LBH and I are off again. This time to Dorset. I haven't been to Dorset since I was a child so it will be nice to explore it. We are visiting The River Cottage tonight. I bought this visit as a present for LBH's birthday back in April. Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall is hosting the event and demonstrating how to cook various seasonal produce that his team will then cook for us to eat. We head off in the vague direction we have been told to go and find the farm hidden away far from the road. Immediately we are welcomed by one of Hugh's team and we know that from then on we are going to have a wonderful evening. Hugh himself is wandering around with some wonderfully tasty hor d'oeuvres, yellow beetroot dipped in to a very tasty aioli /mayonnaise dip goes down a treat. As does the refreshingly simple elderflower cordial. We head on in to the big barn/dining room where Hugh takes us through the preparation for the meal we will be eating later. He is a very natural teacher and at no point do you feel like you couldn't ask a question. In fact there are many useful questions asked, jokey and serious alike, and Hugh answers them with good humour, bags of knowledge and much aplomb.We are allowed to wander the gardens in the break and LBH and I walk around the vegetable patch vowing to each other that we'll have a garden like that one day. We pop our heads in the poly tunnels that we remember Hugh discussing on the show and try to sneak a look at the Saddle Back pigs that have turned in for the night. There is also an opportunity to have Hugh sign one of his books for you. I took this opportunity and very much enjoyed a brief chat. Then it's time to eat. The food, of course, was wonderful. It was fresh, seasonal, tasty, imaginative, thought about, lovingly prepared and lovingly served. It was also simple, homely, comforting and also one of the most relaxed, friendly dining experiences I have ever had. This is the key to River Cottage's success for me. What you see on the television you are able to visit. And it is just the way you wanted it to be. There is Hugh greeting his guests and answering all those questions you ever wanted ask, and there is his wonderful team right alongside him. Serving you and telling you about life there at RCHQ. A life, that once you have heard them talk about it, you want to live as well. Yes, it's very inspirational. You go away from the evening with 'warm fuzzies' that last for day and days. We have decided to look much further in to cooking with produce that is in season and are trying to be much more aware about the waste that we produce. It goes without saying that one day we’ll have an enormous vegetable garden. In fact LBH and I predicted that we would like it so much we had already booked ourselves in to a campsite in West Dorset to see the rest of the week out! One of the best risks we ever took.........
posted by Cherry Menlove at Saturday, July 01, 2006
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