The food scene in Cardiff and The Vale of Glamorgan (Wales), with an emphasis on Local Food. I also tweet @sfnottingham
Wednesday 28 November 2012
Bute Park, Cardiff
Sunday 21 October 2012
Creating a Community Garden 4
In a series of posts
(links below) I am following the creation of a Community Growing Area in Dinas
Powys, on an abandoned play area between Sir Ivor Place and Nightingale Place.
This project was initiated by Elizabeth Millard (Chairperson of the Dinas Powys Residents Group) and Councillor Keith Hatton. The project is supported by Creative Rural Communities (Vale of Glamorgan Council), with Rob McGhee being the Rural Regeneration Officer involved. More specifically, the Dinas Powys Community Growing Area falls within the Community Foodie initiative, which aims to identify, develop and support community food growing activities.
Rob (pictured) came to Dinas Powys on Saturday (20 Oct) to give an update on progress. The meeting, in Youldon House, was attended by over 30 people. Keith outlined the history of the project and introduced Rob, who summarized achievements to date (see previous posts) that include identification of the site, fund-raising, community engagement, and an initial plan for the site that takes into account all skill levels and includes raised beds for those with restricted mobility. He also talked about successful community growing projects in other parts of Wales.
Funding is in place and a contractor (Gerald Davies) is due to start clearing the site later this month. Security fencing will be erected, top-soil put down, and water pipes extended into the site. A communal shed will be erected near the electrical sub-station.
A tour of the site was followed by a discussion back at Youldon House, in which everyone stuck post-it notes with ideas on the proposed plan (pictured below). Suggestions included a brick BBQ, the use of wood from the felled trees to make benches, water butts, communal compost, solar lighting, increasing the proportion of raised beds, establishing links with schools and the recently-established Food Bank in Dinas Powys, a play area for young children, and a skills database.
Previous posts on Dinas Powys Community Garden:
This project was initiated by Elizabeth Millard (Chairperson of the Dinas Powys Residents Group) and Councillor Keith Hatton. The project is supported by Creative Rural Communities (Vale of Glamorgan Council), with Rob McGhee being the Rural Regeneration Officer involved. More specifically, the Dinas Powys Community Growing Area falls within the Community Foodie initiative, which aims to identify, develop and support community food growing activities.
Rob (pictured) came to Dinas Powys on Saturday (20 Oct) to give an update on progress. The meeting, in Youldon House, was attended by over 30 people. Keith outlined the history of the project and introduced Rob, who summarized achievements to date (see previous posts) that include identification of the site, fund-raising, community engagement, and an initial plan for the site that takes into account all skill levels and includes raised beds for those with restricted mobility. He also talked about successful community growing projects in other parts of Wales.
Funding is in place and a contractor (Gerald Davies) is due to start clearing the site later this month. Security fencing will be erected, top-soil put down, and water pipes extended into the site. A communal shed will be erected near the electrical sub-station.
A tour of the site was followed by a discussion back at Youldon House, in which everyone stuck post-it notes with ideas on the proposed plan (pictured below). Suggestions included a brick BBQ, the use of wood from the felled trees to make benches, water butts, communal compost, solar lighting, increasing the proportion of raised beds, establishing links with schools and the recently-established Food Bank in Dinas Powys, a play area for young children, and a skills database.
The meeting was used
to identify those who want to serve on a Growing Group, which will help to
drive the project forward. Further meet-ups, including a clearance day, will be
held on-site in the coming months. I’ll keep you posted.
This well-attended meeting
was a significant step forward in raising awareness and channelling enthusiasm
for the project. Elizabeth’s vision of turning this ugly derelict area into an
attractive community gathering and food-growing area, where she can come to sit in the sun and read a book, became a step
closer to reality.
As a footnote, an
upcoming date for your diary: Paul Mobbs (author of ‘Energy
Beyond Oil’) will be speaking in Lee Hall Dinas Powys on Thursday 22 Nov
(7pm). There will be a small entrance fee to cover costs. Greater community self-reliance,
in which growing areas play a significant part, is a key theme of the
Transition Town Movement that is planning for the post-oil future. Linda Ware,
the organizer of this talk, has initiated another community growing project in
the village - the Dinas Powys Orchard Project.
Previous posts on Dinas Powys Community Garden:
Aug 2012
http://sfnottingham.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/creating-community-garden-3.html
Feb 2012
Jan 2012
http://sfnottingham.blogspot.com/2012/01/creating-community-garden.htmlFriday 19 October 2012
filini, Radisson Blu Hotel Cardiff
I went along to filini at the
Radisson Blu Hotel in Cardiff this week for a ‘Taste of Italy experience’.
Anti pasti are served on oak
boards and are for sharing. Here Mattias applies the finishing touches to a
meat and vegetarian version. Ingredients include roasted vegetables (e.g.,
aubergine, courgette), buffalo mozzarella, sundried tomatoes, olives, rocket and
parmesan. This starter is accompanied by chunks of great-tasting bread with an olive
oil/balsamic vinegar dip.
All food and drink kindly provided free of charge by Radisson Blu.
The new ‘Amazing Grazing’ menu
has been designed to be served both in the restaurant and in the nearby bar and
lounge areas.
Executive Chef Mattias Wenngren
invited us into the kitchen, where he demonstrated how some of the dishes are
made. He even got us cooking.
This sausage dish was made using,
among other things, chunks of Sardinian sausage, passata, fregola (round pasta
beads from Sardinia), chicken stock, chilli flakes, toasted pine nuts and
butter. Rich comfort food indeed.
The risotto had al dente rice and
was topped with wild mushrooms and truffle oil; garnished with rocket and a
shaving of parmesan. A small portion delivers a big hit of flavour.
Hanger beef is used as the main
meat event. This cut from the underside of the animal is not often seen on
restaurant menus, but is full of flavour. Here it is cooked rare and
succulent, with plenty of pepper.
I helped make the two salads that
accompany it. The first has onion (chopped, though it was supposed to be sliced!)
in balsamic vinegar mixed with strips of roast red pepper. The other salad is grated
courgette mixed with lemon juice and grated parmesan. Simple, but very effective.
On the Amazing Grazing menu you’ll also find minestrone soup, sea food (Fritto misto di
mare) and desserts (including tiramisu). Caesar salad, burgers and pizza are
also always available at filini (they like their lower cases).
The set price for the Amazing Grazing menu includes wine, beer
or a soft drink. Prosecco is on tap – a first in Wales.
Hotel restaurants can find it
difficult getting non-residents through their doors. In part, this is due to an
outdated image of what constitutes restaurant food and a reluctance to
negotiate hotel lobbies.
Filini specializes in a
distinctive style of Italian food. The
versatile Amazing Grazing menu should appeal to those who fancy some
back-to-basics Italian food. And filini is not hard to find, it’s just up the
stairs by the front door to the first floor.
The Amazing Grazing menu: Two
courses with a drink £18.95 (three courses plus drink £22.95).
Radisson Blu, Meridian Gate, Bute
Terrace, Cardiff CF10 2FL
Tel (029) 2045 4777
All food and drink kindly provided free of charge by Radisson Blu.
Monday 1 October 2012
The Andrew Buchan, Albany Road, Cardiff
It is not often you find a new bar just serving drinks. The
trend seems to be for new pubs to look more like restaurants than traditional
“locals”. The opening of The Andrew Buchan last month (Sept 2012) therefore bucked
the trend.
The Andrew Buchan, 29 Albany Road, Cardiff CF24 3LH
http://sfnottingham.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/albany-road-cardiff.html
This real ale bar is the first Rhymney Brewery pub to open
in Cardiff. Rhymney Beers are on draught (Rhymney Bitter, Rhymney Dark, Hobby
Horse, Rhymney Export, Bevan’s Bitter). Ciders, wine and other drinks are
available, but food is pretty much limited to packets of peanuts.
Alcohol licences have become harder to obtain in this area. In
their Premises Licence application (to convert the old Choices Video Store),
Rhymney Brewery stressed that the bar would not be aimed at young people and
that there would be no loud music. They stated that there would be no alcopops and
no pool table, just good beer and good conversation; recreating a good
old-fashioned “local”.
Their stated target audience is the over 50s. This appears
to be based on the age of clientele in three of their existing bars: The
Winchester in Merthyr Tydfil, The Prince of Wales in Aberdare, and the bar at
their new brewery and visitor centre in Blaenafon. However, among the objections
submitted against the application (mainly concerning drink-related anti-social
behaviour in the area), one questioned the likelihood of the over 50s being the
customer base on the Albany Road.
I must admit, as a member of their target audience (just),
this was my sort of bar. The beer is good and the welcome genuine. Children and
U21s are discouraged. The lack of clattering cutlery (and not waiting while
someone makes a complicated food order before you can get a pint) is a pleasant
change.
Will The Andrew Buchan become a good old-fashioned “local”?
In many respects the signs look good. However, the large TV
screens showing Sky news and, presumably, sports, do not correspond with my
memories of good old-fashioned locals; they are certainly not conducive to good
conversation, and the place risks becoming a sports bar. Call me old-fashioned,
but I think a rack of newspapers and some well-chosen background music provides
for a more relaxing drinking experience.
Of course, to be a good old-fashioned local you need to have
locals and also I believe be a focus for some community activity (such as a
village pub has a darts or soccer team). It will be interesting to revisit The
Andrew Buchan in the years to come to see how well it’s carving out such a
niche.The Andrew Buchan, 29 Albany Road, Cardiff CF24 3LH
See also:
A walk along Albany Road:http://sfnottingham.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/albany-road-cardiff.html
The Andrew Buchan is named after the founder of the original
Rhymney Brewery in Merthyr Tydfil in 1839. By the 1850s, it was the biggest
brewery in Wales. Andrew Buchan died in 1870, aged 77.
Rhymney Brewery:
Friday 28 September 2012
Food on Film: El Bulli
The Documentary El
Bulli: Cooking in Progress (2010) came out on DVD in the UK this week. It
was on the top of my DVD rental list and I have just devoured it.
Director Gereon Wetzel filmed for a year (2008/09), following dishes from initial conception through to completion. El Bulli, which was located in the small seaside town of Roses in Catalonia, closed for good in 2011, so this is a valuable document of the restaurant at its peak.
http://sfnottingham.blogspot.co.uk/2011/01/food-on-film-2-ratatouille.html
See also:
Narbeth, Sospan bach, Ultracomida and El Bulli Beer
http://sfnottingham.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/narberth-sospan-fach-ultracomida-and-el.html
Director Gereon Wetzel filmed for a year (2008/09), following dishes from initial conception through to completion. El Bulli, which was located in the small seaside town of Roses in Catalonia, closed for good in 2011, so this is a valuable document of the restaurant at its peak.
The film starts in October, when El Bulli closes for six
months. Ferran Adrià and his core team of head chefs (Oriol Castrol, Eduard
Xatruch and Mateu Casañas) move to a laboratory in Barcelona where they experiment.
By the time the restaurant opens in June, they have created a whole new menu of
astonishing and innovative dishes.
The documentary is refreshingly free of voice-over. We are mostly
watching chefs working, punctuated by Ferran Adrià addressing his core team and
staff at various stages. The documentary gives a great insight into how Adrià
directs operations from start to finish. In one sequence, filmed in July, he eats his way
through the tasting menu, making copious notes – always striving for
perfection.
A percussive score by
Stephan Diethelm, which probably had its origin in kitchen utensils being hit, threatens
at times to become irritating, but ultimately delivers on an emotional level, especially
during the climax of the film. Here, we are shown a montage of stunningly
photographed dishes from the 2008/09 menu. Earlier in the film, some of these
dishes were just ideas being batted around by the chefs. A concept lies behind
each dish. Water is jokingly noted as an underlying theme for that year’s menu ("What did they serve you at El Bulli? Water"). This really is
serious fun.
Each dish has to pass Adrià’s “magical test”. These are some
that did: Tea shrimp with caviar anemones, needle tree, blossom with its own nectar,
coconut sponge, pumpkin meringue sandwich with almonds and summer truffle,
oilwater osmanthus, rabbit brain in its own ragout, rabbit rib in its essence, vanishing
ravioli, sweet potato gnocchi, minted ice lake, minted apple phylo, frozen rose,
chocolates.
I highly recommend this DVD to anyone interested in both modern
food and modern art.
Selected ‘ Food on Film’ posts:
Ratatoille (Ferran Adrià involvement)http://sfnottingham.blogspot.co.uk/2011/01/food-on-film-2-ratatouille.html
I am Love
Archipelago
http://sfnottingham.blogspot.co.uk/2011/05/food-on-film-archipelago.htmlSee also:
Narbeth, Sospan bach, Ultracomida and El Bulli Beer
http://sfnottingham.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/narberth-sospan-fach-ultracomida-and-el.html
Sunday 23 September 2012
The Barley Mow, Graig Penllyn
The Vale of Glamorgan pub tour continues with The Barley Mow
in Graig Penylln. We visited on a dismally wet September evening, though The
Barley Mow soon cheered us up.
Our other main was Lamb Steak, served with a rich jus and
roasted vegetables. There was also plenty of meat on this plate.
http://sfnottingham.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/the-merrie-harrier-llandough.html
The Farmers Arms, St Brides Major
My whitebait starter was about perfect; lightly-breaded,
with good-sized fish so you got both the fish and the crunch - not just the crunch
of some pub whitebait. It was served with a ramekin of home-made tartar sauce,
a beetroot-leaf salad drizzled with balsamic vinegar, and a piece of fresh
lemon to squeeze.
Brie in Light Batter Parcels was my partner’s choice. Three
deep-fried brie parcels were served with a ramekin of cranberry preserve.
I had the Rump of Black Welsh Beef, cooked medium-rare, served with a couple of sautéed mushrooms, and some salad leaves.
With the mains, I went for new potatoes and my partner the
chips. I usually prefer the new potato option, but the chips at
The Barley Mow are very crisp and very good – I recommend you opt for them!
There is a sizeable wine list, although we opted for beer
and cider. I had Bishop’s Fingers (Doom Bar and an IPA were also on draught).
Local sourcing has a high priority. The potatoes used to
make the chips, for instance, come from nearby Windmill Farm. Beyond that,
there’s also a Scottish feel to the menu (I’m guessing the owners may be from Scotland),
with smoked salmon, black pudding and other quality Scottish ingredients.
We made use of a Groupon voucher on this occasion: one of
our more successful Groupon experiences. This characterful village pub is
definitely one of the “hidden gem” contenders on this Vale of Glamorgan tour.
Directions:
By car, leave the A48 just to the west of Cowbridge at the
Penllyn turn (in Penllyn you’ll see The Red Fox). Carry on northwards through
Penyllyn until you reach Graig Penllyn.
The Barley Mow
Graig Penllyn, Cowbridge, Vale of Glamorgan CF71 7RT
Tel: 01446 772558
The Vale of Glamorgan
pub tour:
The Merrie Harrier, Llandoughhttp://sfnottingham.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/the-merrie-harrier-llandough.html
The Pelican in her Piety, Ogmore
The Farmers Arms, St Brides Major
The Bush Inn, St Hilary
http://www.bushinn-sthilary.com
Lamb and Flag, Wick
http://sfnottingham.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/lamb-and-flag-wick.html
Blue Anchor, East Aberthaw
http://sfnottingham.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/blue-anchor-east-aberthaw.html
Six Bells, Penmark
http://sfnottingham.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/six-bells-penmark.html
Blacksmith’s Arms, Llanmaes
http://sfnottingham.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/blacksmiths-arms-llanmaes.html
Plough and Harrow, Monknash
http://sfnottingham.blogspot.com/2011/04/plough-and-harrow-monknash.htmlSunday 16 September 2012
The Huntsman Restaurant, Dinas Powys
The Huntsman Restaurant can be found in the centre of Dinas Powys,
to the rear of The Star. The pub is owned by Brains, while the Huntsman is an
independent restaurant that has been owned and run by Hilary and Peter Rice
since 1993.
Peter always offers a very friendly front-of-house welcome,
while Hilary is Head Chef. The food is traditional, with classic dishes having
a definite local Welsh “country farmhouse” flavour and the occasional modern
twist.
We opted for the same dishes on our last visit: starters of
Welsh Rarebit with Crisp Salad and Rhubarb Chutney, and mains of Roast Pork Tenderloin
with Apples, Cider and Honey. We drank a house white (a French wine called La
Cabane).
The rhubarb chutney was a good complement to the rarebit; it
added up to a substantial and well-balanced starter.
The pork, which was everything we hoped for when ordering,
came with four different vegetables between us: potatoes roasted in goose fat,
sliced potatoes baked in cream and garlic, braised red cabbage, and mange-tout
and carrot. We put these on our plates from serving dishes as required – so the
plating in the photos is not necessarily the restaurants!
Portions are large, so The Huntsman is not a restaurant you are
likely to leave still hungry.
There is a pleasant ambience in the 23-cover dining room, in
a homely barn conversion. It’s a quiet and relaxed place to dine.
The seasonal menu changes every three months. Starters (in
the July-Sept 2012 menu) range in price from £4.95 to £7.25, while mains are
priced between £12.50 (Mushroom and Pinenut Stir Fry) and £23.95 (Welsh Fillet
Steak with choice of sauces). Other options currently available include Salmon and Prawn
Bake, Rack of Welsh Lamb with Plum and Port Sauce, and Roast Breast of Duck
with Cumberland sauce. Puddings are generally £5.50.
Most of the cost of our meal was covered by a voucher won at
a Dinas Powys Voluntary Concern (DPVC) fund-raising Jazz Night earlier this year. I always go for the
restaurant vouchers as prizes at raffles!
The Huntsman contributes recipes to Depend, a newsletter
published by DPVC that is delivered for free to
every house in Dinas Powys. Contributions to recent issues have included Wild
and Tame Mushroom and Stilton Tart (see link below to online version), Rich
Chocolate Brandy Cake, and Smoked Salmon and Dill Mousse.
We are putting the finishing touches to the Autumn 2012 Depend
(I have contributed pieces on the resources available at Dinas Powys Library, the
Llandough Hospital extension, and the new Vale Foodbank in Dinas Powys). You’ll
have to wait and find out what The Huntsman’s contribution is going to be this time!
A team of volunteers will be putting Depend through every
letterbox in Dinas Powys in October, while everyone else can read it via the DPVC website (link below).
The Huntsman Restaurant
Station Road, Dinas Powys, Vale of Glamorgan CF64 4DE
029 2051 4900
http://www.thehuntsmanrestaurant.co.uk
Depend (Summer 2012):
http://dpvc-dinaspowys.com/media/downloads/dpvc_depend_summer_2012.pdf
DPVC:
http://dpvc-dinaspowys.com/Thursday 13 September 2012
Wales on the Menu
Recently, I interviewed Simon Wright for a profile that was
published in the Buzz Food & Drink Guide 2012 (link below).
Y Polyn:
In a wide-ranging career, Simon has been a food critic,
author, restaurateur, consultant and broadcaster. In May this year, Simon opened Wright’s
Independent Food Emporium, with his wife Maryann. This shop in Nantgaredig
sells a range of Welsh products, including meat, cheeses, and fresh fruit and vegetables,
and has a café at the heart of the operation. Last year, Simon was involved in
the planning stages of Sospan, a new restaurant in Llanelli.
Simon is currently presenting the fourth series of Wales on
the Menu, which started on BBC Radio Wales last Saturday lunchtime (1pm). In
the programme, he challenges home cooks to put their speciality dish on the
menu of a top restaurant.
In the first show, amateur chef and food blogger Bill King
tried to get his salmon quiche up to standard for the menu of Y Polyn, a restaurant
near Carmarthen that the Wrights at one time co-owned. Among the judges was food
blogger Ed Gilbert (a.k.a. Gourmet Gorro). The quiche sounded good, but was judged not quite good
enough to meet Y Polyn’s high standards.
The Wales on the Menu team are looking for keen cooks from
across Wales who would like to participate in future challenges. If you are
interested you can email them on walesonthemenu@presentable.co.uk
There is also a Wales on the Menu Facebook page, where you
can find recipes, behind the scenes photographs, and further details of how to
apply to take part in the series either as a novice cook or a judge: https://www.facebook.com/WalesOnTheMenuBBCRadioWales?ref=hl
If you miss the programmes themselves, you can find them on
the BBC iplayer.
Buzz Food & Drink Guide 2012. The Wright Taste (pp.
28-29):
http://content.yudu.com/Library/A1y455/FoodandDringGuide201/resources/index.htm?referrerUrl=http%3A%2F%2Ffree.yudu.com%2Fitem%2Fdetails%2F577403%2FFood-and-Dring-Guide-2012
Fellow Bloggers on Twitter:
Bill King @billking
Ed Gilbert @gourmetgorroWednesday 12 September 2012
Vale Foodbank in Dinas Powys
One of the big under-reported stories of the summer has been
the impact of government austerity measures on individuals, families and
communities. The recent figures have been shocking. For instance, 13 million people
live below the poverty line in the UK; while here in Wales over one in ten
people of working age are now out of work, a level of unemployment not seen for
almost twenty years.
We noted the Olympics earlier. Therefore, just
room to note that ATOS, partners for the London 2012 Paralympic Games, are the
firm charged with assessing disability benefit payments in a government money-saving
operation. Removal of benefits is fuelling the need for foodbanks. Currently, at least
one new foodback opens every week in the UK.
Communities can act to combat local poverty and hidden
hunger by supporting schemes such as foodbanks. The Trussell Trust acts as an
umbrella organization for foodbanks across the UK. The Vale Foodbank was
established under this umbrella in October 2011. It is based at Coastlands
Family Church in Barry, and aims to open food distribution centres around the
Vale of Glamorgan to help people who are struggling to make ends meet.
A Vale Foodbank distribution centre opened today in Dinas
Powys, in the Bethesda Chapel. It will open for an hour every Wednesday. Free
emergency food supplies will be exchanged for vouchers given to people particularly identified
as being in need by social workers, doctors, police and other community groups
(in total 40 partners across the Vale). One voucher can be exchanged for enough
food for three days.
Mike Grove from Bethesda Chapel welcomed people to the
official opening this afternoon. Susan Lloyd-Selby, the Vale Foodbank
co-ordinator, then talked about the success of their first year, in which they
have managed to feed everyone who has been referred to them. When they started
they expected to feed 800, but in fact have fed 1,643 people since October 2011.
Of those referred, 30% have been plunged into crisis due to
delays in benefit payments. Others are referred due to low income, while there
has been a dramatic rise in the number in debt. 68% of the food distributed has
gone to feed children under the age of 16.
Sue related some stories of the real people behind the
statistics: a man who hadn't eaten for two days, a woman homeless after leaving home due to domestic violence, a couple suddenly plunged into debt after an accident. She stressed that it was not just about giving food, but providing
wider support and advice through contact with the regular volunteers. Sue
thanked these “lifechangers” (with reference to Olympic “gamesmakers”), and
also thanked all the people who donated over 115 kg of food during the past
year. Future Vale Foodbank plans include free money management courses.
Photo: Councillor Val Hartrey (Chair of Dinas Powys Community Council), Jane Hutt AM, Mike Grove and Susan Lloyd-Selby (the cakes spell "Vale Food Bank").
Jane Hutt AM opened the Dinas Powys distribution centre
today, just as she opened the first Vale Foodbank in Barry last year. An active
supporter, she noted that action needs to be taken to stop so many people
falling into poverty, especially through reasons such as delays in benefit
payments and loss of tax credits. Jane also stressed that Foodbanks provide a framework
for offering wider help and support, to give people back some dignity and
restore hope.
The food given out at the Vale Foodbank is donated by
businesses and individuals. You can donate to the Bethesda Chapel during Foodbank opening hours. Individuals are asked to give dried and tinned
foods (see contact details below).
In addition to making donations of tins and packaged food, Jan
and Tony Mapstone of Valley View Fruit Stores in Dinas Powys also donate fresh
fruit and vegetables (they wear dark blue in the photo below).
To those who have questioned why a relatively prosperous community
in the Vale of Glamorgan needs a foodbank: wake up, this is the reality of life
today.
The Vale Foodbank
Coastlands Family Church, Tennyson Road, Colcot, Barry, Vale
of Glamorgan CF62 9TN
admin@valefoodbank.org.uk
The Trussell Trust:
Reference for Welsh Unemployment:
http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/2012/09/04/welsh-unemployment-much-worse-than-official-stats-claims-new-report-91466-31758526/Saturday 8 September 2012
An Olympic Diet: Final Part
One of the ironies
evident on visiting the Olympic Park during the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games was
that sponsorship restrictions helped create an environment largely devoid of
branding. It was very refreshing to see such a brandless environment at a major
sporting event, both inside the venues and around the food areas (e.g., World
Square, Britannia Row, Orbit Circus).
The Locog catering
operation, headed by Jan Matthews, was said to have been the largest attempted
in the UK during peacetime. They succeeded in offering a dizzying range of
dishes to competitors and visitors.
Outside the obvious sponsor outlets, all
the food stores were labelled generically (and usually offered three simple
menu choices). This “calling-a-spade-a-spade” catering had a certain charm.
Among the outlets
were: Fish and Chips, Pies, Pasties, Cornish Pasties, Deli, Traditional Roast,
British Bakery, Gourmet Sausage, Hog Roast, Jacket Potatoes, Fresh Salad Bar,
Speciality Coffee, Bar, Ice Cream, and the Champagne and Seafood Pavilion.
World cuisine was
represented, for example, by Asian, a French-style Brasserie, Indian, Italian,
Mexican and much more besides.
The three Asian options, for
example, were Thai curries, Singapore noodles and Vegetarian stir fry. Our Thai
Curry was pretty good. Other things we sampled (e.g., bacon roll) were
basic. Most of the food we ate was from the Deli outlets, where
reasonably-priced sandwiches could be obtained with minimal queuing.
Some feared that it
would be branded burgers and fizzy drinks, and little else, for sale on site.
In reality, there was plenty of no-nonsense food and drink choices; even some healthy salads if
you sought them out!
Finally, what a great
atmosphere there was on the Olympic Park and I am sure everyone who visited
will remember the experience for a long time to come.
See also:
An Olympic Diet: Part Two
http://sfnottingham.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/an-olympic-diet-part-two.html
An Olympic Diet: Part One
http://sfnottingham.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/olympic-diet-part-one.html
Wednesday 29 August 2012
Welsh Wines: Ancre Hill Estates
We are drinking Welsh
wines on the Food Blog. That is more of a challenge than you might think, because
there are now around twenty Welsh vineyards producing a range of different
wines.
Only about 1% of wine consumed in the UK is home-produced. However, climate change (milder winters and extended summers) is favouring wine production. Meanwhile, in Wales at least, local and regional produce is increasingly sought-after in restaurants and shops. Therefore, the market for Welsh wines could significantly expand in the future.
01600 714151
http://www.ancrehillestates.co.uk
029 2078 7500
http://finewinesdirectuk.com/
Welsh wine:
http://finewinesdirectuk.com/wines/welsh-wines
http://sfnottingham.blogspot.co.uk/2011/01/winde-from-dinas-powys-cock-hill.html
Only about 1% of wine consumed in the UK is home-produced. However, climate change (milder winters and extended summers) is favouring wine production. Meanwhile, in Wales at least, local and regional produce is increasingly sought-after in restaurants and shops. Therefore, the market for Welsh wines could significantly expand in the future.
This week, we have
been drinking White and Rosé wine (both 2010) from the Ancre Hill Estates vineyard,
supplied by Fine Wines Direct (Penarth Road, Cardiff).
Ancre Hill Estates was
the first wine to be recognized in the Wales the True Taste Awards. In 2010-2011
(Wine, Spirit and Other Alcohol category), Ancre Hill won a Gold Award for
their 2009 Medium Dry White and a Bronze Award for their Rosé.
The White (11% ABV) is
made using Seyval Blanc and Madeleine Angevine grapes. We found it to be dry, sharp
and crisp. The taste was particularly clean, with pleasing citrus (limey) and elderflower notes.
A good wine to pair with fish.
The Rosé (11%
ABV, £12.79) is made from Seyval blanc and Triomphe grapes. We found it sharp
and very fruity. I detected lots of strawberry. There were also floral and
citrus notes. This was particularly refreshing when well-chilled. I usually
consider rosé to be almost an aperitif, but this one stood up very well to mildly
spicy food.
Both the White and Rosé sell for £12.79 a bottle.
Ancre Hill Estates also
produce Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Sparkling White and Sparkling Rosé wines, on a
south-facing slopes in the Wye Valley just outside Monmouth. You can visit the
vineyard during the summer months for lunch and tours.
The high quality of Welsh
wines, such as Ancre Hill Estates, may surprise you if you've not tasted them
before. Now is a good time to start checking out what the emerging wine nation
of Wales has to offer.
Ancre Hill Estates
Richard and Joy
Morris, Ancre Hill Vineyard, Monmouth NP25 5HS01600 714151
http://www.ancrehillestates.co.uk
Fine Wines Direct
242 Penarth Road,
Cardiff CF11 8TU029 2078 7500
http://finewinesdirectuk.com/
Welsh wine:
http://finewinesdirectuk.com/wines/welsh-wines
Previously, on the
Food Blog
Cock Hill from Bryn
Ceiliog Vineyard, Vale of Glamorgan:http://sfnottingham.blogspot.co.uk/2011/01/winde-from-dinas-powys-cock-hill.html
The Ancre Hill Estates
wines reviewed here were supplied free of charge by Fine Wines Direct.
Sunday 26 August 2012
The Welsh Menu Live, Swansea
The Welsh Menu Live (25-27 August 2012) is the first food
festival to be staged in Swansea for many years. Swansea Market
("established 800 years") used to hold a food festival. This modern
revival similarly champions local produce and independent local traders. I
attended this afternoon (Sunday).
The Welsh Menu Food Theatre is located in The Dragon Hotel.
Here, I saw Luke Thomas cook Welsh lamb with summer vegetable fricasse, braised
lettuce and goats cheese. For the past six months Luke has been Head Chef at
Sanctum on the Green in Berkshire; at 18 he's the youngest Head Chef in
Britain. He passed on some useful tips. Wine Merchant N.D. John paired his food
with a Martinez Lacuesta Rioja Crianza (plenty of oak, I do like a good Rioja).
A late addition to the programme proved to be my highlight
of the day: Andrew Hanson (pictured) from the nearby Chelsea Café cooked
poached salmon, risotto, scallops, asparagus and buerre blanc. Fish is a key feature of his restaurant's menu. There
were generous portions for the audience afterwards; it tasted great. I'll
definitely be cooking my salmon and scallops more delicately in the future.
The programme of chef demonstrations tomorrow (Monday)
includes Bryan Williams and Anand George (from Cardiff's Purple Poppadom).
Elsewhere, the event centred on Castle Square (pictured).
There was live music of a nostalgic variety (below the big screen showing the
Aviva Athletics from Birmingham) and several food stalls.
I had a gourmet burger from the Got Beef bus: a Soprano
(with chorizo, bacon, jalapeno mayo and mozzarella cheese). Some of the
ingredients in their burgers (e.g., pesto, beetroot puree) seemed a bit
"out there" (although fried onions and relish usually does it for
me), but there was no doubting the quality of their Welsh black beef. Other
"Live Street Feast" caterers offered hog roasts, a Taste of Persia,
and ice cream.
The relatively small number of producers in the festival's
pavilions was a little disappointing. However, there are lots of competing events and markets this weekend. The meats, seafood, cakes, cider
and wines that were on offer looked good. Wales’ largest indoor market is nearby.
The Welsh Menu Live food festival marks the launch in June
of the Welsh Menu Website, which promotes local and regional food and drink within
Wales.
The Welsh Menu
http://www.thewelshmenu.com
Swansea Market / Marchnad Abertawe
http://www.swanseaindoormarket.co.uk
Hanson at the Chelsea
http://hansonatthechelsea.co.uk/
Got Beef
http://www.got-beef.co.ukFriday 24 August 2012
Entrecôte Café de Paris, Cardiff Bay
The deep-fried pigs’ ears were complimentary,
with some gherkins. A sophisticated take on pork scratching and with a spicy
coating, but I am afraid we did not consume all these.
This was in Entrecôte, which opened earlier this summer in
Mermaid Quay. There’s an impressive view of Cardiff Bay from its upper floor
location. Owner Babak Arabestani has created a traditional French dining
experience in his Café de Paris.
My starter (entrée) was Parisienne-style gnocchi with Mornay
sauce and air dried ham. This type of gnocchi is made using choux pastry and parmesan,
the resulting dough being briefly poached and then oven-baked in Mornay sauce
(an egg yolk and Gruyère cheese enriched béchamel sauce). It was a rich
and satisfying gratin.
Hot goats cheese crottin, ficelle bread and artichoke purée was
my partner’s choice. This was an attractive construction, with the French bread
shadowed by a dark olive tapenade and with a sprig of lettuce decorating the
pyramid of crottin (a French goat’s cheese) and vegetable purée.
My main (plat principal) was the Slow-cooked salmon with
pommes purée,
buerre blanc, capers and samphire. Disappointingly, the samphire was replaced
with three green beans; although it should still be in season. There could be
no complaints about the fish, however, which was moist and full of intensified
flavour. The creamy potato bordered on vegetable.
The Braised shoulder of lamb, Toulouse sausage and
cauliflower purée, which was my partner’s choice, looked intriguing. The
meat was shredded and reconstructed into a tower. It had a great flavour. There
was a rich jus and some couscous. We both agreed that the noble Cauliflower
does not deserve to be puréed.
Entrecôte made a pleasant and enjoyable change for us and it seems to do
what it does rather well, although this style of cooking is not really our thing.
We prefer our vegetables, for instance, plentiful and less processed. There is
too much puréeing going on here for our taste. We have noticed this before in
sophisticated French restaurant (home-style French cooking is,
of course, a different matter).
With a couple of glasses of merlot and coffees our bill came
to £54.78 (including the service charge).
You could seriously splash-out in Entrecôte, especially if
you happen to be on an expense account (like some of our fellow diners). You
can buy sevruga and ossetra caviar (£65 and £85 per 30g, respectively), for instance, with
champagne to accompany (£19.50 up to £295.00 for Louis Roderer Cristal Vintage
2004).
On the other hand, if you’re on a budget, you could come
here for breakfast or a lunch deal to enjoy the relaxed ambience and a taste of
Paris.
Entrecôte Café de Paris, Upper Unit 9, Mermaid Quay, Cardiff Bay CF10
5BZ
Thursday 23 August 2012
Creating a Community Garden 3
In a couple of previous posts (links below) I outlined how to
go about turning an area of wasteland into a Community Garden. In particular,
our project involves taking an abandoned play area in Dinas Powys (between
Nightingale Place and Sir Ivor Place) and turning it into the Dinas Powys
Community Growing Area.
The project was initiated and is being steered by Elizabeth
Millard, Chair of the Dinas Powys Residents’ Group, and Councillor Keith Hatton
(Plaid Cymru). Rob McGhee of Creative Rural Communities (Vale of Glamorgan
Council) is project-managing: that’s him
on the left in this picture of the trio photographed on the site this week.
I previously reviewed the type of grants available in the
Vale of Glamorgan for this type of project (they may be similar in other parts
of the UK). A couple of weeks ago the project was awarded £28,000 by Tidy Towns
Wales, a Welsh Assembly government initiative that funds community projects aiming
to improve the quality of the environment.
Earlier this week, Emma Hancock met Rob, Elizabeth, Keith
and I on the site. Emma is a Landscape Architect working within the Planning
and Transportation Department of the Vale of Glamorgan Council. Among her tasks
will be to look at Utility Plans (e.g., to decide on the best route to bring
water pipes to the site) and to oversee the work of contractors.
A contractor - Gerald Davies - has been chosen from among
those who put in estimates/bids for the work. The company has experience of
similar work around the Vale. Work can
start after the bird nesting season, and the contractors are expected to be on
the site by the end of October. Firstly, part of a wall will be taken down to
allow vehicle access from Sir Ivor Place (the wall will be rebuilt afterwards).
The rubber and concrete surfaces will then be broken up and removed, topsoil
will be put down, and a security fence erected around the site.
Before the contractors start work, however, there will be an
initial clearance day to cut back overgrown hedges etc. This will be held on
Saturday 20 October, starting at nearby Youldon House around 10.30 am. Everyone
is welcome (bring tools!); it will be an opportunity for those interesting in
having a plot on the community garden to meet and find out more. Creative Rural
Communities will be there with plans of the garden, which will include communal
areas and individual plots. It will also be the first step in forming a
Management Committee for the long-term maintenance of the community garden.
The Dinas Powys Community Garden has the backing of
Community Foodie, a project under the umbrella of Creative Rural Communities
and the Vale of Glamorgan Council, to identify, develop and support community
food growing. Their aim is to strengthen communities by increasing the amount
of food produce grown and consumed locally, to develop skills (e.g., local
schools will be invited to participate in the project), to promote healthy
lifestyles, and to bring people together. With a bit of luck, the Dinas Powys
Community Growing Area will achieve all these things.
I will post again shortly, with a more detailed look at the
plans for the site.
Previous Dinas Powys Community Garden posts:
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