing to see the liquid turn to ice, like magic.You can always buy elderflower cordial but at this time of year when the flowers are plentiful, why not make your own? You should be able to get citric acid from your chemist but some no longer stock it so you may have to shop around. MAKES AROUND 1L (1¾ PINTS) OF SORBET. 500g (18oz) salt, the cheapest you can find 2kg (4½lb) ice 400ml (14fl oz) white wine 400ml (14fl oz) water 125ml (4fl oz) elderflower cordial (see below) 120g (4oz) sugar For the elderflower cordial: 20 elderflower heads 1.8kg (4lb) sugar 2 unwaxed lemons, zested and sliced 1.2l (2pts) water 75g (3oz) citric acid

To make elderflower cordial, shake the heads to remove any lurking insects and place them in a large bowl with the lemon zest and slices and the citric acid. Bring the water to the boil, stir in the sugar until fully dissolved and pour over the elderflower and lemon and stir well. Leave covered at room temperature for 24 hours, strain the cordial through muslin and pour into bottles. To serve as a drink, dilute to taste. To make elderflower sorbet, mix the cordial, wine, water and sugar in a pan. Bring it up to a simmer, stirring until all the sugar has dissolved, allow to cool and then chill the in the fridge. You will need two bowls for

this: one considerably larger than the other (a washing up bowl will work fine) so that the smaller one can fit inside. Put the ice into the large bowl, pour the salt over the ice and then place the smaller bowl in the larger, in contact with as much of the ice and salt as possible. Pour the chilled sorbet mixture into the small bowl and whisk every half an hour or so until the liquid has turned to slush. It can take up to three hours, so make sure you have something to be getting on with in the meantime. Put the sorbet into the freezer for an hour, break it up with a spoon and then it’s ready to serve whenever you like.

May/June 2008

Local Produce and Fine Food

After several years of research we have found small innovated suppliers, many of whom still use traditional methods, to ensure the food is of the best quality and flavour. Local products include Cheese, Ham, Bacon, Sausages, Chocolates, Biscuits, Dairy produce etc.

Cheese Ham Bacon Sausages Chocolates Biscuits Dairy

Our on site Coffee Shop serves breakfast, lunches, local coffee and teas all day and provides a good opportunity to sample our products.

Visit our Coffee Shop

Our family-run Deli specialises in selling Local Produce and other Fine Food throughout the UK, Italy and Spain.

HigH Weald dairy

Award winning cheeses, locally made in the heart of Sussex. At High Weald Dairy we make a range of delicious award winning cheeses from organic sheep and cows milk.

Opening hours are: Monday to Saturday, 08.30-17.30 Sunday, 10.00 - 16.00

Using organic milk from the cows on Tremains Farm, we make the Gold Award winning Tremains Organic Cheddar, Ashdown Foresters (including oak smoked) and the deliciously fresh Cowslip, plain and with chives. Sheep milk is turned into rich Duddleswell, Sussex Slipcote in five varieties, as well as the Mediterranean Feta and Halloumi. All are available from independent food outlets throughout Sussex. Please call us for your nearest stockist.

The Deli, Unit 2, Devon House, Street Lane, Ardingly. West Sussex. RH17 6SZ

Sussex High Weald Dairy, Tremains Farm, Horsted Keynes, Haywards Heath, RH17 7EA

Tel: 01444 891660 www.thedelifinefood.co.uk

Tel: 01825 791636 Fax: 01825 791641 www.highwealddairy.co.uk

The Deli QP 0308.indd 1

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May/June 2008

8/4/08 14:57:24

Something for the weekend

Tom and Tina Gribble

It isn’t all Greek to me… Peter Bayless, chef, author and BBC MasterChef 2006, brings some Greek passion to local Sussex lamb. Photography by Paul Cassidy. Food photography by Jean-Luc Brouard.

t was one of those sunny

Sunday mornings that herald the return of spring when, outside The Ram Inn at Firle, I chanced upon local sheep farmers, the Gribble family. As a family the Gribbles have been raising sheep at Cobbe Place Farm, Beddingham for over 40 years so you can be pretty sure that they know a thing or two about good quality lamb. The farm is run by Tina and Eddie Gribble and now their amiable son,Tom, recently down from university, has assumed the mantle of Marketing Director for the farm’s produce. Over a pint or two of Harveys Best, Tom wasted no time in selling

May/June 2008

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May/June 2008

Something for the weekend me the virtues of his Charleston Lamb. With great enthusiasm Tom explained how Charollais rams are used as sire to their ‘North Country Mules’ (ewes to you and me) to increase the muscling and growth rate of the lambs and to ensure consistently high quality meat. The first of his new season spring lambs will be ready at the end of May, but if you’re after a greater depth of flavour in your meat he’ll sell you his older lambs and hoggets at any time of the year. When ready for slaughter, the beasts travel just a few miles to a small, family-run abattoir in Tottingworth near Heathfield where the carcasses are hung for a minimum of a week or longer to personal taste. Local gastro-pubs and restaurants take the whole beasts butchered and boxed, but

for home consumption Tom will happily sell you half a lamb. The heady combination of midday sun, alcohol and all that talk about fine quality lamb made my mind drift off to holidays taken in Greece, where lamb is the quintessential festive dish and is often treated with a lot more respect than we bestow on it here in the UK. I couldn’t help thinking that Tom’s Charleston Lamb deserves to be cooked with care and a liberal dose of Mediterranean passion to really do it justice. For a festive weekend dinner with family or guests go the whole hog (or hogget) and try these three authentic Greek dishes. The recipes I gathered by sneaking a few glimpses into the Athenian kitchens of my Greek wife’s aunts. Recipes don’t get more genuine than that. n

Heat the olive oil in a saucepan and add the finely chopped onion with a little salt and pepper. Cook for a few minutes without colouring. Add the roughly chopped tomatoes, crushed garlic and sugar. Cook for a few minutes then add the herbs and wine and cover with boiling water. Simmer gently for half an hour until a thick, rich sauce is obtained. NB. If the tomatoes are not fully ripe, red and sweet you may need to add a little concentrated

tomato purée to the sauce. Add the raw prawns to the sauce and cook for two minutes before transferring the whole lot to a wide dish. Place a few thick slabs of feta on top and season again with black pepper. Place the dish under a very hot grill for a few minutes until the cheese is coloured and the sauce bubbling fiercely. Scatter with more marjoram leaves and serve with chunks of crusty rustic bread.

GARIDES ME FETA King prawns with feta cheese, garlic and tomatoes baked in a clay pot. Serves SIX. 30 king prawns, about 80mm in length, not the great big ones 200g (7oz) Feta cheese 1 large onion, finely chopped 6-8 fully vine-ripened tomatoes, chopped 2 cloves garlic, crushed with a little sea salt Freshly ground black pepper to taste A few leaves of marjoram or oregano Pinch or two of sugar Splash olive oil Splash white wine Tomato purée (may be needed)

May/June 2008

Something for the weekend

RAVANI Orange semolina cake soaked with syrup and brandy. This fabulous sweet and fragrant cake originates in ancient Constantinople but has been adopted by the Greeks who have refined the recipe.Today it is prepared for special family occasions. MAKES ONE LARGE CAKE.

ARNAKI ME KRITHARAKI Lamb with rice-shaped pasta, as cooked by Vera Kerdemeledis, except that she used a whole young lamb. Ask your butcher to cut up the shoulder, including the bones, into roughly 5cm cubes. Serves SIX. 1 shoulder of lamb about 2 kg (4½lb), cubed with bones included. 2 onions, peeled and sliced 2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped 3 or 4 sprigs of rosemary 3 or 4 sprigs oregano Salt and freshly ground black pepper 3 tbsp olive oil 150g (5oz) kritharaki (sometimes known as orzo rice-shaped pasta obtainable from Greek and Middle Eastern stores and some enlightened supermarkets) 250g tomatoes, skinned, deseeded and chopped (you may use a can of chopped tomatoes) 2 sticks celery, very finely chopped 250ml (9fl oz) chicken stock 1 tsp sugar 1 tbsp parsley, chopped

Preheat oven to Gas Mark 2 / 150°C / 300°F. Heat a tablespoon of oil in a saucepan and fry the onions until soft. Add the tomatoes, celery, garlic, sugar, salt and pepper and cook for a few minutes. Pour in the stock and simmer for 30 minutes. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large frying pan and brown the pieces of meat all over. Do this in batches, transferring each batch to a large ovenproof dish lined with the rosemary and oregano. When all the meat is browned, pour the tomato sauce into the

May/June 2008

pan in which you have cooked the meat. Stir well, scraping up the residues from the bottom and pour the contents of the pan over the meat. Boil the pasta in plenty of slightly salted water for about 10 minutes, drain and stir into the meat and sauce just before serving. Garnish with a little chopped parsley. Sucking the meat off the bones is the whole idea of this dish, so have a spare plate on the table for the debris. Note: Some like to add crumbled feta cheese to the finished dish.

100g (4oz) plain flour 3 eggs, separated 100g (4oz) caster sugar 100g (4oz) unsalted butter, at room temperature 50g (2oz) fine semolina 3 tsp baking powder 50g (20z) ground almonds 2 oranges, juice and finely pared zest For the syrup 150g (5oz) sugar 450ml (16fl oz) water 1 lemon, juice and finely pared zest 1 stick cinnamon 2-3 cloves 2 tbsp brandy

Preheat oven to Gas Mark 2½ / 160°C / 310°F. Cream together the butter and half the sugar until pale and soft. Add the egg yolks, one at a time, incorporating well before the next is added. Stir in the orange juice and zest, semolina, baking powder and flour. In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff and then gradually beat in the other half of the sugar. Beat one tablespoon of the meringue into the cake base to loosen the mix then carefully fold in the remainder of the meringue using a metal spoon. Butter a baking dish and dust with flour. Put the mixture in the dish and bake for 40-45 minutes.

Remove from the oven and cut the cake in the dish into serving portions and leave to cool down. If liked, decorate the top of each portion with half a blanched almond. To make the syrup, place all the ingredients except the brandy into a saucepan, cook to dissolve the sugar and carry on cooking for 10 minutes. Remove the cinnamon and cloves before stirring in the brandy. Spoon the syrup over the cooled cake. The cake may be served after about an hour but it improves if kept overnight. Ravani may be eaten on its own or accompanied by vanilla ice cream, whipped cream or frozen yoghurt.

Whole or half Charleston Lamb is available direct from Cobbe Place Farm Beddingham East Sussex 01273 858266 or contact Tom Gribble on 07795 242790, email: tomgribble@btinternet.com

traditional quality food from a traditional quality Butchers

High Class Butchers & Poulterers Specialising in low food miles and free range produce.

wArded ButCHer of tHe yeAr 2006/07 at The Sussex Food and Drink Awards Bramptons Butchers is a traditional shop that has been trading for over 100 years. In 1902 it was granted a Royal Warrant by King Edward VII. Proprietor, Paul Williams, trained as a chef before serving an apprenticeship as a butcher at Bramptons. Paul is noted for his ‘naturally’ reared and produced products and principles. Bramptons ensure quality in specially selected Scottish beef and is the only shop in Brighton and Hove selling locally produced South Downs Lamb.

All turkeys and chicken eggs are produced on our farm. Hog Roast, Barbeque and Catering specialists.

Well-known for producing our own recipe gluten-free sausages, linked by hand – just like the old days! We also sell additive-free pork and chicken.

HOLMANSBRIDGE FARM SHOP

Next to the butchers shop we have a cheese shop selling a variety of quality goods, particularly Sussex cheeses and many English and continental favourites.

Townlittleworth Road, Cooksbridge, BN8 4TD Tel: 01273 401 964 or 07775 843 155 Email: holmansbridge@aol.com

B u t C H e r S

114 St. Geor ges road Brighton Sussex

Butchers Shop open: Tuesday to Friday, 9am to 6pm Saturday, 9am to 5pm

Holmansbridge QP 0308.indd 1

B r A M P t oNS tel: 01273 682 611 www.bramptonsbutchers.co.uk

13/2/08 Bramptons 18:02:59 Butchers QP 0308.indd 1

5/2/08 09:30:02

Traditional sunday lunch £22.50 (£12.95 childs portion) for three courses

Weddings, birthdays, anniversaries, all parties catered for.

Table D’hote menu £12.95/£16.95 for two or three courses including a glass of house wine or coffee

Up to 70 guests. For larger parties we can hire a marquee.

Restaurant

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Modern European & French Cuisine Tel: 01825 721272 • Web www.272restaurant.co.uk 20/22 High Street, Newick, East Sussex, BN8 4LQ 272 Restaurant HP 0508.indd 1

May/June 20087/4/08

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The

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Ancient Town of

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RYE

is an OASIS of CULINARY EXCELLENCE!

Fine dining? Ryeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the place!

Rye is a must for that day or evening out of fine dining with an unrivalled selection of fine restaurants. Enjoy the fish from the Rye Bay Catch, Romney Marsh lamb and fresh produce from the farms of Sussex, plus a choice of cuisine from around the world. For more information see

www.visitrye.co.uk

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May/June 2008

Gastro-Gnome’s Guide

The Gastro-Gnome’s Guide to Rye The Gastro-Gnome discovers culinary treasures amongst the “quaint corners, rough-cast and timber cottages and mellow Georgian fronts” of the picturesque town of Rye. Photography by Paul Cassidy.

HE HISTORIC town of

Rye, with its cobbled m e d ie v a l s t r e e t s a n d El izabetha n bui ld ings, was once almost entirely surrounded by sea, in fact the name Rye comes from the Anglo-Saxon for island. It was designated a Cinque Port by Edward the Confessor in 1336, one of the five ports that were the main defences against invasion by the French at the points where

the crossing to the Continent was at its narrowest. Most of the town was raised by the French in 1377, after which a great stone wall was built for defence, the only sign of which is now Landgate. Its position between the estuaries of the Rother and Tillingham rivers resulted in a build up of silt, moving the sea further away until today the habour mouth is two miles from the town. Despite the retreat of the sea, the town

maintained its maritime heritage with a boat building industry and fishing fleet that thrived for centuries while smugglers made their bases in the ancient inns Many artists and literary figures have been drawn to Rye. The American writer, Henry James, bought Lamb House in 1897, a property later occupied by E.F. Benson and now under the stewardship of the National Trust. It was E.F. Benson’s most famous literary inventions, the

unstoppable Miss Mapp and the invincible Lucia, that leave Rye with its greatest mark on literature. As the fictional town of Tilling, a thinly disguised Rye provides the backdrop to Benson’s delicious tales of genteel social warfare amongst the middle classes of 1920’s England. You can tell Rye is a town that takes its food very seriously by the fact that Rye Farmers’ Market (Strand Quay), unlike most, is a once a week affair. The market

May/June 2008

Gastro-Gnome’s Guide

The Runcible Spoon

takes place every Wednesday between 10am and 1pm. Locals and visitors can stock up on a wide range of meat and seafood (naturally), bread, cakes and scones, fruit and vegetables and even wine and beer, all brought directly from the surrounding area. A regular fixture at a number of local farmers’ markets, Botterells Fresh Fish (Harbour Rd) is based in Rye Harbour. John Botterell is always happy to advise on the best ways to cook the fish and seafood on sale, which are caught by the Rye Fleet’s dayboats. Although it takes its inspiration from Edward Lear’s epic poem, The Owl and The Pussycat, there’s no nonsense about the homemade food on sale at The Runcible Spoon (62 Cinque Ports St). Traditional fish and chips and Rye Bay lemon sole appear on the menu alongside lighter dishes such as the soup of the day and a selection of homemade cakes. Just across the road, The Fish Tank (1 Rope Walk) is possibly the smallest fishmongers in Sussex, but Marion and Lee Burton still manage to stock a range of fresh Rye Bay landed fish that would put many large city shops to shame. Given its location, fishing heritage and the availability of prime seafood you would expect Rye to have a first class fish restaurant and The Fish Café (Tower St) certainly doesn’t disappoint. Having already established their reputation at The Wild Mushroom in Westfield, Paul and Rebecca Webbe took on this classic four-storey Edwardian

May/June 2008

Landgate Webbe’s at The Fish Cafe

building and designed each floor with guidance from specialist advisors to make the restaurant as environmentally friendly as possible. Downstairs, in the openplan brasserie, you can watch the chefs create tempting dishes from the local catch while upstairs, Webbe’s at The Fish Café serves dinner in a more formal restaurant environment. There’s also a function room that can cater for up to 70 guests above that.The restaurant won The Good Food Guide’s Best Newcomer in Sussex Award in 2006 and continues to go from strength to strength. The Globe Inn (Military Rd) has recently been taken over by award-winning chef, Aidan McCormack and his wife, Janette. This pretty pub/restaurant has a lovely garden that is a perfect spot

to enjoy a warm summer evening with a pint, before sampling some beautifully prepared fresh fish from Rye Harbour or organic meat from Wickham Manor Farm. Another venue putting Rye on the map for quality eating is the Landgate Bistro (5-6 Landgate). In simple, unfussy surroundings chef, Martin Peacock serves classic and modern British food made with local, seasonal

ingredients including much that is foraged from nearby beaches and surrounding countryside. Jugged hare, wild rabbit and potted shrimp are popular along with Romney Marsh lamb and all the local seafood you’d expect. The bistro bakes its own sourdough bread and makes all the desserts inhouse, including some rather wonderful ice creams. The bistro is named after the nearby Landgate, one of the entrances to the ancient citadel built in 1326, and it’s through there that the Gnome next made his progress. Perched on the East Cliff with stunning views over the Romney Marshes and the estuary, is the Rye Lodge Hotel (Hilders Cliff). This award-winning and much recommended hotel is owned and run by the de Courcy family who pride themselves on their relaxed but elegant style of hospitality. The Terrace Room Restaurant is very popular, booking is strongly recommended,

The Globe Inn

Rye Lodge Hotel

Gastro-Gnome’s Guide serving classic dishes accompanied by your choice of wine from the family’s extensive cellar.The hotel is also home to a leisure centre, exclusive to guests, just in case all that fine Sussex eating is starting to show! At the top of the High Street, Extraordinary Ironmongers (1 High St) offers all kinds of kitchenware for all kinds of cooks. Just across the road, Hayden’s Coffee House (108 High St) is part of a family-run, eco-friendly B&B. It serves fair trade coffee and tea and homemade organic cakes, salads and light meals made from local ingredients. Its green credentials even stretch to only using environmentally friendly cleaning products in the kitchen. There are no shortage of tea rooms and coffee houses in Rye.Just a few doors down from Haydens, Cranberries Tea Room (105a High St) is a traditional tea rooms while the Apothecary Coffee House (1 East St) was, as its name suggests, a 19th Century version of a chemist’s shop. The coffee house, and the B&B upstairs, have been lovingly restored with many original features still visible. Turn left at the top of East Street into Market St to find The Flushing Inn (4 Market St).This unique seafood restaurant has been run by the Flynn/Mann family since 1960 and, although that’s a drop in the ocean for an inn that has a history dating back to 1200-1250, they’ll be celebrating 48 years at The Flushing with one of their justifiably famous

‘Gastronomic Occasions’. The Ypres Castle Inn (Gun Gardens) is fortunate in being the only pub in the citadel with a garden. Much acclaimed, ‘The Wipers’ as it is known, is a champion of local food, and with such a bounty of high quality produce available, the results are truly mouthwatering. Back on the High St, Rye’s only butcher, Ashbee & Son (100 High St), has been owned by Paul and Jayne Dengate for over 20 years.The site has been a butcher’s shop since the 1850s and still has the original frontage.The Dengates and their staff are justly proud of their homemade sausages, which can be found gracing the breakfast tables of many of Rye’s best hotels and guest houses.They also stock a wide range of game through the relevant seasons. Watch out for the former Mrs McCartney at The George in Rye (98 High St), particularly if you are a Johnny Depp-alike barman called Colin. If the tabloids are to be believed, Heather Mills

The George in Rye

celebrated her divorce settlement by chatting up the staff at this lavishly renovated 16th Century inn. If the eclectic décor appears a touch theatrical, that’s because co-owner and interior designer, Katie Clarke, was formerly a successful prop buyer while husband, Alex, has an impeccable hospitality pedigree as the brother of Samantha Clark, of Moro fame, and Rose Prince, the food writer. No doubt using his connections, he’s tempted Head Chef, Rod Grossmann, away from Moro Ashbee & Son

and the big smoke to The George to preside over a suitably stylish menu of Sussex ingredients simply presented with Mediterranean influences. Poppies Coffee Shop & Patisserie (23 High St) combines a bakery, patisserie and coffee shop, selling bread made by awardwinning master baker, Glenn Croucher, who has been baking in Rye for three decades. The shop has been a bakery for well over a hundred years and Glenn and his team still use traditional flours and ovens to produce their famous Wealden Loaf, baked with local organic ingredients. The coffee shop serves filled rolls and sandwiches, confectionary, soup and light lunches to eat in or take away for a picnic. Behind its elegantly proportioned Georgian facade, White Vine House (24 High St) actually dates from 1560 and its origins (and cellar) date from the 13th Century. Recently renovated, owners Javed and Barbara have worked extremely hard to uncover the Elizabethan and Medieval treasures that lay undiscovered behind centuries of plaster, paper and paint. The stunning Elizabethan dining room is skilfully panelled in French oak that has gone unseen for 450 years and many of the building’s original timber beams are now visible and restored. In such spectacular surroundings, the food at this ‘restaurant with rooms’ is reassuringly familiar. A new family-friendly, bistro-

White Vine House

Cranberries

Poppies

May/June 2008

Terrace Room ad_Eat

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Dine in Elegance by candlelight, in the intimate marble floored Terrace Room Restaurant â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Delicious food â&#x20AC;&#x201C; fine wines and service - second to none! Dinner served every evening 7pm to 9pm

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May/June 2008 The Old Forge 0508.indd 1

8/4/08 15:18:40

Gastro-Gnome’s Guide style menu features homemade burgers, pasta and a range of stone-baked pizzas. Just a few doors away, Javed’s sister, Dezi, runs the rather marvellous Rye Delicatessen (28 High St). As well as exquisite homemade patés, hand-carved ham, salads, pastries, sandwiches and a huge range of cheeses, the deli boasts unusual delicacies such as baby yellow pumpkins and baby red peppers stuffed with cheese, sweet chilli crayfish and squid in spicy sauce. Just the place to go if you are planning a picnic. A short walk up the hill and just around the corner, The Mermaid Inn (Mermaid St) describes itself as ‘the jewel in Rye’s crown’, and it certainly is a breathtaking building. Situated on a pretty little cobbled street,The Mermaid was rebuilt in 1420, pretty much in the form it is in today. Its impressive list of former guests includes royalty, politicians, actors, artists and musicians, including HRH the Queen Mother, Andy Garcia and Johnny Depp (I wonder if Heather chatted him up too!).The AA Rosette-awarded restaurant serves French influenced cuisine using local ingredients.The giant fireplace in the bar is the perfect place to while away a cold afternoon and there’s a priest’s hole in the chimney breast, where Roman Catholics were hidden from the authorities in ancient times (and perhaps where Mr Depp was hidden from Ms Mills in the more recent past). The Cobbles Tea Room (1 Hylands Yard, off The Mint), is well-known for traditional cream teas with homemade scones, as well as a wide selection of cakes and light lunches. They also have a great range of loose leaf teas and ground coffees which are also available mail order. It may be our national dish but it has to be said that standards of fish and chips can vary greatly. The Fish Shop (37 The Mint) is a proper, honest-to-goodness fish and chip shop where you can eat in or take away. The Shop is a holder of a prestigious ‘Seafish Friers Quality Award’ which means it’s been highly rated for

Rye Delicatessen

excellence in the quality of its fish, chips and other products, comfortable, clean and well cared for premises and high levels of service. The Standard Inn (The Mint) is a delightful English pub with a warm and welcoming atmosphere. It has a rich history, like all the premises in the medieval citadel, and the oldest part of the building dates back to 1420.While most of the inn remains happily untouched by fleeting pub fashions, a back room has recently been converted into the light and relaxed Mint Restaurant, serving lunch and supper menus throughout the week and Sunday roasts with locally-sourced vegetables and organic meats from Wickham Manor Farm. More tea, vicar? Luckily Swan Cottage Tea Rooms (41 The Mint) is only a hop, skip and jump away and the friendly staff are poised at the ready with homemade cakes, scones and a wicked Welsh Rarebit in this

cosy, traditional café. But be sure to leave a little room to sample the ice cream at the Mermaid Corner Tea Rooms (Mermaid St), washed down with a little more tea, perhaps? Mermaid Corner is part of The Old Borough Arms Hotel (The Strand), an old smugglers’ inn built on the site of the Strand Gate, another entrance into the medieval citadel. The Ship Inn (Strand Quay) is a 16th Century hostelry set amongst the old warehouses on the quay. It serves a selection of cask ales and a range of locally-sourced meals. Around the corner, White’s Seafood & Steak Bar (The Strand) is a relaxed, family-friendly restaurant with an interesting art selection on the walls. Bailey’s of Rye (The Strand) is another family-orientated restaurant and bar that has recently been given a fresh and bright renovation. A children’s menu offers smaller portions for young diners. The Old Forge Restaurant (24 Wish St), was a blacksmith’s

White’s Seafood & Steak Bar

until 1962, when it was bought by Derek Bayntun who turned it into a restaurant popular with celebrities like Paul and Linda McCartney, Andre Previn and Herman’s Hermits.After 40 years at the helm, Derek recently retired and handed over the reins to Paul Richardson and Kevin Page.The new menu is built around fresh local ingredients and sustainable food but still maintains the Old Forge tradition of steaks cooked out front. And so on to the beaches of Camber. The Place, Camber Sands (New Lydd Rd) is a stylish new hotel with a brasserie that prides itself on simple, unfussy food much of which is prepared on the grill. The hotel is part of a small group of three which is the first in the UK to gain Marine Stewardship Council certificates for all of its outlets, for using only sustainable fish and seafood. Of course, there’s lots more to see and do in this beautiful town in between sampling all the magnificent local food that’s on offer. For loads more ideas, pop into the Rye Tourist Information Centre at The Heritage Centre (Strand Quay). n

Cobbles

The Old Forge Restaurant

May/June 2008

Drink Sussex

Harveys’ Head Brewer, Miles Jenner

The Ale Trail For the first of a series of articles looking at Sussex brewers, David Furer takes a trip to Lewes to sample Harveys’ award-winning ales. Words and photography by David Furer.

’VE BEEN all around this

great big world and I’ve drunk all kinds of beers. A few have been worthy of no more than a few sips, most good for a pint, but precious few have the ability to make the person at the open end of the glass desire a second serving or more. One of those is Harveys Best Bitter, the ﬂagship beer of Sussex’s Harvey & Son (Lewes) Ltd. Founded in 1790, Lewes locals fondly refer to the town’s central brewery site as ‘Lewes Cathedral’. Harveys is still in family ownership with a seventh generation family member serving as its current MD. Although it’s the regional market leader for quality bitter, you won’t find Harveys engaging in splashy marketing.They prefer to support local charities and events rather than grand and glorious things, would rather do 100 small events

May/June 2008

over a couple of large ones. The brewery itself is very oldfashioned, nearly ramshackle in style, with no gleaming steel about it. The keeper of the flame here is Head Brewer and joint MD, Miles Jenner. He’s been here since 1980 and HB since 1986, having worked for and inherited the mantle from his father who’d brewed Harveys since 1938. I asked him to break down the brewing process for the Eat Sussex reader. “Hops, malt, yeast, water,” he casually replied. During a quick tour of the facilities he told me that Harveys utilizes 15 tons of top quality British Maris Otter winter barley malt per year for its brews, the majority sourced outside the county with some sourced locally from a total of four maltsters.As little barley is grown in Sussex they, like most others, ‘import’ from East Anglia

Carr Taylor Vineyards, in Westfield, is your local award-winning vineyard. The vineyard is open seven days a week, wine tasting is free, and there is a vineyard trail for those who wish to walk around the vines and learn more about them. Or why not just picnic by the pond with a glass of chilled wine from our shop. Visitors to the shop can buy from a selection of wines, preserves, gifts or hampers. Refreshments are available. Come and visit us for a real taste of Sussex wine and produce.

Westfield, Nr Hastings, TN35 4SG Tel: 01424 752501 Email: sales@carr-taylor.co.uk

reat beers, fine Gwines and

www.carr-taylor.co.uk

Carr Taylor QP (Eat Sussex) 04081 1

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The Shepherd & Dog Relax in the countryside

souvenir gifts...

... from the Brewery Shop in Lewes • • • • •

Firkins and polypins 48 hours notice Up to two gallons on demand Wines, spirits and ciders Glass hire service available Selection boxes of bottled beers

A traditional country pub nestling at the foot of the South Downs in the picturesque village of Fulking.

Direct from the brewery at brewery prices Open Monday to Saturday 9.30am – 4.45pm

Harvey & Son (Lewes) Ltd The Bridge Wharf Brewery • 6 Cliffe High Street Lewes • East Sussex BN7 2AH Tel: 01273 480217 www.harveys.org.uk

Harveys, Old & Best, Dark Star, Hophead and various guest ales.

Outside you will find two terraces and a large garden with side-seating overlooking the freshwater spring which makes this a popular retreat on a warm summers day.

The Shepherd & Dog’s Sunday Roasts have been voted in the Top Ten in the country by The Guardian Newspaper and last year voted as a ‘Hidden Gem’ in Wine & Spirit Magazine.

Excellent choice of quality wines and at least six real ales including

Open all day for food from midday to 9pm (Except sundays close at 6pm).

The Shepherd & Dog AWA R D W I N N I N G B E E R S E

S T

The Street, Fulking, West Sussex. BN5 9LU

01273 857382

1790

Half way between A2037 (Upper Beeding) and A23 (Poynings)

May/June 2008 Shepherd and Dog QP 0308.indd 1

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Drink Sussex and other exotic locales, otherwise purchasing locally for the other elements of the production to the point of using a local design company for labels and such. A seasonal brew, Kiss, includes a bit of oats but wheat and other grains weren’t laying about. The hop stores were filled with local hops — 40 per cent Sussex, 40 per cent Kent, 20 per cent Surrey because, “that roughly equates with the consumption and borders of our trading area of 50 miles.” (Harveys owns one pub each in London, Hampshire, and Berkshire but we’ll allow it). With a recent worldwide hop crunch, Jenner’s sitting pretty as he has contracts through to 2012 with many local growers. The varieties, Progress, Brambling Cross, Goldings, and Fuggles are all sourced within a 60km radius. No hop pellets or oils are used throughout the brewing process. I eagerly sniffed a mash he’d put together at 6am, five hours earlier that day, which filled my sinuses with a richness akin to that of freshly baked bread. At Harveys, as with all small batch, natural breweries, the final function of these whole hops is to provide a natural filtering element for the finished beer.The spent hops are used as humus for organic gardens nearby and the spent grains go to Plumpton College to feed their milk cows.The water here is from the company’s own 1875 artesian well, 60 feet below the brewery and they’ve sunk a second well in 2007 in case of future need. As with most brewers they’ve a Burtonization process for adding necessary salts to the brew, but Jenner asserts it doesn’t affect the regional character. Harveys now pitches the same yeast strain garnered from aYorkshire brewery in 1957, using starter cultures from one batch to the next. A lovely smell was emitted by a new batch ready for casking, the Olympia, their summer ale, which will age a few months before release. However, the average time from the beginning to the pint glass is three weeks for their Best Bitter. Racking, the process of filling

May/June 2008

casks, is done by gravity. Isinglass finings are then added to the cask, collagen material obtained from Nile Perch fish bladders (kosher but not strictly vegan), which attract the remaining yeast cells and, allowing them to precipitate, fall to the bottom, and then continue consuming the remaining malt sugars.These fermenting sugars dispel their energy via alcohol and CO2, both of which remain in the cask until the time is right to drink — natural cask (or bottle) conditioning. Harveys do their bit for recycling by washing and refilling the bottles returned to the brewery by retail customers. While strolling around the brewery, Jenner kindly allowed me a taste of an experimental batch of the Star of Eastbourne, a seasonal East India Ale. It was golden, hoppy at approximately 50-60IBU (inter national bittering units), strong at 7.5 per cent, yet neither bitter nor perceptibly alcoholic. Dangerously delicious. Everyone at Harveys wears two hats: Bill Inman, Company Secretar y and Marketing Manager, has become more glued to his chair as the years pass and thinks he’s doing more for the government lately. Bill joined Harveys in 1989 and still considers himself a ‘new boy’, but has the pride of purpose common to all here.“People tend to come here and never leave. Low staff turnover, 12 years and an average age of 48.We’ve the same site, the same suppliers for a good many years, 70 permanent employees, most of whom are full-time. We get upset if anything goes wrong with the beer. We offer licensee training at the brewery and encourage them to let us know if something goes wrong later so we can get it in the best possible condition. We’d rather tell a customer to perhaps try a smaller size container rather than have the last half of the beer not be right.” Their Best is a tetchy beer — it doesn’t travel so very well and so their strategy is wellconsidered. It’s worth mentioning that Harveys produce 15 bottled

• Local, English and continental cheeses • Cold meats & patés, pies and quiches • Wines, Champagne, beers and spirits • Provisions for picnics and parties • Friendly service from knowledgable staff The Square 17 High Street Arundel BN18 9AD Tel: 01903 882288 www.pallantofarundel.co.uk Open 7 days a week

Pallant QP (Eat Sussex) 0308.ind1 1

6/2/08 14:40:06

May/June 2008

#HERRY 'ARDENS /RGANIC &ARM 3HOP for organic & biodynamic: fresh fruit & vegetables dairy, eggs & meat dried goods, juices and honey cakes & ice-cream PYO fruit & vegetables in season

Open Tuesday to Saturday 10am - 6pm Cherry Gardens Farm, Cherry Gardens Hill, Groombridge, TN3 9NY located on B2188 between Groombridge & Crowborough

info@cherrygardensfarm.co.uk 01892 862307

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Tablehurst Farm QP 0308.indd 1

14/2/08 13:04:31

The Pallant Restaurant

Exceptional food cooked fresh to order using local produce.

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Menus designed to use the local seasonal produce from suppliers in the West Sussex and Hampshire regions Our chefs prepare all of our dishes daily Vegetarian, gluten and dairy free options available

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Fair-trade freshly ground coffee & farmer assisted leaf tea

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Contemporary restaurant in which to enjoy coffee & breakfast, lunch or afternoon tea & homemade cake

792/`l , 4-2/ol Lnmc`x , Eqhc`x 792/`l , 4ol R`stqc`x

0 K`mrcnvm Ok`bd+ Kdvdr+ AM6 1IS

/0162 367706

Mineral water from the South Downs and apple juice from the Appledram Press

3 course evening meal served on Thursday evenings from 5pm Sunday lunch served 12-3pm Exclusive hire of restaurant, with personal menu or canapĂŠs, is available for large parties. The Pallant Restaurant is open: Tuesday to Saturday 10am to 5pm, Sunday 12pm to 5pm and Thursday 10am to 8.30pm The Pallant Restaurant, 9 North Pallant, Chichester. 01243 784701/774557 www.thepallantrestaurant.com

May/June 2008 Pallatine QP (Eat Sussex) 1107.i1 1

30/10/07 15:32:51

Drink Sussex

beers at various times of the year and five destined for cask throughout.

Ancillary businesses The streetside retail shop has expanded over the years and “sells as much beer as five average country pubs,” according to Inman, and is popular with individuals buying beer for weddings, parties and the like, in as little as a twopint carton through a 9-gallon firkin up to a 144-pint kilderkin. On the solid side the shop sells a lot of Harveys Christmas Pudding, made with their Christmas Ale, ready for sale in October. The brewery is not keen on licensing the name for various products: “by going down that route you’d have to be very confident of that relationship, which takes many years, so we’d rather stay put. We don’t supply supermarkets as we’re not interested in the high-volume, low-margin existence. Harveys runs close to capacity. It’s a national

trend to enjoy craft beers as lager sales decline.” Harveys’ modest expansion may include the addition of two more fermenting vessels, to be determined. Harveys is now expanding 20 per cent from their current capacity, with a microbrewery cobbled from machinery purchased from a customer just gone out of business and due to open this month. It’ll allow them to produce more than one brew at a time, freeing up the main brewery for the Best and other regular beers, as well as providing training and research facilities, a museum, and “to knock out the odd seasonal beer,” says Inman. Harvey’s also imports wines direct from throughout the world for resale. n Harvey & Son (Lewes) Ltd. 6 Cliffe High St. Lewes, East Sussex BN7 2AH Telephone: 01273 480209 Fax: 01273 483706

Inman opened one of his first new accounts for Harveys with Bert and Jo Read at The Heart and Hand, located in Brighton’s North Laine. Now running the pub is daughter, Lara (left), who told Eat Sussex that, “Harveys Best is our most popular beer and one we’ve never considered taking out; all ages drink it. Harveys service has always been great and we’ve a great relationship with the brewery.” The grand opening of the Heart and Hand’s new kitchen, featuring original pub food with wines supplied by Harveys, is expected soon.

And from the Heart and Hand to the Hand in Hand... Friendly competitor Matt Davies, Manager, Hand in Hand, Sussex’s smallest brewery, say, “Among the ‘CAMRA crew’ there’s a strong anti-Greene King feeling. Although I represent a small brewery I don’t understand brewery politics but Harveys has a deserved reputation among them as THE Sussex beer.”

Californian David Furer is a drinks/food/travel writer and marketer based in Brighton. When not tasting, teaching, or writing of wines & spirits he may be found scouring Sussex for its grainy quaffs.

May/June 2008

Patés and terrines

All tomorrow’s patés Recipes by Dominic McCartan. Photography by Jean-Luc Brouard.

Although they may seem time-consuming, patés and terrines are easy to make and all sorts of variations can be developed from the recipes here. And if you really are stuck for time, the smoked mackerel paté couldn’t be quicker.

RABBIT & PORK TERRINE WITH MUSTARD AND SAGE When cooking rabbit it’s a good idea to brine it first to remove any bitterness and make the meat more succulent. Fully submerge it for 24 hours in a bowl of salted water (one or two per cent) and the juice of one lemon.You might need a plate to weigh it down. Rinse well to remove the brine and cook as you wish. SERVES EIGHT TO TEN.

1 rabbit 110g (4oz) skinless belly of pork 110g (4oz) pork back fat 4 rashers unsmoked back bacon 300g (10oz) pork sausages, skinned 50g (2oz) breadcrumbs 1 medium onion, finely chopped 2 cloves garlic, crushed 1 egg, beaten 2 tsp English mustard 1 tsp sage, chopped Pinch of Quatre Epices or mace Salt and black pepper Butter for frying

May/June 2008

Place the rabbit in a pan of water (you can add a few carrots, celery and onion if you wish), bring to the boil and then simmer for two hours or until the meat is just starting to fall away from the bone. Remove the rabbit, allow to cool slightly and then pick all the meat off the bones. Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 4 / 180°C / 350°C. Coarsely chop the back fat, sausage meat, belly of pork, bacon and rabbit and mix it all together in a bowl. Fry the onion over a medium heat until soft but not coloured and then add the garlic and fry for about a minute until fragrant.Add a generous pinch of

Quatre Epices or mace and cook for a minute more. Add to the chopped meats along with the beaten egg, bread crumbs , sage, mustard and season well with salt and pepper. Mix well and pack into a terrine or loaf tin and cover with foil. Place the tin into a roasting pan and add water to the pan until it is at least half way up the side of the terrine or loaf tin and place the oven for about 1 ½ hours. When cooked the terrine will have shrunk away from the sides. Place a weight on it while it cools for a couple of hours. Put in the fridge overnight, still weighted.

Patés and terrines

SMOKED VENISON PATÉ Venison smokes very well and this is a great combination of the smokiness of the venison and the richness of the pork. MAKES 900G (2LB) PATÉ. 200g sliced smoked venison 300g skinless belly of pork 300g calf’s or lamb’s liver 4 rashers back bacon rind removed 1 medium onion, finely chopped 2 cloves garlic, crushed 2 tsp juniper berries, ground 1 tsp coriander seeds, ground ½ glass red wine 110g (4oz) breadcrumbs 1 tsp parsley, chopped 1 tsp thyme leaves, chopped ½ tsp black pepper Oil for frying

CHICKEN LIVER PATÉ This is a wonderfully light and smooth pate that even goes down well with people not fond of liver. You can be quite flexible with the butter according to how well-flavoured you like your paté. MAKES Around 450G (1LB) OF PATÉ. 225g (8oz) free-range chicken livers 150g (5oz) sausages, skinned 250g (9oz) butter, cut into cubes 50ml (2oz) double cream 2 tbsp brandy 1 clove garlic, crushed 1 tsp thyme, chopped Salt & black pepper

Clean the livers, remove any membranes and chop them and the sausages into similarly sized pieces. Fry in a little butter with the garlic and thyme until thoroughly cooked but the livers are still a little pink in the middle. Put the livers and sausage meat into a food processor, deglaze the pan with the brandy and add the resulting juices to the paté. Purée and allow to cool. Add the butter and purée until

the mixture is smooth and then add the double cream and blend until the cream is combined. Taste and season (if the flavour is too strong, feel free to add more butter). Smooth the paté into a tin, bowl or mould lined with cling film (allow for extra to pull over the top) and leave to set in the fridge. Alternatively individual ramekins can be filled with paté and sealed with clarified butter.

Preheat oven to Gas Mark 4 / 180°C / 350°F. Chop the pork belly and blitz in a food processor for a few seconds so it is chopped but retains a course texture. Do the same with the bacon and the liver. Fry the onion until soft, add the garlic and cook for another minute. Add to a bowl with the chopped meats, juniper berries, coriander, breadcrumbs, parley, thyme, black pepper and most of the wine and mix well. Line a greased 900g (2lb)

pudding bowl or loaf tin with slices of venison. Pack in the mixture to about a third of the bowl’s depth, then add a layer of smoked venison. Add two more layers of paté and venison, pouring over the last of the red wine before the last layer of venison. Cover with foil and place the bowl in a baking tin and fill it half way up the side of the bowl with water. Place in the oven for 1½ hours. Allow to cool, then leave overnight in the fridge.

May/June 2008

Patés and terrines

ROASTED PORTOBELLO MUSHROOM, GARLIC & LEMON PATÉ This versatile paté is very simple to make and although it’s vegan, even the most committed carnivore will find it irresistible. MAKES AROUND 450G (1LB) PATÉ. 450g (1lb) portobello mushrooms, stalks and all 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped 1 large lemon, juice and zest 2 tbsp olive oil 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar Salt and black pepper Lemon slices to garnish (optional)

SMOKED MACKEREL PATÉ This couldn’t be more simple, quick and delicious as well as very inexpensive to make. MAKES AROUND 400G (14OZ) PATÉ. 2 naturally smoked mackerel (or 4 fillets) 110g (4oz) crème fraiche 1 tbsp double cream 1 lemon, juice 1 tsp horseradish sauce 1 tbsp dill, finely chopped Black pepper Sprigs dill (optional)

Take the skin off the smoked mackerel and place the flesh in a food processor along with the cream, crème fraiche, two thirds of the lemon juice and the horseradish sauce and blend until smooth. Stir in the chopped dill and some freshly ground black

May/June 2008

pepper to taste. Add more lemon juice if you think it needs it. Place some sprigs of dill in the bottom of a container lined with cling film, spoon in the paté, cover and chill in the fridge to set.

Preheat oven to Gas Mark 5 / 190°C / 375°F. Roughly chop the mushrooms and place in a shallow sided baking tray and sprinkle with the garlic and the lemon zest. Squeeze the lemon over the mushrooms, drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar and season with salt and black pepper. Place the mushrooms in the oven and roast for 15 minutes, stirring half

way through. Do not over cook as the mushrooms will lose water and make the paté sloppy. Allow the mushrooms to cool slightly and then place in a food processor and blend until smooth. Check seasoning and smooth the paté in a terrine or bowl lined with cling film. Decorate with lemon slices if you wish, and chill for a few hours before serving.

Patés and terrines

SUMMER VEGETABLE TERRINE You can vary the vegetables in this delightful looking vegetable terrine according to whatever you have available. Just make sure you cook them first only to the point where they still have some bite. MAKES 900g (2LB) TERRINE. 1 small cabbage 250g (9oz) asparagus 150g (5oz) courgettes, sliced 1 red pepper 1 yellow pepper 225g (9oz) new potatoes 150g (5oz) carrots, thickly sliced or cut into batons 1 clove garlic finely chopped 2 eggs 1 egg yolk 150ml (5fl oz) milk 3 tbsp double cream Grated nutmeg Salt and black pepper Oil for frying

Preheat oven to Gas Mark 6 / 200°C / 400°F. Brush the peppers with oil and roast in the oven until their skin is blistered and blackened. Put them in a plastic bag until they are cool enough to handle and then rub off the skins, remove the seeds and stalk and cut each pepper into three or four pieces. Reduce oven temperature to Gas Mark 4 / 180°C / 350°F. Simmer the potatoes in salted water until cooked but still firm and rinse in cold water and allow to dry. Do the same with the carrots. Steam the cabbage leaves until they are just soft then cool under cold water. Dry thoroughly and cut out any thick stalks. Steam the asparagus until just tender, rinse in cold water and dry. Fry the courgettes with the garlic on a high heat until just

softened. Line a terrine or loaf tin with the cabbage leaves, overlapping the edges enough to cover what will be the base. Layer the vegetables loosely leaving plenty of air pockets. Whisk the eggs and the egg yolk with the milk and cream and season with grated nutmeg, salt and black pepper. Pour the egg mixture into the loaf tin slowly so it fills all the spaces between the vegetables. Shake gently to remove any trapped air, fold the cabbage leaves over the top and cover with foil. Place the loaf tin or terrine in a roasting tin and fill with water to at least half the depth of the terrine. Bake for an hour or until the egg has fully set. Allow to cool and then chill for at least 4 hours. Serve the terrine cold in slices.

May/June 2008

Patés and terrines

COUNTRY PORK TERRINE This traditional rustic terrine uses different cuts of pork to great effect. MAKES AROUND 900G (2LB) TERRINE.

200g (7oz) pork belly, skin removed 200g (7oz) pork shoulder 200g (7oz) lamb’s liver (or pig’s) 200g (7oz) pork fillet 275g (10oz) sausages, skinned 4 rashers back bacon rinds removed 1 medium onion, chopped 25 g (1oz) butter 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped 1 tsp ground mace 1 tsp thyme leaves, chopped 110g (4oz) breadcrumbs 2 eggs, beaten Small glass of port Salt & black pepper

May/June 2008

Preheat oven to Gas Mark 4 / 180°C / 350°F. Fry the onion in the butter until soft and then add the garlic and cook for about two minutes until the garlic is beginning to take some colour. Roughly chop all the meat including the liver and bacon and mix in a bowl with the onion and garlic, skinned sausages, breadcrumbs, mace, thyme and beaten egg and season generously. Grease a terrine, ovenproof bowl or loaf tin and pack the

mix into it. Pour over the glass of port, cover with foil or terrine lid and place in a roasting tin. Fill the roasting tin with water to at least half way up the level of the terrine and cook in the oven for 1½ hours until firm. Place a suitable weight on the terrine and allow to cool. Chill overnight in the fridge, still weighted.

CHANCTONBURY GAME At Chanctonbury Game we can supply you with the best free-range Game & Venison from the ﬁelds and woods of Sussex. Then we dress and prepare it for the table in modern hygenic premises. Available direct from the farm or farmers markets. CHANCTONBURY GAME North Farm, Washington, Pulborough, West Sussex. RH20 4BB Tel: 01903 877551 Fax: 01903 872868 OPEN

September to February February to August 6 days-a-week, Friday & Saturday only, 9am-5pm 9am-4pm

Chantonbury Game QP (Eat Sussex)1 1

UK 6368 EC

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1/11/07 Bridge 16:07:52 Farm QP 0308.indd 1

8/2/08 12:00:07

May/June 2008

In my own words

Rosario Guarneri Restaurateur, The Arrogant Frog

’ve been in catering for

35 years. After college, my wine teacher recommended that I go to the Plaza Athénée in Paris. My English was not too good so they offered to send me to England so I came and never looked back. I’ve enjoyed my English experience, adventure to adventure, restaurant to restaurant; I’ve been here for 28 years now. I’ve travelled all around and I’ve done a lot of consultancy work. I’ve had two delicatessens as well.That’s how I started my entrepreneurial life. Running a delicatessen isn’t easy, there’s a lot of pressure, all the food, the ham and cheeses need to be checked every single day, and working six days a week, it was not so good. I made a lot of money but not enough to justify the hours. That is no life. To start a business you have to be knowledgeable and you have to be strong. The difference is, when it’s your money, you’ve got

May/June 2008

the passion and that combination makes you more successful. Stepping out of your business at a certain point to see what needs to be done, structuring and delegating, employing people to do a specific job, this is what a good structure for a business is. You become the heart and when the heart is pumping blood to the different departments, the heart needs to be in control of all those little channels to make them function. For the first two years at Victor’s, I had a fantastic chef. Unfortunately he fell in love with a French woman and decided to leave so I was stuck with no chef. My niece was a friend of a chef who was number two at a three Michelin-starred restaurant in France.When he heard about my problem, he came for six weeks to teach me how to cook. In 1998 I received two forks in the Michelin Guide and in 1999 I received my third one. In 1996 I wrote a project called

TEACH (The European Academy for Catering and Hospitality). All this started after I left The Thistle Hotel, because we had so many problems with staff training. To cut the story short, TEACH has been endorsed by City College, it’s been approved by the Learning Skills Council, it’s been approved by the Metropole Hotel and also it will be accepted by the DeVere Group.The first students will start in 2011 when the new building for the City College opens. This will be a pilot scheme, obviously. There’s a lot of work to do because the students will receive a European qualification, not a national certificate. This country needs more discipline, more respect and we need to develop the standards of British service. Most importantly, like I said to David Cameron and Gordon Brown, we need to bring back discipline. Why? Because it’s the only way we can put the pride back in Britain.We need to encourage the young generation

to understand that catering is like a public service, like a politician serving his country. There is no shame; we are a public service. The Arrogant Frog is taking its course. It’s very consistent and we’ve been successful. We are entering our second year and The Arrogant Frog will make its own name in due course. My brother-in-law came up with the name after he found a French wine of the same name. Everyone laughs and they love the name. But the Arrogant Frog is a team of passionate, knowledgeable people, from my young team in the kitchen through to my manager, Pether Pasello. We give the best customer service and we’ve been consistent and we’ve been praised so much.We’ve had fantastic comments. My dream is for all my friends’ restaurants to have as much praise as I have received myself. n The Arrogant Frog, 119 Church Rd, Hove, BN3 2AF.

Farmers’ Markets in Sussex East Sussex Battle 3rd Saturday of every month, 9am-1pm, Battle Abbey Green Tel: 01424 751575

Bexhill 4th Thursday of every month, 9am-12noon, Parkhurst Methodist Hall, Parkhurst Road Tel: 01424 222969

Brede Every Friday, 10am-12noon, Brede Village Hall Tel: 01424 882836

Brighton & Hove 1st Sunday of every month, 10am-3pm, Ralli Hall, next to Hove Station Tel: 01273 323200

Brighton & Hove 4th Saturday of every month, 10am-3pm, George Street, Hove Tel: 01273 470900

Crowborough 4th Saturday of every month, 9am-1pm, Wealden District Council car park Tel: 01892 664064

Crowhurst Village market 1st Saturday of every month, 10am-12noon, Crowhurst Village Hall Tel: 01424 830461

East Dean Village Market Every Wednesday, 10.30am-12.30pm, East Dean Village Hall Tel: 01323 423481

West Sussex

Firle 4th Sunday of the month, March to November, 10am-2pm, Middle Farm on A27 near Firle Tel: 01323 811411

Petworth

Arundel

3rd Saturday of every month, 9am-1pm, Town Centre Tel: 01903 884772 / 07881 687694

Hailsham 2nd Saturday of every month, 9am-12.30pm, Hailsham Cattle Market Tel: 01323 833359

Hastings 2nd and 4th Thursday of every month, 9am-2pm, Robertson Street (next to Debenhams) Tel: 01424 457109

Heathfield 3rd Saturday of every month, 9am12.30pm, Heathfield Co-op car park Tel: 01435 862798

Lewes

Pevensey Bay village market 2nd Saturday of every month, 8.45am-11.45am, St Wilfrid’s Hall, Eastbourne Road Tel: 01323 460178

Last Saturday of every month, Feb to Dec, 9am-12noon, Pulborough Village Hall Tel: 01903 891476 / 07752 364832

Chichester

2nd Saturday of every month, 9am-1pm, East St Tel: 01273 263152

3rd Wednesday of every month, 9am-1pm, Jengers Mead Tel: 01403 215386 1st and 3rd Friday of every month, 9am-2pm, East St & North St Tel: 01243 785166

East Grinstead

1st and 3rd Thursday of every month, 9am-2pm, High St Tel: 01932 788001 4th Saturday of every month, 9am-1pm, National Tyres Forecourt Rachellovell@hotmail.com

Henfield

Rye

Horsham

Uckfield 1st Saturday of every month, 9am-1pm, Luxford Car Park Tel: 01825 760646

Shoreham-by-Sea

Slindon 4th Thursday of every month (excl. Dec), 8.30am-12.30pm, Coronation Hall, Reynolds Lane Tel: 01243 814777

Southwater Every Tuesday, 9am-1pm, Lintot Square, Tel: 01243 814777

Steyning

Haywards Heath

2nd and 4th Thursday of every month, 9am-2pm, The Orchards Shopping Centre Tel: 01932 788001 3rd Friday of every month, 9am-1pm, Henfield Hall Car Park Tel: 01273 492595

Every Wednesday, 10am-1pm, Strand Quay Tel: 01797 280282

Pulborough

Billingshurst

Hassocks

1st Saturday of every month, 9am-1pm, Cliffe Pedestrian Precinct Tel: 01273 470900

4th Saturday of alternate months (Dec, Feb), 8.30am-1.30pm, Market Square Tel: 01243 785166

Every Saturday, 9am-5pm, Carfax (Town Centre) Tel: 01403 215386

Midhurst

4th Saturday of alternate months (Nov, Jan), 8.30am-1.30pm, Capron House Car Park Tel: 01243 785166

1st Saturday of every month, 9am-1pm, High St Car Park (opp Clock Tower) Tel: 01403 711057

West Chiltington 2nd Saturday of every month, 9am-12noon, Village Hall Tel: 01798 815455

Wisborough Green 2nd Thursday of every month, 9am12.30pm, Village Hall Tel: 01403 700624

Worthing 4th Saturday of every month, 9am-2pm, South St Square Tel: 01903 203252

SHOP LOCAL S.A. Deveson High Class Produce Store

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71 Lustrells Vale Saltdean Tel: 01273 390 055

60 High Street Rottingdean Tel: 01273 303 257 May/June 2008

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21/2/08 20:06:54

The Wild Side

Fergus Drennan Is it knot a weed?

n the spirit of ‘if you can’t

beat them, join them’, I want to talk about one amazing plant: the notorious Triffid. OK, I admit, that’s not entirely accurate; nevertheless, its nearest equivalent — also threatening to take over the planet, is also a wonderful wild food. I speak of the collective genius that is Japanese Knotweed! For those who don’t know what the hell I’m on about just read John Wyndham’s The Day of the Triffids and you’ll get the (terrifying) picture! Introduced into Britain from Japan in the early 19th Century, Japanese Knotweed is now regarded as the most perniciously invasive weed in the UK. Indeed, so hard is it to get rid of that the cost of its complete eradication from the UK has been estimated at £1.56bn. Certainly it does need to be controlled. Eating it won’t help in that regard but at

May/June 2008

least it will give a more nuanced understanding of the plant. Japanese Knotweed is an attractive, tall, herbaceous perennial.The large, alternate, dark green leaves grow from a semi-woody hollow stem with enlarged nodes, and the plant’s extensive underground woody rhizome system can extend for up to seven metres laterally from the parent plant, to a depth of three metres. It also grows very fast — up to 4cm a day according to some sources, reaching up to three metres in height. Once established, Japanese Knotweed produces dense monoculture thickets. The plants in the UK are, in fact, derived from a single female clone, hence, although some hybridisation does occur, the plant is generally infertile. In spite of this, its impressive and potent powers of vegetative reproduction — as little as 0.7g of rhizome or fresh stem can give rise to new plants within six days — has meant that even without

an active sex life it has managed to spread to all parts of the British Isles except the Orkney Islands! Frequently it invades so-called ‘waste land’, growing prolifically along roadsides, stream banks and railway embankments. Although the bamboo-like thickets the plant creates can shade and displace other native plant species and associated wildlife habitats, it is being increasingly recognised as a new and valuable habitat for spiders, frogs and grass snakes. Also, the hollow stems allow a wide variety of insects to overwinter and find shelter. In Japan, Knotweed, known as Itadori — ‘strong plant’, is usually stir-fried. The young spring shoots can also be used as a sharper tasting asparagus substitute or used as rhubarb (it tastesVERY similar) for crumbles, jam, wine, and cordials etc. The seed can be eaten raw or cooked and ground into flour for bread, cakes and biscuits when used in

combination with other cereal flours.The flour can also be used to thicken and flavour sauces and soups. The root is also said to be edible, however, according to Stephen Buhner, a toxic dose is about 75g for a 75kg person. Even so, his detailed documentation of the root’s use in treating lyme disease is wonderfully informative given the disease’s current rise in the UK — see his book, Healing Lyme. To ensure you pick only the tender stems gently bend back the stem from the top of the plant. Like asparagus, it should snap at the tender point leaving you with a piece between 2-20 cm long. Harvesting this plant is great fun. The popping sound each time a stem is snapped is almost musical! I once made the stems into a crumble and took it to my local farmers’ market and offered people £100 if they could guess the main ingredient without mentioning the word ‘rhubarb’ — and didn’t loose a penny. Of course, the stem can also be used as a vegetable. Very slightly sweetened it acts as a good accompaniment to rabbit and other game dishes. Please note that it is illegal to cause the spread of this plant. Therefore all off-cuts should be burnt, boiled or allowed to rot — not thrown in the bin. Finally, knotweed’s characteristic tang derives from its calcium oxalate content (also found in rhubarb and sorrel). Consequently eating too much is not a good thing if you suffer from gout! Recipe recommendations: Japanese Knotweed Crumble (March-May) — just substitute for rhubarb although use extra knotweed because unlike rhubarb the stems are hollow so it weighs less. From late May until June — when it’s too tough to eat, chop, boil and extract the juice. Use this to dilute elderflower cordial — wonderful! n CORRECTION AND APOLOGY: In my last piece about birch sap wine I omitted to mention that the wine syrup must be cooled to blood heat or room temperature before adding the yeast.

WeÕll help you turn the catch of the day

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Telephone 01323 644505 waitrose.com/eastbourne

Telephone 01273 326549 waitrose.com/brighton

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Telephone 01903 230222 waitrose.com/worthing

Telephone 01273 486286 waitrose.com/lewes

Telephone 01403 259777 waitrose.com/horsham

May/June 2008