Locality Archives

Make the most of asparagus

What does it take to create great asparagus? I visit the Vale of Evesham which has PGI status to find out.

Discovering Cotswolds food and drink

If you visit a new area, where do you choose to eat and drink? Of course you ask people you meet, but with an area as large as the Cotswolds, you’ll inevitably not find all the gems.

The Cotswold Cook Book will help. It celebrates the amazing food and drink in the Cotswold and includes more than 40 recipes. I’ve been reading through and getting very hungry. I’ve also started to plan visits to many of the places mentioned. What better way than to read a recipe and think, “I’d like to visit and try more”.

Lunch in Bristol, Bath or Tetbury?

Baked oysters with bone marrow and parsley; roast cauliflower, clams, grapes and chervil; ravioli of Cornish cheddar and yarg, Roast langoustine, Cornish duck and shellfish sauce at Lee Skeet's

When did you last eat out for lunch? The average person takes less than 30 minutes to eat lunch, and according to a BUPA survey, it’s affecting productivity. So let’s get lunch back on the menu!

When you do have the chance to eat lunch, do you treat yourself? Taking afternoon tea as a treat just grows and grows, but why not lunch? We’ve found it an amazing way to try a Michelin-starred restaurant for under £30 or to try out another to see whether an evening meal will tempt us. Here are three different suggestions for lunch.

Casamia Bristol – My kind of dining

Recently I was discussing whether ratings helped when choosing restaurants. Reviewing is such a subjective thing. You are there one night, does it adequately reflect what the restaurant is always like? What makes a perfect night out might not be the same for you as it is for me.

Caribineros, seaweed Casa Mia — Caribineros, seaweed

I know people who dislike the descriptions delivered by staff of every dish – me I love this. Especially when the menu only hints to what that course will actually be.

My 7 foodie favourites in 2016

Gloucestershire is just bursting with amazing produce

It’s been quite a different year for me this year – about half in Edinburgh, half in Gloucestershire. One half saying goodbye, one half hello. So, let me indulge, this is my year in food. It is in no particular order, nor does it cover everything, but I think it sets the tone!

Let’s make winning sloe gin

A really delicious alcoholic drink that can be drunk neat or added to a cocktail, sloe gin is easy to make with fruits from the hedgerow

Make award winning sloe gin

Sloe gin is a gorgeous tipple. Drink a tot on its own or add to a cocktail. Simply delicious.

This year's crop of sloes — This year’s crop of sloes

Its latin name is prunus spinosa which might give you a clue to its spiky nature. Do go armed with gloves! Look for the blackberry bushes and if you’re lucky you’ll find the sloe bushes also known as blackthorn. They can grow up to 6 or 7 metres high and live for 100 years! But the ones round here are much smaller. The fruits are mostly similar in size to a blueberry although I did find some woppers this year.

Capreolus Distillery – Prepare to be amazed

Barney working with the still at Caproulus Distillery

Spirit of the Year 2016

Drive down an ordinary road in Cirencester, park and walk down the path to Capreolus distillery (Capreolus is the latin name for a roe deer). To one side is the area where the ingredients are processed. On the other side is the distillery itself. It’s housed in the lean-to greenhouse of Barney Wilczak’s childhood home. The garage is now designated a bonded warehouse – there can’t be many of those in Gloucestershire.

Escape to Thailand at Thaikun

Last week I ate in Bangkok. Bath masquerading Bangkok to be exact. It was a chilly evening when my husband and I walked into Thaikhun. There was an immediate assault on the senses: colour, noise, people and stuff. Look up and there are all sorts of items hanging from the ceiling including signs in a language we didn’t know, household utensils, some very old TVs, networks of wires wrapped round what looked like telegraph poles. We then noticed the bar to the left where much energetic shaking was going on and to the right a very shiny kitchen semi-open to diners. The space is large but cleverly split into different areas.

A peep into the kitchen - lots of training going on — A peep into the kitchen – lots of training going on

Top 7 foods and drinks you’ve got to try

Inspirational food and drink producers

Think about autumn, and no doubt that phrase “Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness” will pop into your mind – can you remember the rest of the poem? No me neither, but it does evoke that golden time at this time of year.

The days are much cooler but they can be so sunny and crisp. Today I went to a Harvest Festival for the first time in many years. This Harvest Festival was a little different. It was organised by Jolly Nice at Frampton Mansell between Stroud and Gloucester. It’s aim? To celebrate their local producers who create a fascinating range of products stocked in the shop.

The day was dry, thank goodness, after the torrents of rain yesterday. It was the perfect opportunity to sample, discover and indulge. So let me share seven producers you should really seek out. Many sell online and at local farmers markets in addition to Jolly Nice.

Top 7 foods and drinks to try this Autumn

Seven bites around the Severn

Having moved to Gloucestershire after 20 years in Scotland what would we find?