In recognition of International Women’s day, we chatted with Lisa Osman, founder of All Hallows’ Farmhouse Cookery School. Anna Del Conte has always been a great inspiration in both her style of food, but also the incredible story that she shared in her autobiography...
It’s British Pie week and you may love nothing more than a slow-cooked, steak & ale classic? Or perhaps, a traditional hand raised pork pie, topped with flavoursome jelly, is your ultimate treat. For many, nothing beats a filling of carefully selected...
Warm from the pan, there’s no better way to celebrate the first day of March with a Welsh cake. If you are new to this type of baking using a griddle or heavy based frying pan, we have shared our favourite traditionally sweet recipes along with a few twists of...
You may well be a traditionalist and like nothing more than a wafer thin crepe glistening with lemon and a sprinkle of caster sugar. Or perhaps like me, your mantra is always ‘waste not, want not’. So when there is a brown banana lingering in the fruit...
RECIPE: Parmesan Shortbreads These little biscuits are so tasty, but be warned, they can be quite addictive! The recipe was shared to me many years ago by Rosie Davies from Nunney in Somerset. Although I have adapted it slightly over time, firstly to suit our...
‘Stir Up, we beseech thee, O Lord, the wills of thy faithful people’, began the reading in The Common Book of Prayer, on the last Sunday of Advent. The rousing message was intended to gain the attention of the congregation, rather than refer to their baking skills. ...
It’s such a treat to gather your own home grown flowers and carry them back to inside safely in a garden trug. If the weather is kind, dahlia plants will continue to flower well into November, to give us a vase that will last at least seven days for the...
Also known as All Souls’ Day or the Feast of All Saints, the first day of November has been recognised as a day to commemorate the saints of the Christian Church. In Italy, it is a Roman Catholic holiday to remember departed relatives and loved ones. A time when...
How are you making the most of this glorious summer? As the stone fruit slowly begins to ripen, we begin gathering the damsons and plums from the orchard and begin preserving in the kitchen. This recipe always evokes fond memories of a friend who lived at the...
As summer gallops full speed ahead, all of a sudden there is an abundance of hedgerow berries and orchards fruit, ripe for preserving. Over the years we have gathered a collection of hand written methods on splattered pages. We return to these tried and tested...
We were delighted to attend the spring party for 120 winners and sponsors at Sculpture by the Lakes on 19 May. This event was a welcome opportunity for tourism winners, leaders and sponsors to meet face-to-face and to receive our Stuart Wiltshire glass trophies,...
This recipe was discovered amongst a pile of old cookery books which lay hidden on a back shelf in a kitchen where I prepared lunch everyday. The method has never let me down since. I loved the fact that the sauce would only take moments before lunch was served,...
Most commonly available Russian tarragon is a perennial that is easy to grow and overwinter in the herb garden. It can be germinated by seed and also grown from a root cutting. However the aroma and flavour is not very strong and seems to lessen with age. However if...
We stepped out of the kitchen to visit local shepherd Grace, who lives close by. There’s no denying that Grace is totally committed to her growing flock of Dorset Poll sheep but chatting to her recently, it was evident that her long term aims of establishing a...
Inspired by Louise who joined us for an AGA cookery class earlier in the year, she told us how her family always plan a day for making Elderflower cordial. We always look forward to a ‘marmalade’ day but I loved the thought of preparing a picnic and returning with...
Culinary and medicinal mint is thought to have been growing in Britain since Roman times. Loved for its antiseptic and anti-bacterial properties, it is a familiar sight in most herb gardens. Mint is very easy to grow and perfect to add a finishing touch for so many...
Following our success at the prestigious Dorset Tourism Awards in February 2022, we were thrilled to be invited to attend the South West Tourism Awards which was held in Exeter this week. Leading tourism businesses from all across the region, to include...
Whether you have a few pots beside the back door or a patch in the garden especially designated for your favourite culinary herbs, there’s such simple pleasure of being able to snip and gather fresh, aromatic leaves for the kitchen. As spring unfolds into early...
Sometimes guests ask me ‘what is my favourite recipe to cook’? To be honest, it is impossible to choose one particular dish, as it varies from season to season, even week to week. The excitement of the first rhubarb stems peeping under the forcing pot or...
Almost the time for the clocks to ‘spring forward’ to mark the beginning of British Summer Time. To be honest, I am beginning to feel quietly uneasy. This is one of the busiest times in the gardening calendar and I am so behind! There’s so much to do... 