• Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Snapchat
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

MsMarmiteLover

  • Food
    • Recipes
    • Vegetarian
    • Vegan
  • Travel
    • France
    • Italy
    • Spain
    • UK
  • Wine
  • Gardens
  • Supperclubs
  • About
    • Press
    • Books
  • Shop
    • Cart

Travels in Dorrrset, my loverrr

July 29, 2009 18 Comments Filed Under: Uncategorized

customer at choc star, camp bestival
The customers

Down to Dorset to work at Camp Bestival with Petra Chocstar in her chocolate icecream van. I’d learn to scoop properly she said. The finest technique is to do a long snail-like curl which makes the icecream look bigger than a firmly packed scoop. This is harder than it looks to achieve. Other rules: don’t miss out the edges of the tub when scooping because you’ll end up with a sticky fist by the time you get to the bottom.

We were an all girl outfit. Next door at the Thali tent, they’d decided we were feminist separatists.
It helps to be small to work in the van. Your view of the outside world, and their view of you, is restricted to a tiny hatch. There is a little step upon which kids haul themselves up. One kid tried to grab the money under the counter. All of the parents are under the impression that their kids are cute. They give the kids the money and let them take the icecream. The child then climbs down from the step, holding the icecream in their wobbly pudgy mit. The icecream drops off the cone. The parent returns complaining defensively that the

“icecream wasn’t put on properly”.

You replace it.

In general kids want cones (shove the icecream down firmly for little kids due to aforesaid problem) and adults have cups. We started to run out of cones.

“Do you mind a cup?” I asked an adult.

“Yes, I mind. I want a cone”

whimpered this fully grown adult reverting to five years old. Ice cream vans bring out the kid in everyone.

Petra is no idiot: she does hot chocolates as well, for this, after all, is England, where you have all four seasons in one day.
I ended up flirting for Britain through that little hatch; wearing brightly coloured clothes, calling out “cute dad alert” and enticing the mummies to order themselves Chocolate Martini shots. By day three I was having to ask each customer to repeat their order at least four times.

“It’s a bloody festival” I’d explain wearily “What do you expect? Efficiency?”

I started calling cones ‘scones’ and confusing mint choc chip with caramel and chocolate. The strawberry being ‘natural’ was confusingly not pink but beige. Bring on the colourings and e numbers I say! Some of these parents however were buying icecreams for their kids at 9am. Then they’d wonder why the little bastards were so hyper.
Camp Bestival is fairly middle class. Somebody complained that security forced them to decant their balsamic vinegar into a plastic bottle. Half the festival was under the age of five. You saw all these toddlers rocking out to dubstep.
PJHarvey played. She’s a local Dorset girl. No photographer were allowed in the pit to photograph her. Her people insisted that all the other music around be turned down. PJHarvey is very skinny with a large turned up nose. She looks like the childcatcher in Chittychittybangbang.

customer at choc star, camp bestival

Silent Disco

Strangest was the ‘silent disco’: you are given headphones as you enter the tent. If you don’t wear the headphones it’s a surreal experience, like going to a deaf person’s convention. People are writhing in silence, enclosed in a private world of sound. Once in a while, they will all rise in unison and pump the air with their fists, in the direction of the plinth where the DJ fiddles with his turntables. The DJ rarely acknowledges his audience.At festivals in Britain, people wear wellies even when the sun is shining. A festival is a chance to wear all the clothes you’d never dare wear at home; the poncho you picked up somewhere ethnic, the flamenco dress, the fairy wings, glitter, animal masks…

I did a naughty thing while at camp bestival. Something I’ve never done before…I slept with a married man. He was a photographer there and I met him in the photographers pit (I was doubling up career wise and combining icecream girl with my other profession of rock photographer). I didn’t even fancy him. He never told me he was married although I did wonder. At the end of the first evening, he invited me back to his pop up tent for warm cans of gin and tonic. I refused.
The second night, bored by the surfeit of toddlers and having no one to hang out with…I relented to have a ‘massage’. This massage seem to spread to my nether regions and one thing led to another.
Now people, the moral of the tale is NEVER EVER sleep with a married man. It’s wrong, not just ethically but also because once they’ve done their bit, the act is over, the man who formerly pursued you starts crying about how they were ‘unfaithful to their kids’ and how they ‘feel really bad‘ and how ‘they really only wanted to give you a massage‘. Like it’s your fault.
The next day, in the photographers pit, he acted oddly. Calling me over to one side, he said ‘can you do me a favour? Let’s draw a line under this’. ‘Do you think I’m going to tell your wife?’ I asked, shocked. ‘Er yeah’. I walked off angrily. I didn’t even have his phone number.
On Monday I found his card, something I had forgotten he had given me, in my bag. I’m going to have fun with this I thought. I texted him asking ‘Do you have a bunny rabbit?’. He called back. Amazingly he did have a sense of humour about it. But then he started crying ‘I’m wellin’ oop’ (he was from Birmingham) ‘I don’t want to lose me kids’. For fuck’s sake. I ended up being his counsellor, ordering him not to tell the wife to assuage his own guilt. Hanging up eventually, I realised, once more, ha! when will I learn? that I cannot have casual sex. I always develop feelings for the guy. I realised, once more, with a deadening thud of the heart, that I’m alone. He will go back to wifey and pretend to be a good guy and I will…carry on being single.

river Cottage, Axminster, Dorset
old fashioned sweet shop, Axminster, Dorset
old fashioned sweet shop, Axminster, Dorset

After Camp Bestival I drove to River Cottage canteen in Axminster. They held a food stall at the festival and I met their chef Tim Maddams, and very briefly, Hugh Fearney-Whittingstall. Unfortunately River Cottage Canteen was closed by the time I got there. I managed to buy a couple of local cheeses… And nipped into the old fashioned sweet shop next door, buying salty liquorice, mega sour lemon balls, butterscotch gums. Nowadays of course they are not sold in quarters (which is actually 115g) but 100g. Mondays seem to be quite dead in Dorset which is a shame when a festival is on.
I had arranged to stay at the house of some people I met through Twitter @greendrawers and @eatdorset that night…a pop up bed and breakfast! We arranged to meet at sunset on the beach at Burton Bradstock where there is a fish ‘shack’ called The Hive Beach Café.

 The Hive beach cafe, Dorset
 The Hive beach cafe, Dorset
The counter
 The Hive beach cafe, Dorset
The fishmonger bit
fish n chips,  The Hive beach cafe, Dorset
My cod n chips
squid,  The Hive beach cafe, Dorset
The squid
 The Hive beach cafe, Dorset
The View
crab, The Hive beach cafe, Dorset
I was all prepared to LOVE this place; friendly staff and huge Disney-like plates of food. My favourite part was that they didn’t have a door. You had to find your way through the plastic that surrounded the shack. I managed to slither through a gap. Their minted mushy peas were fantastic, I’ve never liked them before and now I am a convert. However my ‘tempura’ fried cod was not fresh, a little dry in fact and the chips were of the oven variety. Goddammit.
The salad was varied on a leaf level but the dressing consisted of vinegar only. @greendrawers liked her crab but @eatdorset found his squid a little underdone. The setting is so wonderful…pleeease tweak the food…
@eatdorset is author and chef Michael Feasey who used to run a famous restaurant called The Nosh Brothers. He’s written a fantastic book called ‘Eat Dorset’. Dorset is a foodies heaven…in the book is a picture of Darren Brown of Shellseekers who hand dives scallops and oysters, selling them at his stall in Borough Market and to restaurants. I actually met him last week at the TioPepe sherry tasting at Camino, a Spanish restaurant in Kings Cross. Passionately against dredging, Darren gave a master class in how to shuck an oyster and fillet a fish. He used to go to school with Mark Hix, who has a restaurant in Lyme Regis. Darren is in his 40s. He’s a commercial drysuit diver, going down on his own in rough seas on a nitrogen mix.

“How long can you keep that up?” I asked him.

“Probably another five years” he said “I’m quite old for a commercial diver”.

The next day, after about two hours sleep…it’s amazing when you meet fellow tweeters, you carry on chatting away just like you did on twitter…I was led through the Telly Tubby green hills of Dorset to Beaminster where @greendrawers has her eco shop. She sells a mixture of goods, second hand furniture, clothes and people can refill their Ecover products there. Strangely, for an area which has mostly elderly people, baby clothes sell well.

“Grannies isn’t it?” explained @greendrawers “where else locally can they buy organic cotton baby clothes to send as presents, knowing they aren’t going to get a sniffy reaction from the parents?”

Remembering the nylon vomit pink and urine yellow cardies, so synthetic they’d give you electric shocks, that my nan knitted for babies, I nodded vigorously in agreement.
 Wild Garlic, Mat Follas
 Wild Garlic, Mat Follas
 Wild Garlic, Mat Follas
goats cheese salad,  Wild Garlic, Mat Follas
Goats cheese salad
goats cheese salad,  Wild Garlic, Mat Follas
Close up of the goats cheese salad with wild strawberries
lemon sole,  Wild Garlic, Mat Follas
The lemon sole
fennel from a local allotment,  Wild Garlic, Mat Follas
A present of allotment fennel brought in…
produce brought in by a local, Wild Garlic, Mat Follas
Wine berries, samphire and beet leaves brought in by a local
spider crab,  Wild Garlic, Mat Follas
Spider crab
tables,  Wild Garlic, Mat Follas
tables,  Wild Garlic, Mat Follas
The gorgeous tables
toilet,  Wild Garlic, Mat Follas
The toilets, a subject of conversation when Mat blogged his opening on Guardian Word of Mouth blog
cardamom chocolate brownie, Wild Garlic, Mat Follas
The cardomom flavoured chocolate brownie
Lavender icecream topped with borage flower, Wild Garlic, Mat Follas
Lavender icecream topped with Borage flower
Berry Mess, Wild Garlic, Mat Follas
Berry Mess
Mat Follas chats to the customers
Mat chats to the customers
Mat follas smokes food, smoked mash is a signature dish
Mat smokes food, smoked mash is a signature dish
Beaminster is also where this year’s Masterchef winner Mat Follas has opened his restaurant ‘The Wild Garlic’.
Mat talked about winning Masterchef: they had to stay up in London for several weeks in a horrible building with bars on the windows.

“To stop us escaping I guess” joked Mat.

“Is it a fix?” I asked “Do you think they have chosen who will win from the beginning?”

“Not at all” replied Mat “Some times I was up against really ‘televisual’ competitors…one gorgeous woman who did Gluten-free food, another babe in a mini skirt, but I got through. I asked John and Gregg the presenters why and they simply said ‘Your food tastes better’. It was quite brave of them to put four guys through to the final.”

“I never imagined I would get through. The first round I was surrounded by people bandying around French cooking terms. I can’t speak French, I’m an amateur from New Zealand. One guy was actually French but the food he produced went horribly wrong”

Mat is brave opening a restaurant, his competitors are doing ‘stages’ (work experience)around the top kitchens. But if you have a family, responsibilities, you can’t do that, you just have to go for it and learn on the job.
Tim Maddams of The River Cottage joked “from what I’ve heard, Mat can actually cook, which is more than you can say about most head chefs…”
I started with the goats cheese salad with a little chilli and tomato bread and butter pudding.
The goats cheese was delicately caramelised and the salad was amazing; little purple heads of viola, marigold petals, interesting herbs, poking through the variety of lettuce leaves, one of which tasted of caraway seeds.
The savoury bread & butter pudding was creamy and soft, full of flavour. Perhaps I would add a little parmesan crust to it…
For main course I was served an entire lemon sole, slashed either side, with capers. This fish was incredibly fresh, served on a bed of local samphire, the sea water just seeping through with each al dente bite. I also had crushed New Potatoes, simple but perfectly seasoned.
Puddings, reader, I had three;
1)The chocolate brownie, not too cake-like as many of them are, very light and flavoured with cardomom, served with red currants and crusted clotted cream
2) Lavender icecream, a creamy subtle vanilla with little sugared pods of lavender.
3) A berry mess of blueberries, red currants, meringue and cream
The prices are extremely reasonable, about a fiver for a starter, 12 quid for a main, and four quid for pudding. If you are driving to Dorset, do book a table, I recommend it.
The decor of the full dining room was simple, rustic but modern with pale sorrel green Farrow & Ball paint and fabulous thick oak tables with foodie quotes carved in the edges.
Mat went around the tables talking to people. He understands that a successful restaurant, especially if the owner has won a popular TV competition, depends on the personal touch to distinguish it.
As I sat there, watching people come in to make bookings, they would often bring a present from their garden or allotment. Locals popped in all the time, to bring crabs or local ingredients. It’s Mat’s restaurant, but I got the feeling that Dorset felt like they were, that horrible New Labour phrase, stake-holders in the project, wanting to add their knowledge.

Little Chef, Popham
Little Chef, Popham
ketchup, Little Chef, Popham
Little Chef, Popham
Little Chef, Popham
Little Chef, Popham
Little Chef, Popham
My last stop was at Heston Blumenthal’s Little Chef in Popham, at the junction where the A303 meets the M3. I’ve been wanting to visit, since watching the TV documentary where Heston attempts to transform the management’s attitude to food.
I was too tired and full to eat, just ordering a pot of tea, some tomatoes and mushrooms. The tomatoes did taste a little of ‘thyme’ as the menu vaunted but the mushrooms were ordinary. Butter? Can’t Little Chef afford butter?
The staff were lovely and the decor witty; a noughties take on the 1950s American diner.

Recent posts

home made Nutella pic: Kerstin rodgers/msmarmitelover.com

Home made Nutella recipe

December 7, 2019

hazelnut risotto pic: Kerstin rodgers/msmarmitelover.com

Hazelnut risotto recipe from Piedmont.

December 6, 2019

tiramisu pic: Kerstin rodgers/msmarmitelover.com

Food and wine in Piedmont, Northern Italy plus recipe for Tiramisu

December 3, 2019

Previous Post: « Underground Jubilee…
Next Post: Dragonfly Wholefoods »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Krista

    July 29, 2009 at 7:23 pm

    another day, another adventure. lovely, again, mml.

    Reply
  2. Sally's Chateau

    July 29, 2009 at 7:31 pm

    Glad you enjoyed your time in Dorset and in particular Beaminster and all it has to offer from Greendrawers to The Wild Garlic. It's a very picturesque part of the world and has its own special unique magic, don't attempt the sea however at The Hive Beach when the tide is on the turn !!

    Reply
  3. Mat Follas

    July 29, 2009 at 7:56 pm

    was great to meet you !
    I think I will put some parmesan (old winchester actually) on the bread pudding when I make it next
    See you on 10th in London x

    Reply
  4. @rebeccajago

    July 29, 2009 at 8:57 pm

    Hi. Loved your Dorset tales. I'm going to go and stay with my brother in Dorset in the autumn and get over to The Wild Garlic for sure. I went to the Little Chef Popham last February to try out the Heston menu. We were five typical London ladies on a lunch trip. we had a fab time, though, although the food was hit and miss (and we were charged £1 for ONE MUSHROOM poached in olive oil; that's a bit crazy isn't it?). But the staff were just wonderful, although the manager who featured in the tv series had already left: we had a great guy from Bristol who made the whole experience for us.
    Really enjoy your twitter posts, and looking forward to trying out one of your UR evenings.

    Reply
  5. Kavey

    July 30, 2009 at 7:39 am

    Really enjoyed reading about your adventures, particularly visiting Mat at The Wild Garlic – can't wait for my visit, in mid August!

    Reply
  6. Anonymous

    July 30, 2009 at 8:41 am

    I went to the Popham Little Chef on the way back from Camp Bestival too! Did you actually get mushrooms plural? Because they only gave me one tiny "slow roasted field mushroom" for £1.

    The parents of hyperactive kids pissed me off too. I was spinning outside the tent one day and this little girl touched the spinning wheel as it was going round. Her parents were right there so I figured they'd stop her. Then she put her foot between the spokes. Then touched the wheel again. I had to tell her it would eat her fingers if she kept doing that.

    Parents wanted to use us as a babysitting service while they went to watch music. I don't care how "family friendly" it is, I would not leave my 8 year-old alone at a festival.

    The River Cottage canteen was rubbish. My write up of the fest including River Cottage and Popham Little Chef is here: http://fingersandtoes.wordpress.com/2009/07/29/camp-bestival/

    Reply
  7. theundergroundrestaurant

    July 30, 2009 at 9:07 am

    As you can see I got two not very big mushrooms for my quid. Trouble was they were tasteless.
    Thanks everybody for your comments…Dorset really is food heaven.
    The River Cottage stall at Camp Bestival was, by all reports, disappointing. I've heard the canteen in Axminster is fantastic.But how can a meat eater provide good vegetarian food anyway? They just don't get it mostly.
    Festival food does need to improve and I'm planning to open up my own operation next year. All I need is a backer….
    I cooked at festivals all last summer and loved it. People would come to the cafe I worked for just to get decent vegetarian food.

    Reply
  8. The Curious Cat

    July 30, 2009 at 9:46 am

    Wow! Too much stuff in one entry – too much to comment on! Where do I start…okay Camp Bestival – ice-cream…very amusing. Last year I hijacked an ice-cream stall for a couple of hours at Bestival on the Isle of Wight (it was necessary as it was really pissing it down – we knew the seller anyway). It is funny that despite the rain and cold people still crave ice-cream! Lots of good tips here though if anyone ever fancies going into business…it is also quite interesting seeing the festival from this angle!

    As for the silent disco -OMIGOD! This is something I have always feared. It is a cool idea -don't get me wrong – but this to my mind is the complete break down of community and unity…well not completely I guess in this case as everyone was listening to the same tune but what if everyone was listening to something different?! It will happen one day…we'll all become unreachable islands…

    ach I'm being too dramatic and not very coherent but there is a thinking here that requires exploration….it is that whole idea that community is breaking down and the rise of the individual and virtual worlds and blah blah blah – I rant!

    As for food – wow – what a lot of interesting experiences! Lucky you – River Cottage, fish, Little Chef – you've been on a food oddssey from the looks of it! Most envious…. xxx

    Reply
  9. The Shed

    July 30, 2009 at 10:18 am

    You do get around my dear!
    Loved reading this, we're definitely going to head to The Wild Garlic if we manage to get that way in September.

    Keep 'em coming…see you Tuesday.
    xx

    http://www.theshedlikesfood.blogspot.com

    Reply
  10. The Curious Cat

    July 30, 2009 at 10:47 am

    PS Matt's restaurant sounds amazing – well done to him! I'd certainly eat there!

    Reply
  11. The Curious Cat

    July 30, 2009 at 10:55 am

    PPS On festival food – I think it has definitely got a lot better from the times when I was 16 going to Reading Fest, there you just got horribly congealed chinese food and burgers – not a vegy option in sight except for jacket potato that looked awful…Bestival had some good curries and fish dishes last year – but yeah always room for improvement!

    Reply
  12. Scarlett the Heavenly Healer

    July 30, 2009 at 12:48 pm

    FAB post – as always! X

    Reply
  13. Animal Disco

    July 30, 2009 at 5:44 pm

    Ms ML – long time no catch up; thanks for re-enthusing me about all that is good and fun in the world with this wonderful post.

    Fancy a mini-break in Bath next time around? I think you'd particularly enjoy the Farmers' Market, and we could compare and contrast the delights (or otherwise) of Jamie's Italian and our own River Cottage Canteen. Heck, you could even accompany me to a restaurant review if we get the schedule right!

    Anyway, be in touch soon – for now, keep on keeping on; you're doing great things.

    Reply
  14. TheFastestIndian

    July 30, 2009 at 7:20 pm

    That is the most apt description of Polly Harvey that I have ever read. And well done on triple pudding consumption.

    Reply
  15. Browners

    July 31, 2009 at 10:27 am

    The Wild Garlic sounds great. We're definitely going there next time we are in Somerset/Dorset.

    Reply
  16. The Ginger Gourmand

    July 31, 2009 at 11:00 pm

    Aha – you got to try the savoury bread pudding! I must make my way down to mat's place sometime soon…I love our little exchanges on veggie-fare.

    Reply
  17. Lizzie

    August 1, 2009 at 4:54 pm

    Great post!

    I was once queuing for the portaloos at a festival (aimed at adults, mind) and a man dumped his 6 year old daughter on me while he went to the bar as she needed the toilet. I was a.) not in a correct condition to look after children and b.) she gave me headlice. Parents, eh?

    Reply
  18. theundergroundrestaurant

    August 1, 2009 at 4:59 pm

    Curious cat: yes the silent disco was very 21st century
    MsDisco: I would love to visit you,accompany you on a review. When is good for you?
    Lizzie hollowlegs:Kids =lice and worms. You get used to them eventually.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

MsMarmiteLover aka Kerstin Rodgers.

Chef, photographer, author, journalist, blogger. Pioneer of the supperclub movement.

This is my food and travel blog, with recipes, reviews and travel stories. I also stray into politics, feminism, gardening.

Subscribe to my mailing list

msmarmitelover

Instagram post 2197363265541840970_28574231 On this wet and windy day of a December general election I think back to my trip to northern Italy in October. Piedmont is renowned for the religious architecture. Do visit Sacro Monte di Varallo, perhaps at Halloween, as it is one of the spookiest places I’ve ever visited. On a misty hillside, hovering gloomily above the small town of Varallo Sesia, (painted in 18th century Farrow and Ball type colours as ordered by the local council), there are 45 chapels. It’s kind of a mini-pilgrimage (and located on the Camino San Carlo which joins up with the Camino de Santiago), with pathways and gardens winding through small separate buildings. Each one has a screen through which you can peer at wooden or plaster models of religious scenes or animals. You could spend a whole day just wandering around enjoying the gothic atmosphere, the Italianate buildings and the nature. The cable car to ascend is just opposite a 15th century temple Santa Maria Delle Grazie which has a painted altar screen taking up the whole breadth of the church dividing the public space from an area where nuns worship. I saw a couple of ancient nuns bustling around in the wax-scented candlelit murk. The wooden screen, called a tramezzo, is painted by renaissance artist Gaudenzio Ferrari, influenced by Da Vinci.  I will be hosting a #new years eve supperclub using inspiration I got from piedmont - #hazelnut #risotto and #tiramisu  Book here at this link.  http://www.edibleexperiences.com/p/69/The-Underground-Restaurant/5088672055/New-Years-Eve-2019-supper-club. ^. #travel #italy #piedmont #northernitaly🇮🇹 #foodietraveller #rain #mist #religiousarchitecture #halloween #spooky #supperclub
Instagram post 2195951100410859500_28574231 Budapest Hungary. It is worth visiting a city twice. I saw things I didn’t see in January- the ruin pubs for instance, named so because they are often situated in old ruined buildings. They reminded me of squat parties- that same energy. I enjoyed the Hungarian crafts, needlework in bright colours, red enamel, Russian dolls. I revisited the famous baths in the park. The buildings are ornate, with filigree, ironmongery, balconies, painted plaster work. My favourite thing is photo walks: snapping and walking- getting exercise while being creative. 🍒🎄🍷#travel #iphonography #photography #nationalcostume #red #ruins #hungary #budapest #citylife #easterneurope #szechenyibaths #szimplakert #spa #supperclub #solotravel #femaletravelbloggers
Instagram post 2195198865561146131_28574231 A walk around Hampstead, one of London’s most charming districts, traditionally full of writers, intellectuals and artists, on Saturday. True it’s mostly bankers that can afford to live there now but it’s still full of stories, tiny alleyways, historic architecture, crooked houses, cemeteries crumbling with famous tombs, churches, fresh air (as it’s on a hills), tiny shops and cafes, and the Dickensian Christmas spirit. One street- all the doors had wreaths made of conkers. I did 13k steps but offset these by drinking hot chocolate and mulled wine. #christmas #wreaths #hampstead #northlondon #londonwalks #londonhistory #supperclub #nearme #igtravel
Instagram post 2193008073182743287_28574231 Next supperclub is New Year’s Eve: http://www.edibleexperiences.com/p/69/The-Underground-Restaurant/5088672055/New-Years-Eve-2019-supper-club tickets £65 BYO champagne. It will have two themes: Piedmont and Galicia. 
It’s time. *
 #reddoor #christmas #wreath #stainedglasswondow #edwardianarchitecture #london #british #englishfrontdoor #supperclub #msmarmitelover #christmasdecorations🎄
Instagram post 2192170307716904689_28574231 Drinking gluvein in Vienna Christmas market on a stopover during the @AMAwaterways river cruise on the Blue Danube. Tonight I’m making mulled cider for my cooking class at Willesden Library, starts 6.30, only £3 to get in. Basically I like anything mulled. Just got @aldiuk coffee cream liqueur and I even mull that- via using it in coffee instead of milk.  What does mulled mean? “Mulled wine originated in the 2nd century. It was created by the Romans who would heat wine to defend their bodies against the cold winter. As the Romans conquered much of Europe throughout the next century, their love for mulled wine spread across their empire and the regions they traded with.” To mull something over is to think about it. To mull wine is to warm it. So it’s something that is slow, steeped, warmed, sweetened, with added spices.  I’ve been travelling so much lately and am slowly writing it all up and testing recipes and dishes that I discovered in various places- my travel is a kind of food anthropology. I love 💓 travelling and discovering new places. I’d happily travel all the time. I’m an empty nester now and while I love london, I don’t need to be here, except to do the odd themed supperclub where I try out all my new recipes on guests.  Discover more behind my travels on Msmarmitelover.com and you can also book for my supperclub there or directly with @edible_exp I’m the original supperclub chef and hostess, the original underground restaurateur! I wrote the book on it- supper club, notes and recipes from the underground restaurant published by Harper Collins. I’m proud to have started a movement that has benefitted female and BAME cooks so much.  Eat the revolution! Long may it continue!  #traveller #chef #christmasmarket #vienna #bluedanube #gluvein #mulledwine #christmasdrinking #supperclubs #supperclubchef #msmarmitelover #travelwriter #foodwriter #recipewriter #christmasselfie #wearingred #travelpr invite me on trips!
Instagram post 2189276090585638215_28574231 Aranzata, a sardinian Christmas treat went down well at last nights supperclub - there are none left! Candied orange peel but candied with honey rather than sugar, mixed with almonds and a little wild fennel.  Recipe:  Peel off the orange peel of an orange, taking care to eliminate any of the white pith. Place in a pan of cold water and bring to the boil. Do this 4 times, discarding the water each time. Then dry the peel on a tea towel. Put back in the pan and cover with honey. Add peeled almonds finely chopped lengthways. Simmer and stir until the honey is absorbed into the peel. Take a rubber/plastic chocolate mould and press in a teaspoon of the mixture in each hole. Leave to set and cool. Unmould the little pucks of pleasure. I added some candied fennel seeds that I got from @souschefuk , ground them up and scattered over the top. Serve at the end of the meal with coffee.  #sardinianrecipes #suppervlub #christmas #christmassweets #orangesweets #honey #travelrecipes #recipesfromitaly #recipesfromabroad #msmarmitelover #supperclubchef #theundergroundrestaurant #london #inspiredbysardinia
Instagram post 2188551047903786506_28574231 Torta de Santiago, the finished recipe. I will be serving it tonight at my Sardinian supperclub - it isn’t Sardinian but Galician but this is turning into a sardo-Galician fusion event! Recipe up soon on the blog. #gluten-free #cake #msmarmitelover #supperclub #caminodesantiago #travelrecipes #galicia #sardinia #igfood #inspiredbytravel
Instagram post 2186581155877038874_28574231 Made a torta de Santiago today, inspired by doing the Camino de Santiago. It’s gluten-free, made with almonds rather than flour. I ate this as part of the ‘pilgrims menu’ all along the trail. They were vastly different in quality- often rather dry and dull. The best I had in actual Santiago de compostella, made ‘casera’ Spanish for home-made. It was sticky and rich. Equal proportions eggs, almond meal and caster sugar, with a pinch of salt, cinnamon and orange zest. I bought the traditional metal crosses at a hardware store in Santiago, one of my favourite lurking places when travelling. I will place one on top of the tart and powder the top with icing sugar, leaving an imprint of the cross. I bought this yellow bowl, a Galician craft, at a shop in Santiago.
#travel #baking #msmarmitelover #santiagodecompostela #caminoway #walking #hiking #dessert #spanishrecipes #spanishdessert #galicianrecipes #glutenfree @caminoways
Instagram post 2183492230186882117_28574231 Horse drawn carriage in Vienna known as a ‘fiaker’. The drivers are famous for being particularly grumpy which is a Viennese quality. It’s about 50 euros a ride. This is the second time I’ve visited Vienna, and I think it’s one of my favourite cities. The architecture, the coffee houses, the dirndl dresses, the art of Klimt and shiele. Right now I’m on a river cruise on the blue Danube with @amawaterways from Vienna to Budapest. This is a double wide luxury cruise. You can see the golden trees of autumn lining the banks and beaches. The ship sways in the night, you hear the waves lap against the sides (I always keep the door open to hear the night). Today we arrive in Budapest. I have to admit this is a night respite after my arduous Camino walk. Still behind on notes and blogposts and recipes from my travels but I love to be perpetually on the move. Bruce Chatwin says the natural state of a human being is to be nomadic. I rather agree. #traveller #igtravel #bluedanube #rivercruise #easterneurope #danube #vienna #msmarmitelover #foodietraveller #sachertorte recipe coming up on my return #horses #austria
Instagram post 2181973256383167209_28574231 Follow the yellow arrow and the shell. Arrival at #santiagodecompostela ‘st James of the field of stars’ 💫 after doing the pilgrims Camino - 130 kms walking. It’s taken me several days to get over it physically but I feel immersed in autumn and ‘forest bathed’. All my thoughts, photos and adventures coming up on the blog soon. I definitely recommend doing this. But my advice is: even if it’s raining and you aren’t thirsty, drink water. First rule of catering is, if you’re feet are sore, you aren’t drinking enough- I ignored this. Buy waterproof lightweight boots for cold weather but keep them loose as your feet expand as you walk. Buy anti blister socks- yes that’s a thing. Wear 2 pairs of socks: one thin merino wool or anti blister and one thick merino wool. Buy a rain cape which will cover your bag and camera. Train before you go- not just on flat but on hills- much of the Camino is hilly. Take toilet paper or wet wipes. Take a spare pair knickers. Take a walking stick or buy one there . Most things you need you can buy on the Camino. Take a strong bag on a string or a fanny pack for easy access to pilgrims passport for stamps; water; phone/camera. Stretch before and after. Keep to your own pace- sometimes it feels like a competition but it isn’t- we all have our own rythym and pace- when you arrive at the cathedral it doesn’t matter how long it took you to get there- you did it. Don’t rush- if you get injured your Camino is finished. #walkthisway #followtheshell #caminodesantiago #msmarmitelover #msmarmite #hiking #Spain #pilgrimage #santiagodecompostella #theway #fitness #pace #selfcare #travel #blogger #igtravel
Instagram post 2178475417149561889_28574231 We made it! Hemos llegado! #santiagodecompostella #pilgrims #knackered #camino #cava #msmarmitelover #msmarmite #sisters
Instagram post 2177561799364984754_28574231 Not gonna lie, this has been physically very tough. As my sister says ‘ we are from an indoors family from an indoors country’. Yesterday I did the longest day yet- officially 18km- but I did 35,000 steps! I’m small so I have a small step. So I converted steps into km and I did 27 km. that’s what it felt like. My legs throbbed all night, I had to take paracetamol to get to sleep. Have I had any life changing thoughts? Or spiritual revelations? Not a one. Well, maybe one which is I must get fitter. I mustn’t stop after this pilgrimage. I must get my health in order. Being freelance and working mostly on my own, it’s had to give myself time to look after myself. To assign time for fitness. Being freelance means never ending guilt about not searching for work. Never having stress free time off, as you don’t get paid holidays, sick pay or paid during national holidays such as Christmas. There is always a certain level of low key stress. Of keeping your self esteem up when you aren’t earning. The envy of others getting lauded for work you have pioneered. But I love my freedom! My opportunities to be creative. #thoughts #freelance #caminodesantiago #hiking #fitness #pilgrimage #spain #galicia #supperclub #rain
Instagram post 2175408625380307897_28574231 I was going to blog every day but the truth is I’m too knackered. I’m doing insta stories and my diary. Day 6. We are only doing about 14 km a day but it’s hard. I’m hobbling by the end. It’s the whole consecutiveness that is so punishing to the body. Oh to be young again. The youngsters are pounding through 30-40 km a day. We get up have coffee and don’t rest for 6 hours. We arrive around 3pm and have a massive drunken menu del dia with jugs of vino tinto. Then I fall asleep. Then I wake up for a bit and charge everything up, make notes, edit pix and sort out outfit for tomorrow. Which is basically the same everyday. I did wash a lot of knickers in the shower today as I was running low. So weather: raining all day. Puts the grim into pilgrim. But I am loving this. Thanks @caminoways #pushingyourself #msmarmitelover #msmarmite #caminodesantiago #caminofrances #camino #walking #pilgrimage #spain #galicia #greedypilgrim #stjames #followtheshell
Instagram post 2173661800793301108_28574231 Persimon and pumpkin soup, recipe up on the blog now. Msmarmitelover.com the great thing about doing the #caminodesantiago in #November is that the trail isn’t crowded, the weather is cool, and you see #pumpkinpatches everywhere which are always like something out of a #fairytale. Here they serve sopa de Galicia which is always prepared with meat stock, usually chicken. I so want soup on the Camino. When I get home I’m going to devise a #vegetarian #galiciansoup #buencamino #recipe #soup #pumpkin #squash #fall #autumnvibes🍁 #autumnfood #foodietraveller #greedypilgrim @caminoways @spanishpersimon #traveller #hiker #walker
Instagram post 2172857478425645569_28574231 The Camino to Santiago. While November isn’t the most popular month, and there is certainly rain, the landscape, the nature and colours of the countryside are so vibrant it’s like being on an acid trip. Nature at its most vivid: acorns with their fairy cups, bronze oak leaves and rusty ferns, mushrooms frilly with gills, apples 🍎 on the bough tumbling into sky blue rivulets, giant pumpkins in a patch, moss covered walls, dolmens and menhirs, rooves covered with slate like fish scales, lichen and donkeys, horses, spiney umbrellas like an opened coquille de St Jacques, cows called Luna. I did 14 km today my first day and that was enough. I fell asleep in front of the fire at the #albergue this is a #presstrip with @caminoways #galicia #greedypilgrim #caminodesantiago #msmarmitelover @advantagesofage @imogen_rodgers_1 #autumn #spain #walking #hiking #travel #contemplation #pushingyourself
Instagram post 2169866030516446893_28574231 Persimon Pani puri recipe up on the blog Msmarmitelover.com a street food which includes a flavour spectrum- sour, sweet, salty, hot, spicy, refreshing, crunchy, wet and dry, fruity and carby. Making the Puri from scratch took a couple of goes to get right but actually isn’t hard. #supperclub #msmarmitelover #msmarmite #spanishpersimon #vegetarian #vegan #recipe #chaat #streetfood #indiansnacks #canape #diwali
Instagram post 2169277948175951209_28574231 Overlooking the river at #vallaro in piedmont. Nearby was #sacroMonte, a hilltop religious monument with 45 chapels, each containing strange plaster statues of animals and saints, 800 of them.
Instagram post 2167511482116167199_28574231 Persimon fruit leather (the easiest EVER as it has so much pectin- just purée it, add sweetness spread on a silpat and in cool oven for a few hours), rolled into a pinwheel with bergamot zest and mint and goats cheese, a delicious canapé. This was served at last nights #persimon #supperclub for #Halloween on behalf of @spanishpersimon . Next week I’m going to Valencia to visit the farm.  #msmarmitelover #msmarmite #singleingredientmenus #fruit #vegetarian #canapé #christmascanapes #canapeideas
Instagram post 2166825702523830758_28574231 I’ve been working with persimon fruit for the last 3 weeks, pushing the envelope with what we can do with persimons other than just eat them like apples. And guess what? I still like them, I’m not bored. They are a wonderful autumn winter seasonal fruit. They are also really good for you. #VitC #fibre #5aday, #potassium #iron #calcium #betacarotene #vitA #7aday #manganese #B6 #supperclub #halloween #fruit
Instagram post 2166106717029345626_28574231 The creamy interior of a baked Camembert offset by persimons from Spain. This is the cheese course from my Halloween supperclub for @spanishpersimon this Thursday. #supperclub #persimmon #persimon #sharonfruit #kaki #cheese #camembert #bakedcheese #halloween #spanishfruit #igfood #autumnvibes🍁
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Archives

Copyright © 2019 msmarmitelover