This recipe is great for a quick afternoon tea treat on a cool autumn day. Delicious eaten warm, leftovers are perfect for lunch boxes too! I make mine in a stand mixer but they are easily made by hand.
Ingredients (to make 12 buns)
200g stone-ground wholemeal flour
25g milled flaxseed
A pinch of sea salt
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking powder
175g butter, at room temperature
2 medium size garden apples, washed and grated
50g chopped dried cranberries
25g pumpkin seeds
50g golden castor sugar
1 egg, beaten
Method:
Preheat the oven to gas mark 5 /190ºC/ fan 170ºC/ 375F
Combine the flour, flaxseed, salt, cinnamon and baking powder in a mixing bowl. Rub in the butter until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add the remaining dry ingredients and mix well together using a wooden spoon. Stir in the beaten egg to form sticky dough, taking care not to overwork the mixture. Spoon the dough into 12 heaps on a lined baking sheet and place in the hot oven. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden.
Cool on a rack for 15 minutes and serve with big mugs of tea.
Variations: replace the apricots with sultanas, raisins,chopped dates, or sunflower seeds
The upside: One of the most interesting loose-leaf tea menus in Surrey!
The downside: Closed on Sundays
The flipside: A lovely independent selling a menu that embraces single blend teas with locally produced food
This café is as its name suggests is all about tea. Carolynne Farrer (a former HR specialist) always dreamed of owning her own tea business. Made redundant a few years ago she chatted with her sister about her idea. Convinced she was all talk her sister remarked that she would never actually do it. This was the challenge that Carolynne needed and TEA is now 1 year old.
Located in historical Reigate, on the High Road the interior has been playfully created to give a vintage retro feel. The counter is painted red and decorated with old knitting patterns. These are so evocative to me of childhood especially if you had a knitting crazy granny like me.
Here you will find that all aspects of the small but delightful menu have been carefully devised. The kitchen is very small so the menu reflects this. Tea (some organic) Organic coffee (from Beanberry) and proper hot chocolate dominate the drinks menu. On the food side its doorstop sandwiches featuring local cheeses. High Weald for Sister Sarah goats cheese and Sussex Charmer from Bookhams are just 2 examples.
Tea is the specialty here so I chose a pot of Chinese Jasmine Silver Needle. All teas are loose-leaf and placed into an unbleached filter to brew. Each variety needs different times to infuse so are served with a timer and brew time advice. You can find a full description of all the teas on the website but staff here are keen to share their knowledge and discuss options. Tea comes from an independent tea merchant in Winchester who share their knowledge and passion for this unique drink with Carolynne. The tea menu is divided into normal (£2), special (£2.50) and superior (£3.75) for a generous pot. My tea was deliciously aromatic and soothingly smooth to drink.
To eat I selected a Welsh Rarebit made with one of my favourite cheeses Sussex Charmer (£3.75). The cheese here is combined with herb mustard and Worcester sauce and was deliciously satisfying. Bread is from the Chalet Bakery an independent business in Tadworth. My companion Sarah from ‘Little Spice’ had a doorstep sandwich with Sister Sarah goats cheese. This was served with a salad garnish and vegetable crisps (£5.25). The sandwich menu changes weekly featuring local produced ingredients. Other menu items include home-made soup (changing daily) with bread (£4.75) or a Ploughmans served with pickles, local fruit chutney and oatcakes (£6.75). Generous portions make this a value for money destination too!
To finish Sarah chose a pot of Organic coffee and a rich chocolate brownie. So although this is a tea room coffee drinkers won’t be disappointed served in a cafetiere (my favourite style) as Carolynne didn’t want the aroma of coffee to dominate the venue. With coffee you get to choose your roast too! I had a slice of gluten free orange and polenta cake. It was rich, moist and intensely orangey. Made by a local baker the cakes change during the week and are displayed tantalisingly under glass cake stands (£2-£3.50) .
If you like me get mightily fed up with predictable high street chains, Tea in Reigate will give you a refreshingly different experience.Fresh locally produced food, fabulous tea menu and lovely people, it is well worth a visit.
www.migh-tea.com
For high tea reservations call 01737246251
Thanks to Sarah from ‘Little Spice’ for introducing me to this great tea-house!
There is nothing better for a midweek meal that throwing a load of chopped veggies in a tray with some seasoning. Ever since reviewing Sarah Lazell’s lovely spice mixes I have been adding the mixes she kindly gave me into lots of the dishes I have been cooking. And to great effect!
We served this dish with basmati rice but it would also work well with mash or new potatoes. The spices work beautifully with the vegetables and chicken thighs and was a huge hit with my crew. I particularly like the awesome pepper mix here as its punchier than regular but adds flavour layers rather than heat to a dish.
8 skin on free range chicken thighs, scored diagonally with a sharp knife
2 dessertspoons olive oil
4 teaspoons of just one more thing spice mix (sub smoked paprika if you don’t have this)
½ tsp awesome pepper (sub freshly ground black pepper)
3 red onions, roughly sliced
1 large red pepper, deseeded and roughly sliced
1 large yellow pepper, deseeded and roughly sliced
1 pack of baby spinach leaves, washed and drained
Some freshly cooked basmati rice to serve
Method
Pre-heat the oven to 180°C/ Fan 160°C/Gas 4-5.
First prepare the chicken by placing in a large bowl. Drizzle over 1 spoon of the olive and sprinkle with 2 teaspoons of spice mix. Rub the oil and spices into the chicken and place on a plate. Add the rest of the oil and spice mix plus the pepper to the bowl and toss in the chopped vegetables apart from the spinach. Put the vegetables onto a roasting tin and top with the chicken. Roast for 25-30 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and lift off the chicken. Place the spinach on top and give it a little mix. Put the chicken back on top of the spinach and return the tray to the oven for a further 10 minutes then serve with rice.
Sadly I have nearly come to the end of my home-grown beetroot! I cooked a few of my precious crop the other day and left them peeled, chopped and ready to go in the fridge. Lunch arrived so I chucked in some other cooked veggies left over from a couple of meals, and in a tic whipped up a lovely autumn salad with lots of flavour. Salads for me need to have a great dressing and this one, combining the acidic caramel tones of pomegranate molasses with lemony olive oil was spot on.My crush on Carluccio’s lemon oil emerged recently having been given a bottle as part of a review for their Woking restaurant where I had a brilliant breakfast a few weeks ago. Even though my blog is all about independents occasionally I dabble in a chain, and there are a few good ones around such as Côte too.
Carluccio’s has a great food shop in each of their restaurants and sell some great products such as gluten-free spaghetti (one of the best I have ever tried). They have oils, dried mushrooms, pasta, sauces and some fresh products and patisserie. I also spied bottles of Vin Santo which served with a few Cantucci biscuits makes a wonderful effortless dessert.
The vegetables to compliment the beetroot used in this salad can be swapped and substituted depending on availability and I would make this with corn, fine green beans or baby runners too. I served this with a dollop of fat free Greek Yogurt sprinkled with sumac and a little of the lemon oil.
Dressing
1 tablespoon pomegranate molasses
1 tablespoon fresh chopped chives (or other fresh herbs such as mint)
1 dessertspoon lemon olive oil
1 dessertspoon red wine vinegar
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Place the vegetables together in a mixing bowl and (apart from the flowers). Spoon the dressing ingredients straight on the salad and mix well. Place on a serving dish and decorate with flowers if you have them. If I was to serve this in the evening I would add a few finely chopped salad onions and a clove of crushed smoked garlic.
The upside: Creative cooking using some lovely local produce too!
The downside: The café is shut on Mondays and just from 10.00am-2.30pm on Sundays.
The flipside: One of the most delicious and unusual menus for a small café in the county!
If you want a gorgeous spin on home baking, feisty salads and something that your great aunt will recognize on the menu; this café is for you. Opening its doors in January 2015 this unassuming business already has a big fan base. Dedicated to fresh homemade food with an innovative twist creative chef/owner Sarah has a winning formula and a Time Out Award under her belt from a previous business she ran in London. Starting in Surrey with a pop up café which soon outgrew its temporary venue, they found a new home in Elstead. With her husband Mark they have transformed this barn into a thriving eaterie after giving the room some much needed TLC. With a growing family they entrust some of the cake creation to their fabulous baker Vicky and meals to chef Caroline who along with the waitresses complete the team. Shutting on Sunday and Monday means they get the family and business balance right too.
This small café has a brilliant menu and also boasts local suppliers for much of the menu! Eggs and dairy products come from Great Hookley Farm, produce from Teasels and meat from Prides farm shop all in and around Elstead. Emphasis here too is also on great baking, quiches, pies and cakes but also unusual salads and veg packed soups. Specials include Moroccan lamb tagine with roasted aubergine and minted yogurt (£8), tomato and basil soup with bread (£4) and grilled goats cheese on puy lentils with red onion and mint (£6.50). Their freshly baked quiches are supersized and served with salad too.
On my last visit my daughter chose a cooked breakfast (which is served all day) I was a bit miffed as there were so many delicious options on the specials board to try. My daughter gave it full marks and was delighted with her choice a snip at £6.50. I chose from the specials menu and also enjoyed a board of vegetarian kofta’s, tomato salsa and hummus with salad leaves. A tasty combination which worked especially well with the creamy hummus and piquant salsa.
Cake is important here so we also shared two slices (£2.30 each) These were; “calling Ibiza” a coconut and lime combo which had a deliciously zingy lime curd filling and “Dear Prudence” a prune, chocolate and blueberry cake with cream cheese frosting, rich, fruity and moist. I keep looking at the picture I took of the other cakes and wondering what if? It will have to be for another visit! Having watched Sarah and her team posting their wonderful cakes on social media the display on offer did not disappoint. The cakes form a focal point in the café laid out on the sideboard and its makes such a refreshing change from typical offerings of brownies, carrot cake and chocolate fudge. For the more traditional eaters there are options for a cream tea (using locally produced preserves) and other less quirky menu items too.
One of my mantras has always been ‘strive to be different’ and the Little Barn Café has achieved just that. In a competitive market it’s a great attitude to have and one that sets this super café way up the list of my current recommendations.
New gastro pub by dynamic independent food and drink family Red Mist
The Upside: Great food and drink menu with a positive lean towards seasonal and local on both counts
The downside: A little inconsistency in dishes served on my recent visit
The flipside: This is a pub group with high standards so it’s likely that any teething problems will get swiftly sorted
Driving through some classic Surrey countryside the arrival at this newcomer to the Red Mist Group is full of anticipation! Some of you will already know the Queens Head in East Clandon (my local) and the Stag in Eashing Lane near Milford. If you do, it will come as no surprise that this venue has been treated to the same quality facelift as the other members of this growing family. A large working fireplace creates a focus to the bar room and the outside area has a deck for additional seating in good weather. They have shared menus within the chain but allow chefs to strut their own personal style with the ‘specials’. The PR team had told me that Head Chef, Mark Evans had spent a lot of his early career down-under so I was looking forward to an Antipodean influence on the menu.
I met up with fellow foodie Sally Iddles and as we perused the menu it felt familiar (we are both regulars at their other venues) but not identical. The specials menu, while lacking any promised Aussie vibe had fresh clams in white wine as a starter (my choice at £7.90) served with toasted Chalk Hills focaccia. We also selected the camembert and asparagus tart with roast tomato relish (£6.95). Fresh soup of the day was leek and potato (£5) served with bread and we already know the chicken liver paté with chutney (£7.90) is a winner. My clams were fresh, plump and cooked to perfection. They arrived at the table piping hot and with a surprise squeeze of fresh lemon. The bread on the side, although toasted, softened willingly in the clam broth. Whilst I was charmed with my starter the Camembert tart was failed to wow A moulded pastry case had been simply filled with camembert and left in the oven to melt. Topped with rocket leaves and served with a drizzle of basil oil and what seemed to be red onion jam and no sign of the asparagus.
For mains we ordered again one dish from the printed menu and the other from the specials board. My pork fillet with apricot and sage stuffing on fondant potato, stem broccoli, rhubarb chutney and Hazy Hog jus (£15.50) was a generous portion and plated with confidence. In contrast the fish from the specials board lacked finesse both in its presentation and execution. Torbay sole served with prawn and caper butter (£17.90) sounded like a great combination and the fish was served on the bone (which was good) but lacked the back-up attitude that capers can contribute. The poorest element was the crushed new potatoes that were overcooked. The fish itself was perfectly cooked, delicate and fresh and my pork dish was tender, tasty and melt-in-the-mouth.
Not deterred we moved on dessert selecting a baked cheesecake with vanilla ice-cream and a pannacotta (both £5.95). The cheesecake looked as though it could have been bought in but we were reassured that it had been made on site. Not oversweet it confirmed the ‘homemade’ label which was a definite ‘plus’ . The texture was firm and creamy but we both felt the accompanying ice-cream was an odd match. This was very sweet with a metallic twang and spoilt the overall taste profile. The panna cotta was served in its dish and too firm for my liking. Pannacotta is usually served out of its mould and should have real ‘wobble’ leading to a easily yielding creamy texture. We had coffee to finish and concluded that there had been some great elements to our meal.
Chatting to Chef Mark Evans it was clear they are finding their feet in their new venue. I really like this small independent chain and love the fact they have local beer, use local products like Norbury-Blue Cheese (the only cheese made in Surrey), and prepare the majority of food from scratch in each venue. Mark is keen to bring in some of his culinary creativity from down-under but feels the business has to consolidate before they shake things up. He is, in his own words ‘playing-it-safe’.
It’s early days for this pub-dining venture and if they can iron out the wrinkles I am sure it will become as popular as their other dining rooms.
A new addition to the gluten-free market selling meticulously hand crafted macarons, brownies and cupcakes amid a growing repertoire of baked delights to those seeking a ‘free-from’ diet.
When Mark got in touch with me in September 2014 he was right at the start of his new business journey. After chatting about his business he asked if he could bring over some samples of his delicious gluten-free baked goods. While we drank tea and tried the delicious stash of goodies I got the lowdown.
Growing up in West Yorkshire Mark went on to work abroad for many years. In Amsterdam, Mark was made redundant and found that he had a choice to make. Find another job or use his pay-off to follow his dream and start a bakery. He chose the latter and moved back to the UK where he is now based in Surbiton. With a background in microbiology he breezed the food hygiene course and was ready to find his niche. Researching the bakery market this entrepreneur decided to focus on the gluten-free market, which he rightly perceived is a growth area.
The first product area to launch was a range of delicately flavoured macarons, brownies and cupcakes. Now produced in 22 different flavours the macarons are a hit. I sampled the pistachio and cardamom, raspberry and expresso with Baileys all of which were sweet and subtly flavoured without being sickly. The raspberry in particular stood out as it was such an intense berry pink. But I always have time for a chocolate and salted caramel which had the perfect balance of salty and sweet. Macarons aside this micro-baker also churns out USA style peanut butter brownies – rich, moist and so mouth-meltingly good. I wish I had taken up his offer to leave the entire tray for my family (doesn’t always pay to be polite but I knew I would end up scoffing the lot). The cupcakes were deliciously soft and tasty too. Another recent addition is the polenta, almond and raspberry cake using locally grown berries.
Free range eggs are sourced from a farm a couple of miles from Mark . Most of the fruit comes from local allotment keeper Derek Hale who runs a vegetable and fruit delivery service to locals. Doves Farm gluten free flour is supplemented with ground almonds, polenta and other free-from options. Whilst local is important to Mark more exotic ingredients like almonds have to come from farther afield.
You can buy these goodies online or at various markets that Mark attends to raise brand awareness. He also sells his products to a couple of local cafes and a deli. For a full list of events and stockists check out the website (listed below). Prices vary depending on whether you buy online or at a market. A box of mixed macarons start at £7 for six, brownies are from £2.25 each. Larger cakes can be ordered online (give at least 5 days notice) and can be delivered depending on distance. Mark is currently experimenting with new lines and recipes, which he hopes to introduce over the next few months. His ethos is that his cakes should be so good that they stand up against any other cake on the market. Gluten-free is not a compromise here.
So far he has met his challenge and his steadily increasing sales are a testimony to this. I am looking forward to seeing him at some of the food fairs this summer and sampling new recipes.
I love making oil based cakes as they retain a moist melt in the mouth texture. By incorporating vegetables and fruit you create a denser texture but the oil ensures a lighter finish.I used duck eggs as I had them in the fridge and know that some bakers swear they make better cakes. Use hen’s eggs of course if you don’t have ducks readily available. Using a good quality stone-ground plain wholemeal flour here adds a deeper nutty texture to the sponge plus it just wouldn’t be the same with white. I usually leave the skin on eating apples when I grate them but go ahead and peel them if you prefer. This is the perfect way to use up slightly wrinkly apples from your fruit dish.
Makes 12 generous slices
Before you start line a 24cm round cake tin with silicone paper. Give the sides a bit of height with paper if the tin is not that deep.
Pre – heat the oven to 180°c / 160 fan° c
For the cake
3 ducks eggs, separate the whites and yolks
150g runny honey
125ml rapeseed or sunflower oil
2 sweet red eating apples, cored and grated
150g carrot, peeled and grated
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground cardamom
225g fine stone-ground plain wholemeal flour
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
I lemon, zest and juice
75g chopped pistachio nuts
Topping
200g *Philadelphia light cream cheese at room temperature
Honey to taste (I used a teaspoon)
Lemon zest (see above)
25g coconut powder
Place the egg whites in a clean mixing bowl and whisk until its stiff enough to form stiff peaks. If you are using a stand mixer transfer the whites to another bowl for later. Add the egg yolks, honey and oil to the bowl and whisk on high until the mixture looks creamy. Using the beater gently fold in the apple and carrot. Mix the spices, flour and raising agents together and fold into the batter with the lemon zest and pistachios. Finally stir in the egg whites. Spoon the cake mixture into the prepared baking tin and place in the pre-heated oven for 35-40 minutes. Remove when the cake is firm to touch. Remove from the tin after 5 minutes and cool on a rack. Now make the topping. Mix the cream cheese in a bowl and add the honey and lemon zest. Sieve in the coconut powder and chill until required. When the cake is cool remove the silicone paper and top with the cream cheese frosting. Decorate with ground pistachio’s. I also used some dried cornflower petals which you can buy in some specialist food shops or online here.
*I don’t usually specify brands but a lot of own label cream cheeses have stabilisers in them. As soon as you mix them they break down and make the icing runny. Very annoying. Philadelphia is more stable which means you can use the light version and keep the creamy texture. For vegans use coconut cream instead.
A highly skilled baker and cake decorator whose products are unbeatable for taste and appearance
Main event: Gorgeous celebration cakes, which look too good to eat
Is it worth the calories? There is cake and then there is Emma’s cake
Tips: Order in advance for special celebrations; these cakes take time to create
After graduating in Hotel Management in 1993 Emma Fuller completed a graduate programme at Harrods, which included merchandising and restaurant management. Next, as a wine merchandiser for Marks and Spencer, Emma gained an experience mix that gave her an enviable foodie CV. Proven in her next move when she became a restaurant and hotel inspector for the AA, leaving eventually to start a family. But bubbling under all this high-powered work Emma had been nurturing a love of baking. Cake making didn’t emerge as a possible career path until later.
Moving out of London and with young children at home Emma’s baking interests were allowed to flourish. First she decided to develop her decoration skill set and spent three years attending evening classes in Horsham. Not content with those skills she gained a coveted place on the intern programme with Mich Turner MBE, a celebrated cake maker and owner of the Little Venice Cake Company.
Since completing her internship Emma’s cake business, ‘Emmas Cake House’ has flourished. Working hard to establish her customer base she has wowed us with her stunning cakes. I first met this star baker at a networking event and it was love-at-first-bite with her signature salted caramel cake. There are not many cakes I would break the ‘no carbs’ rule for but these are an exception and I don’t think anyone else gets the salt sweet combination as precise. Emmas Cake House stands apart as this business is built on making wonderful cakes presented in a modern and stylish format that floats high above the competition. Without a retail outlet Emma attends food fairs, craft and Christmas events to showcase her products which you can also buy online from her website.
On our journey around Surrey we see a lot of cake stalls selling predominantly cup cakes many of which look great but are pretty average to eat. Serious cake eaters are Emma’s target market and she knows how to keep the orders rolling in. Whilst we chatted about her baking career Emma cut me a slice of her carrot cake. It almost seemed a criminal act to take a knife through the vanilla seed speckled icing, spiked with lemon curd to add a citrus kick. The cake itself is dense but not heavy, moist and cuts faultlessly. The fruit is soaked for 24 hours in brandy before preparation. After cooling, the baked sponge is liberally doused in syrup adding a luxurious mouthfeel. Finished with icing, this is a cake to celebrate with.
Christmas for Emma’s Cake House is a core element of her business. Emma designs three new-look Christmas cakes each year which she sells by attending events and through her website. In addition to cakes you’ll find jars of gingerbread stars, gingerbread houses and jar cakes. All of Emma’s recipes are executed with precision and attention to detail. This is so that she gets the most out of the quality ingredients, for example using brandy soaked fruit, muscovado sugar, fresh spices, nuts and free-range eggs whilst using only small amounts of flour gives the cake a rich moistness and luxury that hard to achieve on a tight budget. Not surprisingly the retail prices of her cakes reflects her investment in ingredients with Christmas cakes starting at £29.95 each. Having seen first hand the effort and care that goes into the baking here the phrase ‘worth every penny’ springs to mind.
It’s not just baking that keeps Emma busy, more recently, helped by the time spent with Mich Turner, Emma demonstrates at cake and bake shows and does tutorial videos and even boasts Lakeland among her clients. Emma is also in demand for food styling for photo shoots.
Her cakes are so revered in the Surrey food community that they have just been featured at the Houses of Parliament. This event, which was organised by Local Food Britain showcased some of our county’s top food producers to Government.
The accolade to Emma and her cakes doesn’t really get much higher than this.
In a bid to fight off middle-aged spread rejecting carbs in favour of salads is part of my strategy. A few months on and I sense I am being punished for a positive lifestyle choice by lazy chefs. People who read this blog will know that we only publish reviews of places we can wholeheartedly recommend with the occasional sprinkle of constructive criticism. We could, if we wanted to, dish out some real corkers but it’s a smallish food community in Surrey and we like to focus on hits not misses.
Lots of eateries offer main course salads but it isn’t always a healthy choice as you could take in more calories than a pizza (for example an American hot pizza in Pizza Express is 821Kcal while a warm vegetable and goats cheese salad is even more at 860Kcal). Either way at 35% of your daily calorie allowance before drinks, desserts and coffees are added, not good. It’s better to order a cooked main (grilled chicken, steak or fish) and then ask for the carbohydrate element (usually fries) to be replaced with a salad. If executed well this can be one of the tastiest meals around but all too often 100% effort goes into the protein element and the salad suffers. In fairness a smattering of places do manage to serve a tasty veg packed plate. A higher number sadly just don’t bother at all. Order a steak and you would be astonished if you weren’t asked how you wanted it cooked and given a choice of sauce. Salad, in stark contrast, gets plonked in a bowl and served completely starkers. Where I wonder is the hospitality in that? In addition you (yes chef) have been let off the chore of frying yet more chips. This is an area in your kitchen where you could (like Yottam Ottolenghi and Jamie Oliver) really let your creativity flow (if you could be bothered).
In my dream restaurant the conversation with the waiter would go something like this after I have dropped the salad in place of chips bombshell:
“How would you like your salad served? Today we have a choice of three dressings one of which is a low fat option. We can serve the salad dressing on the side or toss it for you in the kitchen”. Choice here is important some people just like things on the side a point well made in “When Harry met Sally”.
In the real world my experience has been a combination of:
We don’t make dressing here
“Here is some balsamic vinegar and olive oil; make it yourself”
A jug of red oil from a jar of sundried tomatoes
A bowl of olive oil with something very small (not identified) floating in it
A small bowl of salad leaves with a mean drizzle of dressing on the top which is impossible to mix in without making a huge mess
Not wanting to seem singular in my discontent I talked salad dressing to a couple of fellow food educators in Surrey to find out what they thought.
David Gilliat is a talented chef and gifted teacher who runs Four Gables Food Academy . I went to a fish course at his cookery school and left feeling inspired and impressed. David told me “When I was training I was taught to dress a salad with something fun and exciting and to never serve a salad naked”. He said that it was not acceptable to just send a bowl of leaves out of the kitchen and expect the recipient to be grateful.
Andrew Maxwell a former chef and now a Managing Director and Principal of the Tante Marie Culinary Academy in Woking told me “We’ve had a good old debate here about salads and I’m with you 100%. There are few things that make me angrier than a bad salad! A salad can be a garnish on a plate or it can be a meal in itself, but the one thing it should not be is an afterthought and these days, it is often is exactly that! No matter how big or small, it should contain a good variety of seasonal leaves, perhaps a few edible flowers, maybe a tiny touch of seasoning and a beautiful dressing – just enough to give the leaves a glistening shine. That is not difficult and is the minimum one should expect”.
mine in a stand mixer but they are easily made by hand.
Fresh locally produced food, fabulous tea menu and lovely people, it is well worth a visit.
