Just
over a week ago, I was lucky enough to join a group of Foodie Bloggers at
River Cottage HQ in Axminster for a wonderful Winter Feast organised by Foodies100.
River Cottage HQ in Axminster for a wonderful Winter Feast organised by Foodies100.
If you
follow my blog, you will know that I was lucky enough to attend a blogger event
last September which left me exceptionally inspired to get back in the kitchen
and renewed my love for food.
When
you have young children, the spontaneity of creating delicious dishes somewhat
disappears when you are having to direct small people with flailing limbs,
spoons and fights over whose turn it is to lick out the mixing bowl! Cooking
with my girls has to be far more organised and structured or else I’m the one
having a toddler meltdown. So it was great to have some “me” time last September
and just create food for myself.
In the
coming weeks, I will be sharing a Gluten Free cooking course I attended in June
with Naomi Devlin at River Cottage HQ which my lovely hubby and girls gave me
for my Mother’s Day present, however for today, I have the most fabulous event
to share with you involving the most delicious foodie delights.
Rather
than a daytime event, this one started in the late afternoon on a rather damp
November day. Everyone congregated at the tractor stop waiting for our rustic
transport to collect us and take us down the hill to Park Farm. I arrived alone
and found myself feeling rather nervous not really knowing anyone. However, it
didn’t take long before I struck up conversation with some fellow bloggers and
the ice was finally broken. Phew!
Once
we had disembarked from our trusty trailer, we were greeted inside the main
dining hall with hot teas and coffees coupled with delicious drop scone canapés
with honey, apple puree and natural yoghurt topped with flaked almonds. Yum!
We
were then left to potter around the grounds, and the gardens which had changed
considerably since I visited in June and last September. It’s been lovely to
see this magical place change with the seasons and experience what the talented
River Cottage chefs manage to create with what the gardens and land offer them.
Seasonal food at its best.
Once
we’d had a pootle around the grounds, we settled in for a festive foods demonstration
with Andy one of the senior chefs on brining and curing your own meats
including ham, bresaola and brining your festive turkey with gin of all things!
The chefs had prepared a taster board of chicken which had been brined in gin, with
juniper berries and herbs. It tasted amazing, and spurred me on to try this
trick with our roast chicken dinner one Sunday. The brining made the meat so
tender and moist. The flavours were able to really penetrate into the meat
making it even tastier.
After
our demonstration, we were split into two groups for a fun game in the yurt and
then a talk in the main house relating to blogging. These sessions are always
great. I haven’t attended many, so I glean a lot of interesting tips to use as I
move forward as a blogger.
Once
these sessions had finished, we then gathered for the main event; The Winter
Feast. And what a feast it was.
We
started with canapés of Exmouth mussels with red onion drizzled with apple
juice, goat’s cheese with beetroot marinaded in apple cider vinegar, pork
croquettes and then crispy rabbit with a Romanesco purée. This
was coupled with an aperitif of Kingston Black Apple Aperitif which tasted
delicious, however as I was driving I was only able to taste a wee soupçon. I
decided to therefore buy myself a bottle to take home with me to savour on the upcoming
cold winter evenings.
We
then sat down on two long tables where we had been allocated places. This meant
we all got to meet other bloggers and were able to network a bit more which is
a great idea.
Sam,
another of the River Cottage chefs came out to tell us what they had in store
for us that evening. They decide on the menu that day based on what produce is
growing in the garden, and what is in season. Both veggies and meat eaters
alike were treated to a fabulous show of seasonal food which began with ravioli coupled with celeriac puree, wild mushrooms and sage.
This
was then followed (for the meat eaters) with River Cottage cider brined ham reared on the farm, accompanied
by carrot purée, savoy cabbage fried in pan butter and garlic and braised beans
with fennel and spices. If your mouth is not drooling by now, I’m surprised,
unless of course you are a veggie. It all tasted as good as it sounds.
To end
the most incredible meal, we were treated to crème brûlée made with honeycomb,
apple crisps, and stewed apple purée. This was topped with a delicate crumble
to add texture.
The
meal ended with tea, coffee and petit fours before we set off in the
pouring rain on our trusty trailer back to reality again!
This
was once again a fabulous experience, and further reinforces my love for River
Cottage and all that it stands for.
I’d
like to say a HUGE thank you to all the amazing staff who looked after us
whilst we were there; Chrissy, Steve, Helen and Vicky who were serving us
throughout the event and had to put up with a group of paparazzi bloggers
taking loads of pictures before anyone could actually eat the food J And another HUGE thank you to
Andy, Sam, Connor and Mark (I hope I’ve remembered you all!) for the incredible
meal you put together for us. Can I hire you to come to my house on Christmas
day to create something similar for us please?
And
lastly, a big thank you to Sally and Lindy from Foodies100 for organising such
a super duper evening. I’m so glad I managed to bag myself a place x
So,
there you have it; my River Cottage Winter Feast experience. If you are tempted
to visit this most magical place yourself, then pop across to their website for
a browse. I will be sharing my experience of their Gluten Free course very
soon, and they also offer dining experiences, classic cookery days along with
events with the lovely Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall himself.
Until
next time x
Disclaimer:
I was invited to attend this River Cottage Winter Feast blogger event. I was
not required to write a positive review. All views and opinions expressed are
my own.
